read time: about two minutes

There are quite a many sweet alternatives to sugar. We’re going to take a brief look at the more common ones. We’ll start with a few that have been readily available at the grocery store for quite awhile.

Honey - about 25% sweeter than sugar and nearly 30% more calories, it’s one of the oldest foods in existence. Honey is created by bees by mixing plant nectar with their own enzymes. It actually never spoils… at least at room temperature.
The good:
honey contains small amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids. The particular content varies by color and floral source.
Honey is also anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and stimulates tissue regrowth. It’s been used to dress wounds as it speeds healing and reduces scarring.
Honey can also reduce pollen allergies. It’s important to use local honey as allergies occur with continuous over-exposure to the same allergen. So - logically - that allergen is nearby you. The honeybees use pollen from these plant sources and that honey acts as an immune booster. It works best when you take a couple of teaspoons a day for a few months ahead of pollen season.

The bad (maybe): it’s been reported than honey decays teeth more than sugar. But according to [1] Dr. Molan of the University of Waikato Honey Research Unit in New Zealand, the opposite is true. Dr. Molan reports that honey reduces acid which stops bacteria that causes dental plaque.

Maple syrup - has about 1/2 the calories of sugar and is strong on the sweet taste factor.
It’s an excellent source of manganese and a good souurce of zinc… so it will give you an anti-oxidant boost.

Blackstrap molasses - is actually a by-product of sugar refining. It’s not refined but is a liquid resulting from boiling the sugar cane pulp.
It has fewer calories than refined sugar and is a source of iron, calcium and magnesium.

Rice syrup - it’s made by fermenting brown rice with enzymes that break down the natural starch content. It has about 1/2 the sweetness of sugar and is absorbed more slowly - thus avoiding rapid spikes in blood glucose.

We’ll continue on with sweeteners in the next post.