Friday, April 24, 2009

Healthier Sugars to Satisfy Your "Sweet Tooth"

The healthiest form of sugar is from whole foods such as fruits and vegetables. These whole-food sugars also come with micronutrients known as fiber, enzymes, complete vitamins, organic minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals. Both scientific literature and clinical experience show that diets high in fiber, fruits, vegetables and herbal teas significantly reduce the occurrence of host of deadly diseases.

But here is a list of sugars that are the "next best thing" to the sugar in fruits and vegetables. They contain some nutrients, but do still have a fairly high glycemic index:

•Agave nectar—from a cactus-like plant in Mexico.

•Fructose (Levulose)—found in many foods in combination with glucose and galactose such as: honey, tree fruits, berries, melons, beets, sweet potatoes, parsnips and onions.

•Sugar Alcohols—sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol (wood sugar or birch sugar).

•Rice Syrup—from rice and sprouted grains (maltose being the main sugar type).

•Turbinado—raw sugar cane juice that has been dehydrated, colored and then crystallized. Consider it a partially refined sugar.

•Fruit Juice Concentrate—remaining sugar from apples, devoid of most of its fiber, enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

•Date or Kiwi Sugar—made from dehydrated ground dates or kiwis.

•Grade B Maple Syrup (unrefined)—from maple tree sap.

•Unsulphured Molasses—made from the juice of sun-ripened cane, blackstrap molasses is the residue of the cane syrup after the sugar crystals have been separated.

•Sucanat—non-refined cane sugar that hasn’t had the molasses removed from it.

•Rapadura—essentially pure dried sugarcane juice much like sucanat.

•Raw Honey—made by bees and typically only sold in health food stores.

•Stevia—a sweet natural herb powder.


From Michael Cutler, M.D. of www.truehealth.com

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