Types of sweeteners
White sugar: is the finished product resulting from the processing and refining of sugar cane or beets. During the refining process, the water, minerals and compounds that give it color are removed, resulting in white sugar. The brown syrupy residue, derived from the extraction of sugar from beets or cane, is called molasses.
Raw sugar: is the product resulting from refining.
Brown sugar: is white sugar mixed with molasses. Raw sugar, brown sugar and molasses are rich in natural ingredients that give color.
Honey: is the sweet nectar collected by bees from flowers. Fructose is the main ingredient in honey, followed by glucose and sucrose. In fact, the sweet taste of honey is given by the high fructose content. And, it is known, fructose is sweeter than glucose and sucrose. Honey also represents 17% water.
Syrups: are produced from various plants or fruits, such as agave, corn, grapes, maple, dates or pomegranate. Fruit syrups are obtained by dehydrating and squeezing the fruit. The sweetener resulting from this process contains the same nutrients as the fruit (fiber, minerals), but has less water.
Which is the best?
Several studies have shown that white sugar and corn syrup, for example, have various adverse effects on our health.
Some types of sweeteners, such as honey or agave syrup, are rich in fructose. It is known to be sweeter than glucose or sucrose, which means that a smaller amount of honey or agave syrup is enough to achieve the same level of sweetening as white sugar. It must also be said that honey and syrups have more water.
The types of sweeteners that are less processed and refined contain more minerals, but also compounds that have the role of giving color to the plant. It has been found that they increase the quality of antioxidants, those that protect cells, thus protecting our body against many chronic diseases.
Various types of sweeteners increase blood sugar levels. For example, corn syrup has the highest glycemic index being composed mainly of glucose. The glycemic index is a measure that shows how fast a food (containing 25 or 50 grams of carbohydrates) raises the level of glucose in the blood.
White sugar, which has 50% glucose and 50% fructose, has a slightly lower glycemic index.
Agave syrup has the lowest glycemic index. That is why, say specialists, of all sweeteners, it is the best option when it comes to blood sugar levels.
In turn, honey is superior to other sweeteners due to the fact that it contains anti-bacterial substances.
In conclusion, although honey, raw sugar, date syrup and molasses are “better” than white sugar or other sugars, we should avoid consuming sweeteners as much as possible, regardless of their type.
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