Bella wrote:I have read so much conflicting information on sweeteners that I have to ask! What is the BEST sweetener to be using?
Honey? Agave Nectar? Stevia? Molasses? Sucrant? Brown sugar? Is there some I didn't put here??? ;o)
I have absolutely no problems with blood sugar (mine is between 60-72 always) so I'm not overly concerned with insulin raises. I like all the sweeteners so changing isn't an issue either.
What I'd like to know is what would be THE healthiest for me to be using. Simply confused on what would be the healthiest.
Hi Bella
Glad to hear your health is good.
I understand your confusion. Most of the confusion comes from the marketing and each one trying to gain a marketing advantage.
Right now, in the USA, added caloric sweetners make up over 20% of the average persons calories, which accounts for about 140 lbs per person per year. Since the mid 1800s, as a percent of calories, this has about doubled. Since 1970, as a absolute amount, on a per capita basis, it is up 19%.
This IS the main problem. Excess.
My main concern with the "caloric" sweeteners is not which specific one people choose to use but the amount. Now, based on personal preferences, philosophies (vegan), allergies, etc, which specific one you chose is up to you.
I know that Agave syrup is popular amongst vegans and often used to replace honey in recipes. It is also an effective sweetener for cold beverages such as it dissolves readily in cold liquids.
My general recommendation, which is in the talk I give at the McDougall Program is that refined calorie sweeteners should not make up more than 5% of your calories. On a 2000 calorie diet, that is 100 calories. Most of the caloric sweeteners are about 50 calories per TB (Agave is 60), so this equates to about 2 TB per day. Fruit juice concentrate is about 25 calories per TB, so it would be around 4 TB if that is your choice.
The only problem you may run into is that if you eat a lot of packaged foods, there is no known way to accurately know how much added sugars are in a product. So, the less refined caloric sweeteners you see in the ingredients and the further down the list they are, the better.
In Health
Jeff Novick, MS, RD