Added sugar is probably one of the most problematic ingredients in the modern diet and has been linked to serious diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Fortunately, you can add sweetness to your foods with healthy alternatives to sugar. Natural sweeteners are not only less harmful than refined sugar, but also have health benefits.
Why is eating too much sugar bad for you?
Most people aren’t aware of how much sugar is in their foods, and may unwittingly be increasing their risk of:
- Weight gain
- Acne
- Heart disease
- Type II diabetes
- Fatty liver
- Cancer
- Risk of depression
- Cellular aging and inflammation
- Dental problems
6 best alternatives to sugar
1 – Coconut Sugar
Coconut sugar does not require much processing or refining. Because of this fact it is quite nutritional in nature. Besides being sweet it is also a source of iron, zinc, calcium, and potassium.
The glycemic index of coconut sugar is 35 however the glycemic index of table sugar is 65. More the GI more will be the spike caused at blood sugar level.
Coconut sugar does not have any side effects. People who add sugar in the milk can substitute table sugar with coconut sugar. Coconut sugar can also be used to make smoothie, curd, oatmeal, cake or cookies.
In India, you can easily get it online within the price range of Rs 150 to 170 for 250 grams.
2 – Dates Sugar
As you can figure out from the name that dates sugar is made of dates or khajoor (in Hindi). You can also make it at home and you can also easily buy it online. To make it at home you first have to grind it in the grinder. Now you can add powdered dates to the milk, kheer, halwa, or cake.
Dates sugar is enriched with Fiber, Potassium, and Minerals. Because of fiber dates sugar greatly helps in digestion and it also controls blood sugar levels. Dates are also considered good for the brain, this improves memory and aids in anxiety.
Not only does this, it also helps people suffering from cholesterol problems. It also strengthens our bones. This also helps people who feel tired and who suffer from anemia. This is anti-aging and keeps the skin smooth.
Due to so many nutrients in dates, it is considered the best alternative to sugar.
You can get 250 grams of Dates sugar somewhere between 200 to 250 Rs from online markets.
3- Jaggery
Jaggery is made by boiling sugar cane juice for hours and then pouring it in the molds. Since jaggery is made in a natural way without using any chemical or preservative. Hence its vitamins and minerals are preserved. On the contrary sugar manufacturing requires many chemical agents and that’s the reason sugar has empty calories.
Jaggery should be taken in winters and it can replace all those food items where sugar is used.
Jaggery is good for digestion and helps digestion of the food. This is the reason that from old times, people in India take small bites of jaggery after their meal.
Jaggery flushes toxins from our bodies and purifies the blood. It also helps people who suffer from constipation. It relieves joint pain and is beneficial during colds and coughs. Jaggery also improves our immunity system.
How To Identify Pure Jaggery
To identify pure jaggery is easy. It’s dark brown in color. Yellow colour jaggery may have chemicals hence while buying it make sure it’s dark brown in color. Apart from this if it tastes a little salty then don’t buy it.
One more way to check its purity is that pure jaggery is hard.
4- Raw Honey
Honey has been known for its sweetness for a long time. 90% of People who have tried weight loss must have used it. But most of the people do not know which honey they should buy for best results.
While buying money make sure it’s raw honey. Yes, raw honey and not regular honey. Raw honey is directly packed after straining it through a fine filter. This means it does not go through any kind of chemical processing. Raw honey is absolutely pure and full of nutrients.
On other hand many types of normal honey available in the market goes thru chemical processing like pasteurization, filtration, and heat treatment. This is done to improve its shelf life and also to make it smoother. Basically to make it more appealing to the customer it goes through processing. Because of this, it loses many of its nutrients.
Not only this, regular honey can also have hidden sugar or sweeteners. Hence while buying honey just make sure to buy raw honey.
You can also do some basic testing to check the purity of the honey.
If you dissolve pure honey in a glass of water, it will settle down at the bottom. However impure honey will dissolve in the water.
Also with time, pure honey takes the shape of crystals. However impure honey will remain the same throughout and there will be no changes with the time.
Pure honey is light yellow in color and it is not transparent.
Also, remember that raw honey and organic honey are not the same. So while buying the bottle just make sure it’s written Raw honey on it.
Honey has amino acids and antioxidants. Because of this, it’s good for the heart. It also helps to lower down the blood pressure and is also good for cholesterol. Honey is good for weight loss and helps children in coughs and colds.
You can use honey in Green Tea, Tea, Smoothie oatmeal, etc.
5- Stevia
Stevia leaves can be used in place of sugar. The Glycemic index of stevia is zero. That means diabetic patients can use stevia in tea or coffee by replacing sugar.
It has zero calories hence people looking for weight loss can easily use this as a replacement for sugar.
Stevia can be easily used in Tea, coffee, lemonade, smoothie, or curd.
6 – Rock Sugar (Mishri)
Rock sugar is also prepared using sugar cane juice. But the way many chemicals are used to make sugar, rock sugar or Mishri is given white colour using milk and water.
Ayurveda doctors suggest taking some medicines with rock sugar. Because of its purity rock sugar is also offered as a prasad in Indian tradition.
You will have two types of rock sugar in the market. One which comes in the form of big crystals. This is also served with fennel seeds in many north Indian restaurants after the dinner. The second one comes with a thread in it. We don’t see much-threaded rock sugar in big Indian cities these days.
Rock sugar in the form of crystals is a more significant form of sugar hence you should not buy this. However, the one with thread is real rock sugar.
Rock sugar is good for digestion, it gives energy and improves hemoglobin levels. You can simply replace table sugar with rock sugar in all the dishes.
In India, you can easily get it from a local grocery shop at a slightly higher price than sugar.
You can pick natural sweeteners as per your taste and requirement. Once you start replacing sugar with above-natural sweeteners, gradually you will start feeling the positive difference along with more energy level.
However, make sure you use these sweeteners in moderate quantities instead of going overboard. I hope this article will help you to make wise decisions in picking natural sweeteners in place of table sugar.