Holiday Time with Natural Sugars with ZERO Calories

Sugar (sucrose) is a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in EVERY fruit and EVERY vegetable. It occurs in the greatest quantities in sugar cane. Please do not confuse sucrose with sucralose. Just one extra syllable makes a food into a poison. Read labels closely, if sucralose is anywhere on it – avoid it at all costs as it is a highly toxic chemical.

Sugar cane goes through a lot of processing to yield two products: refined white sugar and molasses. The sugar is white due to adding phosphoric acid, calcium hydroxide or calcium dioxide to it. Molasses is a very nutritious food that is high in minerals. Brown sugar is simply white sugar with some molasses in it. The amount of molasses in brown sugars is negligible adding only flavor. Sucanat is just a brand name of brown sugar that comes from Costa Rica.

If sugar is labeled as “raw” it is not fully processed, leaving a slightly higher nutritional content. Sugar though, is used for fuel. We all need it but most get more than is needed. If we eat fruits and vegetables we are getting sugar. In these whole foods it is digested slowly and not contributing to a sugar spike and subsequent crash.

Another type of natural sugar is known as sugar-alcohols. They are used in lieu of table sugar because there is no sugar spike and have zero calories. The taste is very similar to sugar and is used in baking recipes in a 1:1 ratio.

The two most popular are erythritol and xylitol. Erythritol has no side effects because it is absorbed in the small intestine, shuttled to the kidneys and excreted. Xylitol on the other hand is absorbed in the large intestine. Because it is highly osmotic and pulls water into the large colon, it can easily cause bloating and diarrhea in many people. Used sparingly like in chewing gums is advantageous as it is also known to be bacteriostatic (blocks bacteria) and therefore prevents cavities.

Erythritol occurs naturally in fruits (grapes, melons and pears), mushrooms and fermented foods (soy sauce, wine, and cheese). Xylitol is found in a number of fruits and vegetables (plums, berries and mushrooms) and birch trees.

Another type of natural sugar is stevia. The stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) is native to tropical regions. Stevia rebaudiana, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. This plant offers a zero calorie sweet herb to be used in baking, cooking and to sweeten beverages. It can have a bitter aftertaste. Once you get practice using it you will be able to make low calorie deserts that are healthy for the body. I typically will use ½ erythritol and ½ stevia when baking or making frostings. See the recipe below for a wonderful desert to share with loved ones.