Different Types Of Sweeteners
Sugar/sweeteners are such a burden in my life while I am responsible for feeding my precious little humans. It seems like it’s in EVERYTHING. I am always scrutinising food labels and usually its a nope, put it back on the shelf. Not always though. I really am no perfect mother and I do give into convenience at times, but I always try and keep them healthy.
This is the main reason I like to bake my own healthier versions of cakes and treats as it is a bit unrealistic to never give my children treats. So how do we do it? Refined sugar is the obvious unhealthy ingredient, so finding a substitute for that is the first step. Let’s talk about the alternatives and how beneficial they actually are.
Honey
Honey is definitely my go to alternative to sweeten my bakes. When we think of honey replacing refined sugar, it seems obvious that it would be better, but i’ve been wondering is it as good and natural as it sounds?
What is honey?
Honey is a sweet edible liquid made by bees with their mouth by collecting the nectar in flowers. Bees store honey in wax structure called a honeycomb.
Nutritional content
Honey is made up of 40% fructose which is natural sugar also found in fruit. Fructose is also known as fruit sugar. The percentage of fructose found in honey can vary. It also consists of 30% glucose which is bonded with the fructose to make sucrose. Honey also provides minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron. Honey is still high in sugar even though it is natural and it still affects your blood glucose levels, however just to know that it provides some nutritional value is good to know.
Purity Spectrum
I often use Rowse honey and according to their website it is 100% pure and natural which is music to my ears. Although it is claimed to be natural, it is likely to go through a process that could reduce the nutritional value of the honey. Some honey is heated, clarified, filtered or pasteurised.
A very raw honey can offer many health benefits and has been used for medicinal purposes through out history. An easy indicator of how pure it is, is how dark the honey is. Dark varieties retaining their nutritional content can offer anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
Honey does not raise your blood sugar levels as much as refined sugar. It does however have a higher calorie count. It is safe to say though – health wise, it is a better alternative to refined white sugar.
Maple Syrup
I was actually quite surprised when I first heard that maple syrup wasn’t all bad. It is notorious for accompanying pancakes and bacon so I assumed I should stay well clear of it, but in fact it is one of the most nutrient dense sweeteners out there, depending on the purity, processing and quality of course.