Alternatives to Sugar: 3 Natural Sweeteners

Sugar, especially refined sugar, is not really healthy. However, there are one or two interesting alternatives to table sugar, so you don’t have to do without sweets if you want to eat healthier. Below we present three good alternatives, but not all of them are low in calories.

Honey – the best of nature

The best-known sugar substitute in the kitchen is probably honey:

• Honey is significantly sweeter than sugar. Therefore, you need less when cooking or baking. You can also get the honey in a wide variety of flavors.
• If you value a healthy diet, you should be particularly careful with the cheap types of honey from the supermarket. This honey is often a so-called blend, in which honey from all over the world has been mixed together.
• If you have a beekeeper in your area who works according to purely organic principles, you will receive a significantly healthier sweetener. Honey also contains amino acids and vitamins, among other things.
• However, like sugar, honey is high in calories. You should therefore also consume it in moderation.
• An alternative to honey is maple syrup, which mainly comes from Canada. However, maple syrup has a distinct taste of its own.

Stevia – the low-calorie plant

In Asia and the USA, stevia has long been known as a sweetener. In the EU, the plant was only approved as a sweetener in 2011.

• Stevia tastes over 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Therefore, you only need very little stevia for sweetening.
• In addition, stevia has almost no calories and does not cause tooth decay.
• Unfortunately, stevia also has a downside: the plant leaves a rather bitter, licorice-like aftertaste in some people.
• Therefore, the inexpensive, commercially available stevia often has a sweetener added to it. Before you buy, read carefully how much stevia is actually in the pack. Sometimes there is hardly any stevia in the sweetener on offer, but more than 90 percent maltodextrin.
• Many nurseries will supply you with stevia plants or stevia seeds so you can grow your own sweetener. The stevia plants are quite robust and require little care.
• Just try out which taste buds the stevia hits with you.

Birch sugar – a sugar-like alternative

Birch sugar, also known as xylitol, is sugar alcohol originally made from birch shavings. Today, some xylitol is also made from corn.

• This sugar alternative is not a new discovery. It was discovered around 130 years ago.
• The good thing about birch sugar is that it has about the same sweetening power as sugar, but has about 40 percent fewer calories.
• In terms of consistency, xylitol is also quite similar to table sugar.
• Since birch sugar has no taste of its own, it is very suitable for baking.
• Birch sugar is generally well tolerated by diabetics.
• Since our body also produces xylitol when breaking down carbohydrates, birch sugar is also a substance close to the body.
• A healthy diet not only includes a conscious choice of sweeteners. In the next post, we have put together some more tips for you.