Best Natural Sweetners, Stevia and more sugar substitues

Losing a few pounds in a month without sacrificing any taste sound good? It can be done.

These all natural sweeteners taste amazing and they have hardly any sugar at all. Sugar is tasty but it quickly gets turned into fat if we are not extremely active. As peoples cravings for sweet things can quickly sabotage anyone’s diet it is best if we have low glycemic options around.

The glycemic count of any food is how quickly it gets absorbed into the blood stream. High Glycemic foods get absorbed very fast into the blood stream.  Diabetics, people with hypoglycemia, or anyone who is concerned with maintaining an even blood-sugar level must take great care to consume only low glycemic foods.

The faster sugar gets into your blood, the faster it will get converted to fat. The below sweeteners are low glycemic meaning they have very little or no sugar and go into your blood very slowly and thus you’ll keep the weight off and drop more pounds. Even better these sweeteners taste better than sugar. Wow, that was easy.

This is my list of the best sweeteners around.

1. Yacon Syrup:  My new favorite sweetener, fresh pressed from the Yacon root (Smallanthus sonchifolius), this syrup is a gift from nature that has been enjoyed for centuries in the Andean highlands of Peru. IT is low calorie and has a very low glycemic count.  It goes great in coffee, tea, on pancakes and in almost anything. Just try it.
2. Stevia: is 250 times sweeter than sugar!!! So use sparingly. It’s Taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar. With its extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Medical research has also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.
3. Raw Organic Honey: Honey is special food. Bee keepers in general have the longest lifespans around, it’s no wonder with all the honey they eat. The Spartans thought it was food fit for warriors and warriors only, thus they gave it to their strongest. Any honey will do, just make sure it is raw and organic. Honey does have the highest calories and glycemic count of any sweetener on this list but it  will always have a place in my daily life.
4. Agave Nectar: Amber Agave Syrup has their soul of molasses and maple syrup, with none of their dark overtones. The light vanilla flavor of this agave shines through clearly. For a richer flavor, combine Amber Agave with Yacon Syrup. Experiment with this sweetener, it might become your new favorite.
5. Dates:  The prophet Mohammad was said to have eaten three dates every morning for his health. Even better is how sweet they are. When you want to sweeten a smoothie 5 dates will do the job. Any kind of dates are good. Those with blood sugar issues beware, dates have alot of sugar and they go into your blood stream quickly.

I am going to have my morning smoothie now. I will either sweeten it with Agave Nectar, Raw Honey or Dates, at least until my Yacon Syrup arrives.

Tagged as: low glycemic, stevia, sugar substitute, sugar substitutes, sweetener, yacon