Simplifying sweeteners

Speaking of sugar, what about the different types of sweeteners? Eating a sweetener like raw honey, molasses, or maple syrup (and I mean 100% pure maple syrup) is not the same as eating a whole, sweet food when it comes to micronutrient content. These sweeteners carry some micronutrients, but they are still refined to a degree. Therefore, I don’t recommend eating them regularly, but they are certainly better sweetener choices than refined table sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Let’s compare some sweetener choices:

A whole medjool date contains approximately 60 calories of carbohydrate, as well as small amounts of B vitamins, phosphorous, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc.

One tablespoon of molasses contains approximately 60 calories of carbohydrate, as well as trace amounts of B vitamins (especially B6), phosphorous, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, and chromium.

One tablespoon of 100% pure maple syrup contains approximately 50 calories of carbohydrate, as well as trace amounts of phosphorous, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc.

While these less refined sweeteners are not ideal on a frequent basis, the point is that there is a difference between these and refined white sugar or agave nectar, for example, which is also a more refined sweetener. What about artificial and non-caloric sweeteners?I’m sure you realize by now that these are far from whole, real foods. If there are no calories, there are also no nutrients. It might seem as though an artificial sweetener doesn’t require nutrients for metabolism, but that isn’t the case. Your body must still do something with the substance you have ingested, even if it doesn’t actually gain nutritional value from it. Again, this is one of those situations where you are withdrawing from your bank without making a deposit.

Some synthetic sweeteners initiate an insulin response in your bloodstream in a similar way to refined sugar. This is because your body is physiologically wired to release insulin in response to any sweet taste. When insulin is released despite the fact that the sweet food has provided no nutrients to support the insulin release, you are in a state of energy deficit.

The biggest issue with these artificial sweeteners, however, is that they are actually toxic. Yes, you read that correctly—they’re toxins. Your body knows the difference between nutrients and toxins, and toxins are processed by your liver and stored away in your fat cells to keep them away from your bloodstream where they can cause damage. Most people use non-caloric sweeteners to lower overall caloric intake in an effort to lose body fat, but what they do is actually fill their fat cells with toxins. This is one reason why detoxifying from sugar and carbohydrate addiction can be painful. The release of stored toxins from fat cells often leads to headache and fatigue.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14