I’ve had a boatload of questions regarding sweeteners which I’ve been needing to answer. Ever since I did my original post on sweeteners, It seems that I’ve gotten a question every week about sweeteners! Today I would like to answer a few common ones (paraphrased by me).
It’s been amusing to me to see everyone’s reaction to my sweet treats on my blog. Some people say that they have to “up” the sweeteners I use a lot to taste right, others half the sweetener and say it’s much to sweet. Some reprimand me for having desserts at all on the site. It just goes to show that my readers have diverse opinions about sweeteners. We are probably all in a different place in regard to the big “sugar” question. I think that we need to be kind and understanding in dealing with those with differing opinions than us.
Also amusing to me was when I was on a grain and sugar free diet for a month (though I didn’t mention it on my blog), my daily traffic fell that whole month, but when I added them back in and started sharing grain/sweet recipes- my blog started growing again.
There is something about grains and sweets that we just like, isn’t there!
I’d always had a big sweet tooth growing up, but was later able to conquer it by simply not having dessert for a period of time (and by not eating sugar forming foods and adding in lacto-fermented foods). I was sensitive to all types of sweeteners, even fruit. In fact, I have gone a long time without even eating fruit, let alone a dessert. But I hardly think that everyone is as sensitive to me. Now my sugar cravings are under great control, to the point that I often could care less if I didn’t have dessert for a year. If you have a “sugar addiction”, let me tell you, it’s lovely to be free from it!
I know that some think that we should never indulge in sweeteners at all, and perhaps that’s true of some of us (like me, at certain times). But I do think that having occasional sweet treats makes life a little more enjoyable and won’t harm our health. The problem is, of course, that most of us are hardly occasional. The last few weeks, I have been almost sweetener free. I’ve used just a bit of stevia, and had a few berries in my oatmeal and that’s been it, and it’s really not been a big deal to do so. That speaks freedom, doesn’t it?
To all my sugar addicted readers *wink*, don’t worry, I am still going to be making desserts and posting recipes on occasion as I have birthdays coming up! I am also trying to fatten my skinny husband up, so sweets will still be here, even if I am not eating them.
But this leads up to the first question I would like to answer.
Question Number One:
“If white sugar raises my blood sugar as much as whole can sugar, how can it be better for me?”
If you are diabetic, blood sugar levels are top priority for you. I don’t recommend that you use sweeteners much at all. There is a difference however between white sugar and unrefined sugar. Blood sugar levels are not the only stress that sugar brings to our body.
” The refining process strips grains, vegetables and fruits of both their vitamin and mineral components. Refined carbohydrates have been called “empty” calories. “Negative calories is a more appropriate term because consumption of refined calories depletes the body’s precious reserves. Consumption of sugar and white flour may be liken to drawing on a savings account” pg 21, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
The thought here is that it by consuming refined foods, including sugar, it actually takes away vitamins and minerals from our body to process it! That’s why refined sugar is “negative” calories, while an unrefined cane sugar contains vitamins and minerals so that it won’t pull it from you.
“The naturally sweet foods from which sugar is extracted-sugar beet, sugar can and corn- are particularly high in nutrients such as B vitamins, magnesium, and chromium. All of these seem to play an important role in the blood sugar regulation mechanism. These nutrients are discarded-or made into animal feed-when the raw product is refined into sugar. Refining strips foods of vital nutrients while concentrating sugars, thus allowing us to fulfill our body’s energy requirements without obtaining the nutrients needed for bodybuilding, digestion and repair.” pg 24, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
So again, if you are diabetic, whole cane sugar will raise your blood sugar, so don’t use it. But for everyone else, use sugar sparingly, and then use the whole cane sugar, or other unrefined sweetener.
Question Number Two:
” Is _______ sweetener okay for me? I have ______ issues”
For than anything else, I get questions about coconut sugar because I have used it in many of my recipes. One recent question was about the effect of the sucrose ( naturally found in the coconut sugar) on the kidneys. I haven’t read up on that directly, but I do want to say this.
Everyone will respond differently to sweeteners. Sally Fallon also mentioned that researchers have found that different sweeteners react differently on people’s blood sugars! They even found that some didn’t have their blood sugar spike when eating white sugar (which doesn’t mean that they should eat it, because there are other issues with white sugar, but just to say that everyone reacts differently). On reading some forums online about sweeteners, some diabetics shared that raw (truly raw) honey didn’t raise their blood sugar at all (while obviously it does for many).
If you have any type of health issue, the type of sweetener you want to use (if any), should be individually addressed. Fructose is processed by the liver, so that means if you eat a lot of fructose (corn syrup, agave syrup), your liver is going to have to work a lot. If you have liver issues, even avoiding some fruit may be the best choice for you. If it’s true that sucrose is processed through your kidney’s and you have issues with it, then don’t give it more work to do by sending it a lot of high in sucrose sweeteners.
Question Number Three:
” You have desserts on your site, but you are supposed to have “nourishing” recipes. What’s up?”
I often don’t eat desserts of any type including fruits because of some issues I’ve had. However, that doesn’t mean that I think that everyone should be completely sugar free. But it also doesn’t mean that I think that everyone should be eating dessert every night either. I will share more on this later in a “Lessons from History” post, but our consumption of sweet foods have increased dramatically over the year. Sweets are no longer a treat, they are the norm. That’s a huge problem.
However, I think that for a healthy, robust person, having moderate use of sweet foods, like fruit and unrefined sweeteners is just fine. That’s just my opinion (and for Nourishing Tradition lovers, it’s shared by Sally Fallon as well), and this is my site and that’s why I include some desserts here. I don’t think that eating nourishing food dictates you to a completely unsweet life if you are a healthy person, just a moderately sweet life.
Question Number Four
“What do you think about Xylitol? “
I think first, that it’s a refined product. That makes me a little nervous from the get go. Also, because your body doesn’t really process it, it can cause digestive discomfort. However, it does seem that many studies show that it helps fight against cavities and can even heal small cavities. No small feat.
It still makes me nervous though. There are usually side effects to refined foods and too many “healthy” sugars have been promoted for being health promoting, only to be debunked later. I would say if you have teeth issues, consider xylitol like a drug that may help, but could potentially have side effects. To read both sides of the issue, check out the list of studies here on the pro’s and then check out the con’s here.
Finally, if your interest in xylitol are rooted in teeth issues, consider reading Cure Tooth Decay (you will find it in the “con’s” link.) It may be helpful to you.
____________________________________________________________
Well, that about wraps it up for today. In closing, I think we are all looking for the “perfect” sugar that we can indulge in all the time and not face any consequences. Any food taken in excess is bad for us, and that certainly applies towards sweeteners. My ending piece of advice is moderation. I don’t think we should feel guilty for using it in moderation, but neither do I think we should use large amounts of it. In everything, moderation.
I hope that clears up some of your questions! I would love to hear your stories too. Have you had to completely stop using sugar? Are you currently addicted to sweets? How has the transition been to using more natural choices?
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Hi Kimi, just stopping by and saw your post and wanted to say I totally agree with your approach. I too have cut sugar out of my diet when problems arise and have noticed it helps me heal, especially in an inflamitory issue. But also I can eat moderate sweets when I’m feeling good and working hard without problems so it is all about balance. If you go in the extreme of no sugar it might help you but if you end up bingeing on the stuff your not really getting anywhere. Also stress is the biggest detriment to health in my opinion and if your diet is causing you stress wether it be from worrying about sugar or fat or whatever then you won’t get results anyway. So be balanced and happy and eat lots of healthy food, thats my advice for you n_n
I think for me that when sweets are around, I’m more likely to consume them. I wish I could say that I would be fine not having dessert for a year. This is a daily issue for me with me candy-dish coworkers.
But at home, we just don’t keep the stuff around or else I don’t make it very often. I have found some lovely coconut sugar which works quite well & will use stevia, honey and rapadura when I need to use sugar.
I recently had a food sensitivity test done through ALCAT. I found out I have a severe reaction to candida albicans, so I have to avoid all forms of cane sugar, beet sugar, maple sugar, and fructose. I also found out I have a severe reaction to honey and dates. So– although I wasn’t specifically tested for stevia, I use that on occasion. I also use dried fruits to sweeten things, just as the raw fooders often do with dates. Dried figs work well, as do raisins, dried apricots, and dried pineapple. Soaking the dried fruit in water overnight helps if you want to blend it in a smoothie. It also seems like if you avoid sweets for a while, just a little bit of sweetening is enough to satisfy.
I just got my alcat test results and my test results show severe reaction to candida albicans (and therefore avoid all forms of sugar you have mentioned above). The results also says I am severely intolerant to brewers yeast and moderately intolerant to honey and dates. Does it mean that I have an yeast infection or that I am allergic to yeast. I am not sure if they are different or the same. I need to now figure out what kind of sweet treats I can enjoy.
Can too much stevia cause diarrhea? I’ve been drinking lots of stevia sweetened lemonade, and my brother mentioned that too much stevia could cause that problem…
Not sure about the stevia causing diarrhea, but the lemonade could be causing it if you’re drinking a lot of it.
I agree with you that sweetened food can be part of a healthy diet. I, for one, like the fact that you post dessert recipes because I like seeing how a dish can be made more nourishing by using natural sweeteners and whole foods rather than white flour/white sugar desserts that I am used to. I do have a sugar addiction and twice have gone a full year with no sugar in my diet. I read labels and if sugar in any form was listed in ingredients 1-4, it was out. It is amazing how wonderful I feel when I am not gorging myself on sugar! After about a year, I do miss it and find I can eat it better in moderation. I also do much better if I use honey, maple syrup, fruit, agave syrup, or other “natural” sugar rather than white sugar. I don’t crave those foods more and more as I do foods made with white sugar.
I originally stumbled on this blog while researching “healthy” sweeteners (and have become an avid reader). I developed severe cystic acne about 2.5 years ago and found that they only thing that really helped cure it was to eliminate sugar from my diet and take lots of probiotic supplements (after reading some recent posts, i’m now interested in making the fermented salsa to see if that helps my digestion and acne). Currently, I’m experimenting with stevia, fruit juice concentrate, and agave nectar. I have found that after not having much sweeteners, agave sweetened desserts seem much too sweet and give me headaches and overall feelings that my body does not respond well. Does anyone else have problems or reactions when eating agave nectar?
I am so interested in finding healthier ways to incorporate sweets into the diet – thanks for this great post Kimi and for everyone’s feedback!!
I find that if I don’t eat wheat I don’t get acne. Maybe a wheat free diet would help you too. Of course, I can’t convince my teenagers that not eating wheat will get rid of the acne, so they still have it. Mom is just crazy. LOL
Interesting post.
I had bookmarked an entry on immune boosters for swine flu from April however, it’s no longer available. I guess you removed it? I’m looking for that information so do you have a suggestion for where it could be found?
Alright I have a question that I have been wondering for sometime. In fact I actually looked up on your website to check it out, but still need more info. What is the difference between Sucanat and Rapadura? Fallon says that sucanat is in the same as any other refined sugar. However, a trusted friend told me that is is freeze-dried (i think) and rapadura i evaporated (right) and so retains slightly more nutrients! So i am at a loss, should we or should we not use sucanat? Hope you can help me.
Betsy,
Do you know about “miracle fruit”? It’s a tropical plant with berry-sized fruits that, once consumed, temporarily tricks your tastebuds into interpereting sour things as sweet. Lemons can be eaten straight and taste like candy–it’s that potent. The effect wears off anywhere from half and hour to an hour afterwards.
The individual fruits tend to be on the expensive side, but I’ve read they do well as a houseplant and provide well more than you’d need.
Anyway just thought I’d let you know in case it was helpful. 🙂
Kimi, I both appreciate and share your balanced view on sweeteners. Though we try to keep it moderate, we also feel that enjoying some sweet treats, particularly those made with more natural sweeteners and other whole foods ingredients, is perfectly acceptable. We also have short seasons where we cut out sugars or sweet treats entirely, and then others when we allow ourselves to indulge a little bit more. It’s all about balance to me, and making sure that the great majority of the foods that we eat are those that are most nourishing for us.
And for the record… keep posting the dessert recipes! 🙂 It’s so hard to find healthier sweet recipes with the types of ingredients that I enjoy using, so I really value the recipes that you put out!
To those readers who cling too tightly to that ‘nourishing’ adjective: I do a lot of healthy food prep for my fam, & I can tell you from harsh personal experience that my own zealousness for health, & my subsequent willingness to make a meal of nothing but a chunk of plain manna bread, is in no way contagious to my son & husband, no matter how much time we spend jammed together by the fireplace during the long Seattle winters. I am forced to come up with any number of recipes that are sweet enough to please the pack. I do this because if I’m making the stuff, at least I can eliminate weird chemicals, I can cut back the sugar, I can slip in fiber, I can use organic stuff. If I tried to pull a hard line, my family would feel deprived & put upon, & they’d still eat sweets anyway, only it would be any random thing from the store. For my son, I have a recipe I call healthy cookies. I started from a choc chip cookie recipe, then added various ground fibers, flax, subbed honey for some sugar, couple other tweaks, & I ended up with something that is sweet enough for him to feel like he’s getting a treat, & yet I can eat one on the run & get actual decent energy, instead of getting all jacked up on sugar. People love desserts. And making them yourself gives you at least some way to contain the damage.
Susan, what an excellent comment! You’ve eloquently expressed the balance I intend to have with my own family someday.
Hi there!! I dont know if you still respond to questions but i have one, i have started to use dehydrated cane juice and honey in my cookie recipies instead of white sugar. I have noticed that the cookies are very dry and puffy. have you ever found that?? I dont bake cookies alot but when i do i want them to be somewhat healthy and yummy! thanks so much!!
Kimi,
I realize this is a really old post but as I was searching through your old posts for more information on high fructose corn syrup I came across this post. I’ve been chewing Spry gum which is made with Xylitol. Just out of curiosity, do you have an alternative gum suggestion that is not made with Xylitol? Or do you just avoid chewing gum altogether?
I appreciate any brief thoughts you have for me if you have time.
Thanks,
Jen
Can using Stevia raise your blood sugar? I also have had a problem with Diarreah and was wondering if it was using Stevia. I have taken up drinking Tea at work with Stevia. Something I’ve never done before. My sugar levels shot up. Any help would be appreciated.
I would really appreciate your help. I have a horrible sweet tooth, and I would love to not be controlled by my cravings for sugar. Over the past 2 yrs I have lost 50lbs (gained after an accident) with the help of WW, Yoga, and exercise, but I really don’t track, and have just eaten a lot of fruit, which is free at WW now. However, my sugar cravings are still horrible, and I think that I could lose wt faster if they didn’t get in my way all the time. Thanks so much in advance for your help.