Sugar vs Honey vs Stevia vs Agave vs Brown

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thoughtspresso
thoughtspresso Posts: 14
in Food and Nutrition
I grew up with a diabetic father. And an aunt. Or two. Plus maybe the occasional uncle or cousin. So since diabetes runs in the family, I've tried to cut down on refined white sugar, at least. I don't use Equal or Splenda, partly because of the taste, and partly because of all the talk about aspartame and whatever.

I try to use honey when I need to sweeten things. I know that it has more or less the same calories as refined white sugar, but other than the minerals and what have you, it helps as a good way to avoid store-bought sweets and pastries.

Anyone have any good knowledge about alternative/natural sugars? I've tried reading up, but I don't know which ones to believe.

Replies

  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
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    I know that raw (unpasteurized) honey is amazing for you. It's considered a superfood. Pasteurized honey, however, is basically just sugar. Heat kills all the awesomeness.

    Refined white sugar is bad because it's processed. Brown sugar is just white sugar with added molasses, so if you're avoiding white sugar, avoid that too. Turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw) is a more natural form of unrefined sugar, but I don't know too much about the health benefits of it.
  • jayjay12345654321
    jayjay12345654321 Posts: 653 Member
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    i'm a raw organic honey person, too. it's opaque and so dense i use a butter knife to get it out of the jar. i don't add it to foods though. i eat a teaspoon right off the knife. my left eye "leaks" from allergies. it's been doing it for 2 years. when i eat a teaspoon of raw honey each day, it stops. it doesn't taste like pasteurized honey. it's sweeter, somehow. i don't cook my food, but i hear it has a low melting point if you wanted to add a dollop to your coffee.
  • MissBabyJane
    MissBabyJane Posts: 538 Member
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    Honey. It's natural and way more healthier than other substitutes.
  • Jupitter
    Jupitter Posts: 16
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    I use organic agave, just because most times its untampered with. You use less than honey for the same impact so you end up consuming less of it. Besides its a little less expensive and its more reliable. Too often so called "Natural Honey" really isnt. Besides I love the taste.:wink:
  • sbarella
    sbarella Posts: 713 Member
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    Well, I don't want to be the bad guy, but honey is sweet because it has sugar in it.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,709 Member
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    Regardless of what you choose, ALL sugars are broken down the same way by the body. Sugar DOESN'T cause diabetes. Diabetes is more genetic and lifestyle driven. If you're concerned about sugar, just eat less of it or consider artificial sweeteners.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,641 Member
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    in the grand scheme of things, considering how nutrient poor vs. other foods all of these are, there's really not a significant difference. I would lean towards stevia and using the calories saved to eat some other nutritious foods.
  • thoughtspresso
    thoughtspresso Posts: 14
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    I eat raw organic honey too. Or I think I do. The brand is Palawan Honey Queen. Hoping anyone knows about it. It's what I use for my coffee.

    About using stevia/other artificial or low-cal sweeteners: I don't have to save up on calories for healthier things, because honestly, I'm on a calorie deficit. My abandoning of refined sugar has led me to not eating most baked desserts and unhealthy, processed foods like instant granulated juices, donuts, cake, etc. Most of my daily sugar intake comes from fruit and honey. I'm also not very keen on using artificial sweeteners because they're empty calories and have side effects? Like, the daily allowable intake of stevia for the body is about 4mg, but one sachet or one diet soda that uses Stevia would have 17mg. Allowable sucralose (Splenda) is about 5mg, but every sachet/soda using Splenda has 68mg. And for Aspartame (Equal and Nutrasweet) you can have 50mg a day, but every diet soda has about 187mg. So I get if you're diabetic that you'd need to use these so that your blood sugar won't spike. But I avoid them because I need my non-empty calories, and I know that healthy sugars are important for any nutrition plan.

    Read up on this, and maybe let's discuss if this is reliable info or not: http://medicalobserverph.com/sweet-nothings-part-1-do-artificial-sweeteners-promote-weight-loss/

    On Agave: I heard the common agave nectar is bad for you. (???) Because traditionally, Miel de Agave was made with the agave plant's tops, boiled for syrup. But the agave nectar we have now is made from the agave bulb, which is the starchy part of the plant, and then processed the same way as High Fructose Corn Syrup.

    On how Honey has Sugar: Yes I know. I'm not diabetic just yet, and I'm not on some crazy low-cal, no-sugar, no-carb diet. What's important to me is that I'm eating the healthy kind of sugars. And that's what this thread is for.
  • AmplifiedHeart
    AmplifiedHeart Posts: 8
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    I would stick with raw local honey or stevia. Stevia isn't an artificial sweetener like most people believe, It's actually a plant that you can buy or grow yourself. Many of the store bought stevia powders and drops do contain other questionable ingredients though. Have you heard of brown rice syrup? Some people swear by it, although I don't consume grains. I would really recommend you read this http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-definitive-guide-to-sugar/#axzz2rr8ArE1N
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Using honey to replace white sugar doesn't really pass a logic test, unfortunately. White sugar (sucrose) is a molecule that can be split into glucose and fructose by enzymes or acid conditions like in the stomach. Honey contains glucose and fructose and a bit of sucrose and some other sugars.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    Regardless of what you choose, ALL sugars are broken down the same way by the body. Sugar DOESN'T cause diabetes. Diabetes is more genetic and lifestyle driven. If you're concerned about sugar, just eat less of it or consider artificial sweeteners.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Yep, it's all the same in the end. Honey is really expensive, compared to other sweeteners, so I never buy it.
  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
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    raw honey seems to be pretty good. It's has a much lower glycemic index than white refined sugar. Tastes great in tea :)
  • helen8328
    helen8328 Posts: 36 Member
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    I always try to use raw unprocessed sweeteners that still have all their vitamins and minerals intact such as raw honey, pure maple syrup and dried raw stevia. I use the stevia for cooking or smoothies and the honey or maple syrup to sweeten drinks. Stevia doesn't affect your blood sugar levels so I don't limit the amount of that but for the other 2 I make sure I don't have too much as they are high in sugar which not only makes you store fat around your stomach, but can make you more likely to crave bad foods after they've made your blood sugars spike and fall again.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,021 Member
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    raw honey seems to be pretty good. It's has a much lower glycemic index than white refined sugar. Tastes great in tea :)
    The reason for the lower GI is the fructose content which is higher than table sugar.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    For Pete's sake people. Raw honey is just sugar too with about 15% water content depending on the source and trace/negligible amino acids. It's not magic, it's sugar with varying ratios of glucose and fructose depending on what the bees were collecting.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,951 Member
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    Regardless of what you choose, ALL sugars are broken down the same way by the body. Sugar DOESN'T cause diabetes. Diabetes is more genetic and lifestyle driven. If you're concerned about sugar, just eat less of it or consider artificial sweeteners.

    ^^This...
    If you are concerned about diabetes the best thing you can do is maintain a healthy bodyweight. I am pretty sure sugar is only a concern once you have diabetes.
  • thoughtspresso
    thoughtspresso Posts: 14
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    Fred: Now that's a really helpful response, thanks!
  • newlife888
    newlife888 Posts: 83 Member
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    Raw local honey is supposed to help with allergies. It seems to make a positive difference with seasonal allergies for both my husband and me. When I am baking sometimes I will use usda organic sugar, but usually I stick to raw local honey. Expensive but worth it, especially in homemade honey oat breads and in teas. Yum!

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