Sugar Substitutes

I've previously written a bit about sugar and it's effects on our bodies (see Sugar, Sweet Poison and Sugar, Sweet Poison II) and now I'd like to muse on the subject of sugar substitutes.

The options vary and include 'natural' sweeteners brown rice syrup, agave nectar, coconut nectar, honey, maple syrup, Medjool dates and sugar lookalikes Xylitol, Monkfruit and Stevia. Then there are the artificial sweetening products such as saccharine, sucralose (Splenda) and aspartame (Nutrisweet, Equal).

Of the 'natural' sweeteners, the only totally natural ones are dates, maple syrup and honey. Stevia and Monkfruit are both natural products, however, all the monkfruit products that I've seen contain bulking agents in the form of either maltose or dextrose. Some stevia products will also contain these ingredients to make the product appear more like sugar.

 In this post, I'll be looking at what are generally considered the more natural substitutes and will do a separate post on the sugar lookalikes and artificial sweeteners.


iquitsugar.com.au
Brown Rice Syrup
This is a highly processed product made by exposing cooked brown rice to enzymes that break down the starch to simple sugars. Then it's filtered to remove any impurities. What is left is a thick syrup which is basically glucose. It's made up of Maltotriose (52%) Maltose (45%) and Glucose (3%).
Both Maltotriose and Maltose are simply glucose, three molecules of glucose for Maltotriose and two for Maltose. So, by the time it reaches your intestine, it's 100% glucose and is rapidly taken up by the bloodstream, raising blood sugar levels. The production process means there are virtually no nutrients from the brown rice actually left in the syrup, so it has no nutritional value, despite what the Health Food industry says.

wikipedia.com

Agave "Nectar"
Somewhat a misleading name for this popular sweetener, as it isn't made from the agave leaf juice, but from the starchy root bulb of the agave plant. It is made the same way as High Fructose Corn Syrup, a highly chemical process involving the use of caustic acids, enzymes, clarifiers and filtration chemicals. The end product is about 70% fructose, higher than HF corn syrup, which comes in at 55%. As explained in my previous article on sugar, fructose is low GI, processes by the liver. Due to the fact that there is no fibre or anything of nutritious value in the agave, it's immediately stored as triglycerides. Remember, that the liver can only store so much triglyceride and the rest is converted into fat deposits through out the body. Fructose also inhibits leptin levels. Leptin is the hormone that tells your body you have had enough to eat. So, bottom line, stay away from this stuff.


lovingearth.com.au

Coconut Nectar
Basically, coconut nectar is the same as coconut sugar.  (See Sugar, Sweet Poison II) It's the syrup that hasn't been boiled down to make the crystals. Low GI, yes, but high fructose, so okay, but not fantastic in large quantities.




healthyfoodhouse.com

Honey
Honey is often used as a natural alternative to sugar in food preparation and cooking where a liquid can be used. It contains equal amounts of glucose and fructose. In various studies, honey did not raise blood sugar as much as regular sugar and it also lowered triglycerides, LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol and raised HDL, the 'good' cholesterol.
Honey is also an antioxidant and is often used as a topical antiseptic. The darker the honey, the more beneficial it is as an antioxidant. One of the best is Jarrah honey. Jarrah honey is unique to Western Australia and is seen as one of the best honeys for beating bacteria, so much so that trials are underway to use it to beat the hospital superbug, MRSA
Honey is still sugar, though a more nutritious version and can be used as a sweetener for occasional treats as part of a healthy diet.




manassen.com.au

Maple Syrup
A natural product made by boiling the sap of a certain type of maple tree, maple syrup contains a host of naturally occurring minerals including high levels of manganese as well as zinc ( 28% of RDA in 100grams), thiamine, potassium and calcium.  A study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007, showed that the polyphenols in maple syrup stimulated insulin release through pancreatic cells, indicating benefits for diabetes sufferers. Studies also found compounds in maple syrup that had anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Maple syrup contains less fructose than honey, so is a better option.
B Grade maple syrup is considered to be the best, funnily enough. It's taken from the tree later in the year and contains more nutrients. Again, like honey, the darker, the better.
As with Medjool dates, maple syrup is a great alternative to sugar in a liquid form, but cost may be a prohibitive factor in it's widespread use in the home kitchen.



nuts.com

Medjool Dates
These deliciously sweet and caramel flavoured fruits come from a date palm originating in Morocco, but grown in many desert regions now. They pack a fairly hefty calorific punch, - 3 dates is around 200 calories. But they also contain fibre, that helps to slow down the absorption of the sugars in the dates. Dates also contain a wide variety of minerals, including copper, magnesium, manganese and potassium. Vitamins include all the B vitamins and carotenes.
So, they would seem a good option to replace sugar in the diet. However, their use is limited due to the colour and texture of the dates. They're great blended with nuts and other ingredients to make protein balls or pie bases and can be added to cakes and biscuits for added sweetness, but I don't imagine anyone will be popping half a date into their cup of tea in the morning. They could be used in chutneys and relishes to reduce the sugar content and, of course, are a defining ingredient in Moroccan tagines. The price of Medjool dates is also a limiting factor in their use as a sugar substitute.

The bottom line?

Honey, Medjool dates and maple syrup are my choices as sugar substitutes. When using honey or maple syrup in your recipes, reduce the amount of liquid to compensate. Cakes will be also be darker when using honey as a sweetener.
Dates can be substituted to an extent in cooking, but only in certain recipes. Experiment and google for ideas. I'll include some recipes on the blog soon.

Thanks for reading.

Megan

Sugar - Sweet Poison? Part II

webmd.com

I've previously written a bit about the chemistry of the simple carbohydrate, sugar in my blog post Sugar - Sweet Poison?  The discussion ranged around white sugar and it's empty nutrition and how other foods can provide sweetness while still being 'good for you'.  Now, in Part II, I'd like to expand on that topic in this post about the various types of sugar and how they are made.

In Australia the main sweetener in our processed foods on in our pantries is processed white sugar (in the US, it's high fructose corn syrup, but that's another story...).

White Sugar

ecvv.com

White Sugar, as mentioned in my post on sugar, is a disaccharide, meaning it contains two monosaccharides, glucose and fructose. In Australia, white sugar comes from sugar cane. Many other countries use sugar beets to make white sugar. Caster sugar and icing sugar are simply white sugar that has been ground to make it finer.

Cane sugar is highly processed, first by crushing the sugar cane to extract the juice. The juice is then mixed with lime and phosphoric acid to adjust its pH to around 7.  The clarified juice is then heated under vacuum to make a syrup. Further heating is done under vacuum to concentrate and super saturate the syrup. It is then pressure filtered through cloth and deodorised using activated charcoal. (1)

The cleaned syrup is then seeded with sugar crystals and cooled. Upon cooling, the sugar syrup crystallises and is then put through a centrifuge to separate the sugar from it's remaining liquid, known as molasses. The remaining molasses can be further processed to extract more crystals, leaving blackstrap molasses. (2)

Raw Sugar

abc.net.au

At this stage, the product is Raw Sugar (a terrible misnomer) which is a light golden colour. So raw sugar is still a highly processed product. The raw sugar is then bleached, sometimes by bubbling sulphur dioxide through the crystals. (1) I'm unable to find out exactly how Australian sugar is bleached. None of the companies explain this process, other than saying that the raw sugar is then 'further refined'. I'm awaiting a reply from CSR. The fact that it must be 'bleached' sounds ominous, though.
Raw caster and golden icing sugar are made from raw sugar. White processed sugar is pretty much 99% sucrose and has a GI of around 65. (3) GI isn't a perfect method for judging a product's health benefits, though. Adding fructose to a product will reduce it's GI, but read more about the problem with fructose below.

Brown Sugar

themanecaptain.blogspot.com

Brown Sugar is simply white refined sugar with the molasses added back in. Now, there's no information to say whether this is the first extraction of molasses with all its health giving goodness, or the less nutritious blackstrap molasses. My guess is that it is the cheaper one. So, the sugar is refined, bleached and deodorised and then the stuff they took out is put back in! If you want to make it yourself, simply add molasses to white sugar until it's fully saturated.

LoGiCane Sugar

csr.com.au

LoGiCane is a brand name from the CSR company promoted as low GI. The CSR company explains on their website that LoGiCane sugar is refined white sugar sprayed with molasses. The molasses slows down the digestion of the sucrose, making it less likely to spike blood sugar. If this is the case, then brown sugar and 'raw' sugar will do the same. 

In fact, if you delve further into it, the molasses is actually treated to remove the nutrients such as minerals, polyphenols and other phytochemicals. (4) So, once again a highly processed product that is more expensive than simply buying 'raw' sugar. This appears to be a marketing ploy, in my opinion.

Demerara and Turbinado are still processed raw sugars, albeit with more molasses left in the final product.

Rapadura Sugar

quirkycooking.blogspot.com

Rapadura and Panela are two different names for the same product, pure unrefined cane juice. The sugar cane is simply crushed and the juice is dehydrated. The nutrient rich molasses with all its minerals and phytochemicals is retained in the final product, making it a far healthier alternative to white, processed sugar or even 'raw' sugar. Rapadura is quite expensive, but can now be found in supermarkets. I purchase it in bulk from www.2brothersfoods.com

Here's a chart showing the comparison of nutrients for each of the sugars. The 'evaporated cane juice' in the chart is that which is processed using heat. 

wholefoodsimply.com

Coconut Sugar

www.cocofat.com

Coconut Sugar, also known as coconut palm sugaris made from the blossom of the coconut tree, that ubiquitous plant that provides so much for so little. It has a low GI, only 35. It also contains a great many nutrients, mainly potassium, iron, zinc, calcium plus polyphenols, inositol (part of a vitamin B complex) and other phytonutrients. (5) (6)  It's a natural product, with very little processing other than collection and dehydration. It's fairly expensive.

Many people are becoming wary of Fructose and with good reason. Fructose is natural fruit sugar, but is also found in sugar.  Sugar, or sucrose, is 50% Glucose and 50% Fructose. Fructose is the monosaccharide which is only broken down in the liver.  The liver will transform fructose into glucose derivatives, storing it as glycogen. The liver can only store so much glycogen. If it's not being used through providing energy, it will be stored as triglycerides (i.e. fat) which is then deposited around the organs in the body. (7)

This concept is being espoused by Sarah Wilson of the "I Quit Sugar' movement. Sarah has an enormous group of followers on her Facebook page and blog. She has published two books on the subject, containing excellent information and recipes. Her concept is a little extreme, though and I don't believe we should deny ourselves certain treats. Life can be hard enough as it is without being unable to eat dessert at a restaurant.

There are many references showing that fructose is indeed a baddy in our diets. Mainly because sugar is consumed in large amounts in processed foods such as mayonnaise, sauces, soft drinks, biscuits and cakes. A study in 2010 showed that fructose consumed as soft drinks and sweetened fruit juices, taken in large quantities did cause weight gain. (8)


My take on the consumption of sugar in the diet is this.

1. Consume whole foods as much as possible. Eat whole fruits, peel as well if possible (obviously not banana peel). If you're making a cake with oranges, use the whole orange - flesh, juice and zest. 
2. Include good fats (coconut, palm, lard, tallow, poultry fat, butter) in your diet to allow for satiety, so you're not hanging out for a chocolate after tea.
3. Limit sugar in all your cooking and use unprocessed sugar wherever possible. Some other options for sweetening include rice malt syrup, maple syrup and honey. Fresh dates can be used instead of sugar in some recipes - e.g. protein balls.
4. Don't consider that every meal must be followed by dessert. Make desserts a special treat. 
5. Make your own fruit roll ups with whole fruit, raw chocolate with cacao and so on. 
6. Finally, don't stress about it too much! Do your best and allow yourself some treats without feeling guilty. 

There's a wealth of great wholefood recipes out there and some great books and blogs, too. Here's a list of recommended reading:

Books:

Wholefood Cooking - Jude Blereau

Nourishing Traditions - Sally Fallon

I Quit Sugar and I Quit Sugar for Life - Sarah Wilson 

Blogs: 

Nourished Kitchen

Teresa Cutter - The Healthy Chef

Whole Food Simply
I Quit Sugar

REFERENCES:
(1) SKIL - How sugar is made: http://www.sucrose.com/lcane.html
(2) https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070515070200AAENMgq
(3) Sugar and sweetener guide: http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/glycemic-index-for-sweeteners.html
(4) Product review: low GI cane cugar - Catherine Saxelby's Food Watch: http://foodwatch.com.au/reviews/item/product-review-lowgicane-sugar.html
(5) http://coconutpalmsugar.com/Home_Page.html
(6) Coconut sap sugar: http://www.cocofat.com/about-coconut-products/coconut-sap-sugar/
(7) Precision Nutrition. All about fructose: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-fructose
(7) Metabolic effects of fructose and the worldwide increase in obesity: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20086073

That's all for now, bravo if you've actually read the whole post!!

Megan

Sugar - Sweet Poison? Part I

drfranklipman.com

Sugar seems to be the word on everyone's lips (and on their tongue and sliding down into their stomachs) lately. The leaked release of the World Health Organisation's draft report on the effects of sugar on health has sparked debate once again.

When we say the word 'sugar', we all think of the white or brown crystally stuff pictured above. This is actually called sucrose and is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose. Read on for further explanations.

Pictured above is semi refined sucrose, or raw sugar. It comes from pressing the sugar cane and then mixing it with lime. It's then evaporated and spun in a centrifuge to produce the crystals.  This is then further refined to produce white sugar by using sulphur dioxide to bleach the crystals. These are then filtered through carbon to remove the molasses (where the actual nutrition lies) content.

Sugar is a dietary carbohydrate, the main source of energy for our body. The body can use protein to a limited extent and will use fat when no carbohydrates are available. Carbohydrates exist in many other forms and are actually sugars. Confused? Don't be, it's not terribly complex at all. Let me explain briefly.

Monosaccharides (meaning one sugar molecule) are the simplest form of carbohydrate. They are glucose, fructose and galactose. Combinations of these three form disaccharides (two sugar molecules) . Glucose and fructose make sucrose (table sugar); glucose and galactose make lactose (milk sugar) and glucose and glucose makes maltose (occurs naturally as a part of starch digestion in the body and can be produced through malting of grain such as barley).

Polysaccharides, therefore are made up of many molecules of glucose, sometimes with the other monosaccharides all strung together and are known as complex carbohydrates. Just as there are three types of monosaccharides and disaccharides, there are three types of polysaccharides. These are simply known as glycogen, starch and fibre. Still with me? Good....

Glycogen isn't found in food, it is manufactured in the body and stored in the liver and muscles. It is made of many glucose molecules linked together.  When you are needing energy, it is this glycogen that is broken down by enzymes to release glucose into the bloodstream.
Muscle cells also store glycogen, but hoard it to use during exercise. Glycogen holds water and can only be stored for short periods of time. Less than a day when the body is at rest and a few hours during activity.

Starch, on the other hand, must be obtained from plants as plants store glucose as starch.

organicpotatostarch.com

By eating a plant, our body converts the starch into glucose for our energy needs. Starches are found mostly in grains and in plant foods such as tubers and legumes.

Fibre also comes from plants.

thecheswickcliniccork.com

It is obtained from eating the whole plant - e.g. whole grain flour rather than white grain flour. The body doesn't break down this type of polysaccharide, so no energy is obtained from dietary fibre. However, it is vital to the health of our digestive system.

There are two types of fibre - soluble and non soluble.
Soluble fibre either dissolves in water or forms viscous gels and is easily fermented and broken down by the natural bacteria in the colon (bowel). They help to maintain a healthy bowel. When this natural bacteria are no longer present due to poor eating habits or illness, the body doesn't deal with soluble fibre very well. Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohn's Disease are two conditions where this may occur.
Insoluble fibre does not form gels or dissolve in water and is less easily fermented in the colon.
Some starches are classified as dietary fibre because they escape the digestion process and are broken down in the colon. Insoluble fibre assists with bowel movement and prevents such conditions as diverticular disease.

Now, what do we need all this different form of sugar for? The main role of carbohydrates are to provide the body with glucose for energy. Starch is the main form of glucose provision, but the monosaccharides (simple sugars derived from the disaccharides) can also provide glucose if it is needed.
Brain cells, other nerve cells and developing blood cells prefer to use glucose for energy.

When sufficient carbohydrate intake has met the body's energy requirements, guess what happens if you consume more? The liver can only hold a certain amount, as mentioned previously, so it has to deal with this excess by breaking down those glucose molecules into smaller ones. These are then put together into another compound - fat.  The little fat molecules then travel through the blood stream to be deposited in fat cells in the tissues throughout the body. Fat can be stored for years in the body's fat cells.

Still reading?

Okay, so we need carbohydrates, but we need the complex ones more than the simple ones, because they provide other components that our bodies need such as protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals.
When we compare the carbs in white sugar to an equivalent amount in kidney beans, dates and apricots, we have the following data:

Excuse the crappy Google Docs chart. It took me a long time to get it to even show up, let alone look good too.

If we add fibre into the above chart, the results would show the high amounts in the dates, kidney beans and apricots with 0 for sugar. Therefore, white sugar provides our body with empty calories. Lots of glucose to provide instant energy, if that's what you need, but no nutrients or value in any other way.

Fibre also helps slow down the processing of carbohydrate, so though dates and apricots are high in carbohydrate, the fibre content prevents quick assimilation of the glucose content. Energy is released slowly over a period of time. Glycaemic Index is a way of measuring the how quickly blood sugar (glucose) levels rise after eating a particular food. It doesn't take into consideration the amount of carbohydrate actually consumed. This is measured by multiplying the GI of the food by the carbohydrate content of the serving. Thus, a food like watermelon may have a high GI, but it has a low GL. You need to eat a lot of it to obtain a large amount of carbohydrate.

balancingnutrition.com.au

Eating well is all about choosing carefully. If you have a sweet craving at 4pm, do you choose a sugary processed biscuit or cake or a couple of dates and some watermelon or apricot? Cool drinks would probably have to be one of the worst choices a person can make when choosing a beverage. There are over 9 teaspoons of processed white sugar in a can of Coca Cola which is 11% of a person's daily requirement of carbohydrate with no other nutritional benefit.

That's probably enough information to be assimilated in one blog post. In the next post, I'll discuss ways to sweeten your foods in a far more healthy way than with processed white sugar.

Megan