Use natural, wholesome sweeteners to substitute refined sugars. It's so much healthier!

What is the white granulated sugar that we buy at the supermarket? How is it made? Sugar comes from what is left over from sugar cane or sugar beets after they are chemically processed and highly refined.

Whole natural foods are always a combination of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Sugar cane and sugar beets are food, and their dehydrated juices are food.

Buy the time we buy our sugar at the store, however, it has been wso refined that our body does not even recognize it as food. While we tend to think brown sugar, raw sugar, and turbinado are better for us, they too are usually just refined sugar with enough molasses added to give them the desired color.

Fructose and high fructose corn syrup are also highly refined sweeteners that are known to unbalance the blood sugar levels in our bodies.

Artificial sweeteners such as Equal® and Nutra-Sweet® contain aspartame, which is a toxic substance that has been associated with many health problems, including depression, birth defects, pancreatitis, and seizures.

When we eat refined sugars, we are eating empty, unbalanced calories. In order for our body to balance and detoxify, and to digest this sugar, it has to use up our reserves of insulin, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals.

When we use refined sugars for many years our reserves are depleted and our body will need to borrow these nutrients from deep in our bones, teeth, and vital organs. this is our body's way to try to correct the sugar imbalance. Weakness, decay of teeth, disease, and lowered immunity to sickness can soon follow. Diabetes, candida (yeast), food allergies, headaches, hypoglycemia, weak adrenal glands, mental illness, and chronic fatigue syndrome are just a few of the illnesses that can come from eating too much sugar.

The good news is that we do have a choice.

We do not have to decide that since regular, refined sugar is so bad for us we will just have to stay away from sweets. There are all natural sweeteners available that contain many nutrients. Natural sweeteners, too, should be used in moderation, because even they can cause blood sugar imbalances if they are used in excess.

Here is a list of a few all natural sugars that we can use instead of refined sugar:

Honey - Pure Raw Honey may be considerably easier to digest than sugar. Because of the structure of sugar it has to be ingested before it will break down completely. Bees will naturally add enzymes to honey which helps to partially break down the sugars making it easier to digest than sugar.

White sugar does not have any calories because it contains sugars, and nothing more. Honey on the other hand has additional nutrients and minerals such as ascorbic acids, copper, iron, zinc, and so much more good nutritious vitamins.

Creamed honey - (also called whipped honey, spun honey, and churned honey) is honey that has crystallized with very small crystals and it is made with one ingredient, raw honey. It is made by letting the honey sit around for a long period of time. But to add an extra flavor Bee Hollow Farm will take the creamed honey and churn some natural flavors into it.

Check out our variety of creamed honey flavors available.

The only difference between creamed honey and regular honey is its texture. There is nothing added to creamed honey to make it creamy – to be clear there is no dairy in creamed honey. What makes creamed honey creamy is the small glucose crystals. By breaking up large crystals and controlling the environment to encourage crystallization regular honey is turned into creamed honey. And it is delicious!

Maple Syrup - Pure Maple Syrup is clearly a better option than sugars. Sugars contain more glycemic index than Maple Syrup does. 100% Pure Maple Syrup is not only high in antioxidants but also contains some valuable nutrients for the body like zinc, potassium, calcium, and more. Maple syrup also has less calories than honey and is known to be one of the safest sugar substitutes for diabetics.

Maple syrup also causes a lower rise in blood glucose (sugar) levels than white sugar, corn syrup or brown-rice syrup. It has also been said, maple syrup has a low glycemic index[a2] , similar to honey, molasses and agave syrup.

Sorghum - This syrup is made by boiling sorghum cane juice. It contains B vitamins and minerals like calcium and iron.

Sucanat - Made by dehydrating cane sugar juice, sucanat has great flavor and is rich in minerals. It is probably the easiest substitute to refined sugars in recipes.

Stevia - A super sweet herb, stevia is tolerated much better by diabetics than some other natural sweeteners. The biggest problem is adding too much, which produces an unpleasant flavor.

Shop natural sweeteners like 100% Pure Maple Syrup and Raw Local Honey the next time you need a sweetener.

All the best.