Over 16,538,401 people are on fubar.
What are you waiting for?
People have been craving sweet foods for ages intuitively this is done for the glucose that gives us energy. Looking at the labels in the supermarket you will find many hidden sugars like dextrose, fructose, corn syrup, lactase and maltose we have become a nation hooked on sweet, it’s a tough habit to beat.
Over the years people have turned away from traditional refined sugars to avoid tooth decay and the empty calories with no nutritional value that over time can develop into diabetes. Yet with all of the artificial sweeteners on the market we are still battling obesity and diabetes. These sweeteners are not natural to our bodies so we keep looking for what is lacking in the diet they trick the body into believing it’s getting its fuel but when it realizes that didn’t happen you reach for more. Artificial sweeteners trick your hormones into releasing chemicals that make you want more shutting off the signals from your brain telling you, you are full so you eat more; one study found that people who use artificial sweeteners actually ate 3 times more than those who just ate sugar.
Once upon a time honey was what people used as an alternative to sugar; its sweetness is similar to sugar with less calories you can cook with it but it is harder to dissolve in cool beverages.
The leaves of the Stevia plant are much sweeter than sugar. It helps regulate blood sugars in diabetics and it helps to reduce oral bacteria helping to prevent tooth decay. The whole plant contains many different phyto-nutrients including vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. I like the whole green leaf better; it has less of a bitter after-taste than the refi ned powder. You can make a liquid sweetener by simmering the leaves until the water becomes dark, play with the amount you need because this gets very sweet.
I also like Xylitol. It naturally comes from the birch tree or from fibrous vegetables and fruits or corn cobs. It acts as an insulin stabilizer; it alkalizes the body aiding the absorption of calcium helping to strengthen and repair your bones and enhances the formation of tooth enamel. Another thing I like about Xylitol is that it prevents bacteria growth in your mouth helping prevent plaque and tooth decay. Xylitol also helps cancer patients with dry mouth, oral thrush and yeast infections. In baking it is used just as you would sugar but with 40% fewer calories.
Other natural alternatives are Cane Sugar it cooks like sugar but it doesn’t affect your health as quickly. Molasses a by-product of Cane Sugar is high in iron, potassium and calcium; in cooking it works well in breads, cakes and cereals. Agave a plant derived nectar with about the same amount of calories as sugar but since it is sweeter you use less. It’s a great sweetener for teas, smoothies, cakes, cookies, sauces and salad dressings. Mannitol gets its sweetness from corn syrup and Palm Sugar although not as sweet as sugar cooks well with a slight caramel fl avor.
With all of these natural choices I don’t believe we should be using artificial sweeteners that pose so many health risks.
