Health Values of Different Sugars: Update
Last December, I wrote about the health values of different sugars. I just thought I'd update that list a little and add some of the information that I've learned over the past year.
From best to worst:
Fresh (whole) fruit
Honey, maple syrup
Rapadura, stevia
Molasses
Fruit juice (freshly squeezed; not canned, concentrated, carton-ed or bottled)
"Sugar in the raw" (yes, this is a real product), Sucanat
Fruit juice (canned, concentrated, carton-ed or bottled)
Fructose
Dark brown sugar
Light brown sugar
Granulated sugar
Powdered sugar
Saccharin
Sucralose (Splenda)
Aspartame
I added Rapadura to this list because I have found that it is the least processed of natural sugars. It is basically dehydrated sugar-cane juice. I moved fructose down on my list because I have learned that fructose is similar to (and is a component of) high fructose corn syrup, which is very harmful to your body in large amounts, or over a long period of time in small amounts.
About Splenda (sucralose): Their sales slogan is "Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar". But that is very misleading. It is true that Splenda is made from sugar; however, it is chemically altered to include three chlorine molecules along with one sugar molecule. If you want to read about why consuming chlorine is not good, there are several good articles at Dr. Mercola's site.
About Aspartame (also called Nutrasweet): I have just learned that it has recently been proven to cause cancer. It used to be suspected that it did, but we didn't know for sure. Now we do.
Another sweetener I learned about this year is stevia. Stevia comes directly from a plant and is completely safe. It is a very concentrated sweetener, so you don't need to use very much. I haven't tried this yet, but I've seen it in stores. It comes in liquid and powder form. I suspect it would be good to use to sweeten your drinks, but tricky to bake with.
A closing note to the executives in charge of manufacturing Nutrasweet and Splenda: please don't sue me. I'm only an insignificant microbe. You won't get much outta me. :-)
From best to worst:
Fresh (whole) fruit
Honey, maple syrup
Rapadura, stevia
Molasses
Fruit juice (freshly squeezed; not canned, concentrated, carton-ed or bottled)
"Sugar in the raw" (yes, this is a real product), Sucanat
Fruit juice (canned, concentrated, carton-ed or bottled)
Fructose
Dark brown sugar
Light brown sugar
Granulated sugar
Powdered sugar
Saccharin
Sucralose (Splenda)
Aspartame
I added Rapadura to this list because I have found that it is the least processed of natural sugars. It is basically dehydrated sugar-cane juice. I moved fructose down on my list because I have learned that fructose is similar to (and is a component of) high fructose corn syrup, which is very harmful to your body in large amounts, or over a long period of time in small amounts.
About Splenda (sucralose): Their sales slogan is "Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar". But that is very misleading. It is true that Splenda is made from sugar; however, it is chemically altered to include three chlorine molecules along with one sugar molecule. If you want to read about why consuming chlorine is not good, there are several good articles at Dr. Mercola's site.
About Aspartame (also called Nutrasweet): I have just learned that it has recently been proven to cause cancer. It used to be suspected that it did, but we didn't know for sure. Now we do.
Another sweetener I learned about this year is stevia. Stevia comes directly from a plant and is completely safe. It is a very concentrated sweetener, so you don't need to use very much. I haven't tried this yet, but I've seen it in stores. It comes in liquid and powder form. I suspect it would be good to use to sweeten your drinks, but tricky to bake with.
A closing note to the executives in charge of manufacturing Nutrasweet and Splenda: please don't sue me. I'm only an insignificant microbe. You won't get much outta me. :-)
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