4 natural sweeteners that are beneficial for your health.

Quitting refined sugar is quite tough. But people who know how incredibly harmful sugar can be, definitely worth it. But don’t worry, we are fortunate enough to have quite a few sweeteners found in nature that are actually good for your health.

They are quite low in calories, low in fructose content and sweet as regular table sugar.

So just go through them and add anyone of them in your regular lifestyle in place of your regular processed table sugar.

• Yacon Syrup.

Yacon setup is harvested from yacon plant, which grows natively in South America. It is one of those unique sweeteners that are less popularised. It had recently became popular as a weight loss supplement.

Especially health enthusiasts love to use it in place of regular table sugar to make their foods sweet. During a human trial, it was found that it caused significant weight loss in overweight women.

This natural sweetener is quite high in fructooligosaccharides, these act as soluble fibres that feeds good bacteria in intestine.

In addition, it also helps against Constipation and several other digestive issues. But always remember not to eat too much at a time because it can cause digestive problems.

• Xylitol.

Basically, Xylitol is a sugar alcohol which has sweetness properties similar to sugar. On an estimation, it contains about 2.4 calories per gram. This is about 2 third of the caloric value of table sugar.

Some of these scientific studies have concrete evidence that it provides benefits for dental health, reducing risk of cavities and dental decay. Moreover, sometimes it also improves bone density and prevent osteoporosis.

Cause of low glycemic index it do not raise blood sugar or insulin levels.

• Erythritol.

This is another low calorie sweetener and a sugar alcohol naturally found in certain fruits. Moreover, powdered erythritol is available for purchase and most commonly used in industrial processes. Test tube studies reveal that it contains 0.2 calories per gram, which is just 6% of calories in equal amount of regular table sugar.

The main benefits are it do not spike blood sugar or insulin levels and have no effect on body lipid like cholesterol. This natural sweetener get absorbed into the body from intestine, but eventually executed from kidneys unchanged.

Health experts, through their scientific studies, have proven that it is very safe. This tastes very much like a sugar and may have mild after taste.

• Stevia.

Stevia is the most popular low calorie sweetener used around the globe. Originally it is extracted from the leaves of stevia plant.

Stevia leaves contain several sweet compounds like steviosides and rebaudiosides. These compounds are 100 times more sweeter than regular table sugar. Therefore, stevia is used in very little amounts for sweetening.

Some of the scientifically studies revealed that stevia can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce bad cholesterol levels. 

So just include any of the above mentioned natural sweetening agents in your diet in place of regular table sugar. Although they may have spiking effects on people with type 2 diabetes. But it will not be as bad as processed table sugar.