Sugar is a real problem in our country today. We put it in everything – our average meals are packed with it, even without us knowing it.
When we cook or bake we heap more sugar into our bodies, not realizing the damage it is doing. Though some sugar is needed for proper brain function, diets high in sugar can hurt the brain and make stress much easier to attain. Regular sugar is toxic to the body. It comes from genetically modified beets and GMO corn. Americans take in 400 calories from added sugar a day. HFCS is pushed as a natural sweetener. It is produced from genetically modified corn. It is believed to lead to increased storage of fat in the liver, resulting in Fatty Liver and digestive upset.
This is not to put a damper on your life and tell you you can never have sugar. On the contrary! There are alternatives to regular sugar that you can use to satisfy your sweet tooth AND that are actually nutritious for your body! 🙂
These are much easier for your body to digest and process:
Healthy Sugar Alternatives
- Honey – Raw honey has many health benefits, so you really want to be sure the label says “raw”. You don’t want to cook with raw honey. To make sure you are getting as much nutrients from raw honey as possible you want to keep it away from heat.
- Coconut Sugar – Comes from coconut juice, which is full of potassium electrolytes and nutrients. This is great for baking because it is an equal comparison to sugar… without the toxins. 🙂
- Maple Syrup – Maple syrup is higher in antioxidants than regular sugar, making it one of the healthier sugar substitutes. You want to look for Grade B or Grade C USDA-certified organic.
- Stevia – A low-calorie, all-natural sweetener. It comes from the leaves of a flowering plant. AND, there is no sugar involved at all 🙂 . Stevia is 200 times sweeter than sugar, so be careful and don’t use the same ratio in your cooking! 🙂
I have a sweet tooth as much as anyone, but even with nutritious natural sweeteners, too much a good thing can be too much of a bad thing. Here are just a few foods you can try to help keep those sugar cravings at a healthy level.
Help Cut Sugar Cravings
- Probiotics – Candida yeast in the body feeds on sugar. Consuming probiotics can help reduce those yeasts. Kombucha, Kefir and Greek Yogurt are some favorites.
- Protein – Helps stabilize blood sugar levels
- Healthy Fats – After eliminating sugar, the body turns to fat for energy. Eating healthy fats is a much better way to fuel the body. Avocado, nuts, coconut oil… just to name a few.
- Herbs and Spices – Ginger and Tumeric have anti-inflammatory properties and can help with blood sugar.