Natural sugars are all the hype these days. And “hype” often rhymes with “misinformation” and “misunderstanding”
Are “Natural Sugars” Any Better?
It is true that natural sugars like honey, agave syrup or coconut sugar contain more nutrients than pure white sugar. However, the amount of nutrients in all sugars – natural or refined – is often negligible. That being said, refined sugars are often accompanied by other problems:
- GMOs – in corn and sugar beets
- Contaminants – HFCS contains mercury
- Higher glycemic index – which means they are potentially more fattening
- Often hidden in food products – making portion control very hard
The bottom line: natural sugars are a better choice than refined sugars because of what they do NOT contain – not because of their “magic” nutrients. Also, never forget that natural sugar is still sugar. Consuming too much will make you fat and sick. Period.
The “Healthy” Sugars Faceoff
Honey
Contains vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes and is shown to kill off bad bacteria. Several studies show it’s less fattening and less inflammatory than pure sugar. That being said, the composition of honey depends a lot on its origins, i.e. where the bees gather pollen.
Honey may be a good choice – but a recent study by Food Safety News has found that 75% or more of all the honey in the U.S. may be fake, because it doesn’t contain any pollen. This lack of pollen in honey strongly indicates it may have been ultra-filtered – a process that removes all the nutrients and make it impossible to trace its origins.
This has been confirmed when 15 people in 6 countries have been busted for “washing” cheap illegal Chinese honey – known to contain the banned antibiotic chloramphenicol and heavy metals.
Recommendations:
- To make sure your honey is the real thing, try to buy a brand that’s made locally
- Always choose unpasteurized (raw) honey
- Stick with dark honey, which shows more illness-fighting benefits and more antioxidants
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| * Includes pasteurized honey and honey from unknown origins |
Agave Nectar
Very popular in the health-conscious crowd – this sweetener can now be found virtually everywhere. The confusion about its safety is complete. Just type “is agave nectar healthy?” in Google and you’re in for a terrible misinformation fiesta… both on the pro-agave and the against-agave sides. Some health bloggers even go as far as saying that agave nectar is “worse than high-fructose corn syrup”. While this does make a good sensationalist headline, the science behind this idea is shaky. Here’s the unbiased truth. Like this is the case with honey – not all agave nectars are created equal. The chart on the next page will (hopefully) burry the debate forever.
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| Click on image for larger version |
Clearly, agave nectar extracted the right way and refined agave nectar have nothing in common. Some people will argue that agave nectar that has been extracted with enzymes is refined and unhealthy – but say nothing about the fact that a lot of sweeteners they consider “natural” and “unrefined” have all been processed in some way.
- Maple syrup is extracted by hours of boiling maple water
- Bees mix flowers nectar with enzymes to create honey
- Blackstrap molasses is a by-product of boiling cane juice
However, we can say agave nectar is worse than high fructose corn syrup when it comes to the total fructose content. So even if you do find a manufacturer that makes your health a priority… never consume agave nectar with reckless abandon.
Recommendations:
- Stick with organic agave nectar that has been processed
- at low temperatures, without the use of chemicals
- If you can, try to find a brand of agave nectar that contains 55% fructose or less
- Gave nectar is very high in fructose, and a single tbsp. contains as much fructose as 2 bananas. Consuming too much is a first class ticket to fat gain and a lot of problems
- All colors of agave can be produced at low temperatures because filtration has a major influence on color
- That being said, darker agave nectar contains more minerals
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| * Depending on the source and processing method used. |
Molasses
Molasses is the by-product or “waste” from processing sugar cane or beet into table sugar. This thick and dark syrup packs more iron than red meat and high quantities of other essential minerals like calcium,
magnesium and potassium.
Recommendations:
- Stick with molasses made from sugar cane. You’ll avoid
- GMOs from sugar beets
- If you’re sensitive to sulfites, avoid sulphured molasses.
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| * Varies depending on the grade. |
Date sugar
Made from dehydrated and ground dates. Can be found in syrup form too.
Recommendations:
- Stick with organic date sugar that’s usually made without
- sulfites and other preservatives
Brown Rice Syrup
Brown rice syrup contains very little to no fructose – which can make it seem like a good sweetener choice. However, recent studies have found that like commerciallygrown rice, even organic brown rice syrup contains very high levels of arsenic – linked to increased risks of cancer.
Recommendations:
- Avoid it unless you can find a manufacturer that guarantees low arsenic levels
Maple Syrup
This syrup is an antioxidant powerhouse that’s known to settle digestion issues and help muscle recovery. Some bloggers still try to scare people about maple syrup – arguing that producers use dangerous paraformaldehyde pellets in trees to increase production and boil the syrup in lead buckets. This is a severe case of misinformation. Turns out the use of paraformaldehyde pullets has been banned since 1991 in the US and since 1993 in Canada. Also, the syrup actually never comes in contact with lead when manufacturers use the latest equipment.
Recommendations:
- Most “maple” syrups are made with HFCS or other cheap sugars.
- 100% pure maple syrup
- Pure birch syrup might be a good choice too, but it contains 42-54% fructose, so use it in moderation
Coconut Sugar
Coconut sugar (also called coco sugar and palm sugar) is very low on the glycemic index – while being high in vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It can be found in liquid form too (coconut nectar). All the above characteristics may make it seem like a great choice. However, there’s a big problem with coconut sugar that no one talks about… sustainability. Turns out you can’t use a coconut tree to produce both coconut products (oil, milk, etc.) and coconut sugar. Also, trees that are used for sugar production actually stop producing coconuts. And because of the hype around coconut sugar that causes increasing demand, coconut growers are starting to switch their production to the very lucrative sugar. To me, producing sugar instead of the incredibly-healthy coconut oil is NOT smart.
Recommendations:
- If you care about sustainability at all… avoid it and stick with other natural sugars
Summary
- Natural sugars are generally less fattening than refined sugars.
- That being said, natural sugar is still sugar. Consuming too much will lead to fat gain and a vast array of health problems.
- A lot of natural sugars (like honey and agave nectar) are refined and basically no different than white sugar. Follow the above recommendations to make sure you’re buying the right thing.
