Consumers today swim in a sea of sweeteners and highly sweetened products of both natural and synthetic origins.
Humans naturally crave sweet things, because the brain runs on glucose. Everything we eat can eventually be converted to sugar, even protein, but that conversion is difficult. Sweets were rare for most of history, making us hard-wired for an instinctive desire for sweetness. However, today's industrial foods bludgeon our taste buds with abundant processed sugar.
Sweeteners fall into two categories, natural and artificial. The natural sweeteners clearly beat the synthetics in supporting health. Synthetic sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, or acesulfame K, act as neurotoxins, contributing to ADD, ADHD, and weight gain due to metabolic damage.
What to Look for
The best sweeteners will elicit little or no insulin response, like stevia, an herb that has tremendous sweetness but no calories and no insulin response. Measuring a sweetener's "glycemic index," or GI, indicates the relative amount of insulin released when consumed. The plant used to make tequila, agave, registers very low on the GI scale. Rich in enzymes and vitamins, raw honey is another low GI sweetener.
Table sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup cause a large insulin release, and therefore a high GI. These sweeteners, commonly found in almost all processed foods, have been linked with diabetes and obesity even in moderate consumption.
Sugar alcohols like maltitol and xylitol are promoted as preventing tooth decay and a solution for weight loss. While they available from natural sources like malt and birch trees, sugar alcohols are often synthetically produced. Sugar alcohols show up high on the glycemic index because they are difficult to digest. They also cause gas and bloating in many people.
Stevia is one of the best options, but using too much may leave a bitter aftertaste. To avoid the aftertaste, use a pure liquid stevia extract and begin with a single drop, adding small increments to get the right sweetness.
Luo han or luo han guo comes from Chinese herbology, and like stevia, has no calories and no insulin response. Luo han tastes less sweet than stevia, but has medicinal value, traditionally treating diabetes and sore throat.
Many consumer products made with stevia or luo han are indistinguishable in taste from those made with harmful artificial sweeteners.
Common Pitfalls
Many sugar addicts use a natural alternative like stevia or luo han only to find that the sweet taste of the herb fuels their desire for sweets. A healthy diet must be low in insulin-releasing substances, and it's easier to manage this feat in our carbohydrate-rich foodscape if you reduce your sugar cravings. By learning to re-map your taste buds and balance your biochemistry, eliminating the source of unnaturally strong sugar cravings, you?ll enhance your well being for decades to come, cutting risk for many diseases. No sweetener can help you do this, but you can do it by learning to enjoy the natural, unsweetened taste of whole foods.
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