Lately I've been wondering about the healthiest sweeteners. It seems like there are a lot of options nowadays--stevia, honey, agave nectar, probably some I've never heard of--and I don't know much about what is good for you, besides that good ol' Dominos isn't the best option. I know that many artificial sweeteners can be carcinogens and I try to avoid them in general because of IBS as well.
| The best raw honey still has pollen in it. |
The first is, that one of the best things you can do for your health is to reduce your consumption of sugar. One of the reasons that drinking less soda is so important--even if it's diet--is because the taste of sweet things makes us crave more sweet things. You probably know this from your own habits. If your breakfast is sweet, you're more likely to eat additional sugar throughout the day. Additionally, many sugar cravings come from not eating enough healthy fat. If you are trying to eat less sweets, try putting more healthy fats into your diet and see if that helps to curb the cravings.
Don't get me wrong--we all eat treats. But making it your goal to only eat them occasionally (as in not even once a day) will vastly improve your health and support your weight loss goals if you have them.
Secondly, if you do want to have sweet things, there are some healthier choices that you can make. You want to steer your choices toward the least processed sugars available. So, if you are baking, better to use raw honey, maple syrup, or molasses than white sugar. If you must use sugar, go for small amounts of the least processed one you can fine. I use wholesome sweeteners or sugar in the raw if I must, but even then will often reduce the sugar in a recipe by half and it's still plenty sweet. There are also several kinds of less processed sugars that I haven't tried yet--coconut sugar, date sugar. I haven't researched them that much because I just assume they'll be expensive, and if I can focus my energy instead on reducing the overall sugar content on the foods I prepare, it's a win-win.
Cinnamon and healthy fats slow down the blood sugar spike, and help prevent your metabolism from going crazy when you eat sweets. For example, a home made creme brulle is a much better choice than a package of candy. Other great dessert choices are stewed apples with cinnamon and cream or dark chocolate (the higher the % cocoa content, the less sugar). Stay clear of sweets that have been made in a factory. Again, remember that dessert is a treat, not to be eaten every day.
Ground whole leaf stevia, which is green in color and not white, is an excellent choice for sweetening. It is much sweeter than sugar and should be used sparingly, but no adverse effects have been found with it. That being said, I'm a believer in moderation for everything. You can buy green stevia at Mountain Rose Herbs.
Agave nectar is a highly processed sweetener that is all fructose, and unfortunately is not a better choice than sugar. (I know, they had me fooled for a while, too.)
Oh dear. I don't have a sweet tooth. I have 32 of them.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty good about eating produce, and I can reduce my meat consumption without worrying, and with a little planning I can do whole grains instead of refined. But going without sweets is really hard for me. I've gotten better about not reflexively having dessert after dinner every night--now I brush my teeth earlier and once I do that I usually don't eat anything else before bed. I still do have a little something at least half the time, though.
And during the day. Oh boy. I'm usually pretty good about not having official sweets like candy or cookies until after 2pm (just an arbitrary time that works for me) but I do often start with jam or Nutella as part of my breakfast. I eat a lot of fruit, especially in the summer, but I also love chocolate and cookies and creamy coconut bars and occasionally ice cream and Funny Bones, which are these horrible horrible horrible chocolate peanut-butter Hostess cakes I absolutely love. (I can hear you gagging from here, Jos. :) ) And I'm good about not drinking much sugar most of the time.
Yeah, not having sweets every day? It would be progress to have them only once a day! I've gotten better about eating smaller quantities and not eating stuff I'm not actually enjoying just because it's there. Yikes. This is a tough one for me. I guess I'm realizing it's a big challenge. I don't want to give up sweets, because I love them in many ways, but it seems clear I should reduce at least.
Eating produce and reducing your consumption of industrial meat are great steps to take, but I'm not going to lie--diabetes, excessive weight, and heart disease almost all stem from diets too high in sugar.
DeleteI'm less interested in the guilt you feel by eating these things (really, the guilt doesn't serve you at all) and more in how to make changes that are sustainable. The best way to do this is to make sure you are eating enough healthy fat. I can't emphasize this enough. The body digests healthy fat easily, and is satisfied by it, and doesn't actually turn good fats into fat. And the body image/food choice is a cyclical thing...when you start eating better, you start feeling better, so you keep eating well, and then you start looking better and psychologically feeling better too.
It sounds to me like the first goal you should go for is sweets only once per day.
And, really, I'm not in any way advocating for people to stop enjoying food. (You know how much I love to cook, and how much I love a good, home made treat.)
Inspired by your response, tomorrow's post is about ways to reduce sugar consumption!