Low Sugar Diet - Sugar vs. Natural Sweeteners

In the comparison table of the previous article, we know that all sugars and natural sweeteners (such as honey, maple syrup...etc.) have different calories, sweetness and glycemic index, so from a health point of view In other words, choosing the correct carbohydrate intake can reduce the calories of food and control the rate of increase in blood sugar levels.

Luo Han Guo and stevia extracts are actually the best natural sweeteners because they are 300 times sweeter than sucrose, have no calories, and have a zero glycemic index. Luo Han Guo is a vine of Cucurbitaceae produced in Guangxi, China. It is a common herbal medicine in traditional Chinese medicine. Unfortunately, the sweetener made from Luo Han Guo is rare and expensive. Stevia is a herb native to the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It was used by the locals to make herbal tea and herbal medicine 1,500 years ago. Stevia sugar extracted from stevia leaves is the second largest sugar substitute product in the US market (second only to Splenda sucralose), but its sweetness has a bitter aftertaste, which reduces the acceptance of many consumers.

Fructose and agave nectar have only 50% and 75% of the calories of sucrose under the sweetness of sucrose, and the glycemic index is 23 and 15 respectively, which is far lower than 65 of sucrose. But fructose is usually refined from cornstarch, and cheap fructose is most likely made from genetically modified corn. In addition, according to medical research, fructose will increase the concentration of hunger hormone (ghrelin) secreted by the human body, which may cause excessive appetite; and fructose can easily skip the liver and be directly converted into triglycerides, which become body fat and accumulate on the body, which will increase the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure , gout and risk of kidney stones.

The agave syrup that has become popular in recent years is a syrup extracted from the leaves of agave (the raw material for making tequila wine) produced in Mexico. Because of the above-mentioned low calorie and glycemic index, it is often promoted as a healthy food. However, agave syrup contains a very high proportion of fructose (some cheap brands are even directly mixed with corn fructose), so the disadvantages of fructose in the previous paragraph also apply to agave syrup. When we choose the correct concept of using sugar, we must not be careless about the above two products