Sugar substitutes—Stevia, Honey, Rapadura, Maple Syrup

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends no more than 8 teaspoons per day of added sugar based on a 2,000 calorie/day diet.  That's 32 grams if you're reading labels.

8 teaspoons x 4 grams per teaspoon = 32 total grams sugar

Let's calibrate: With 40 grams in a can, a single Coke provides 10 teaspoons of sugar. A single Mrs. Fields Milk Chocolate & Walnuts cookie has six teaspoons of sugar. A bottle of Odwalla Berries GoMega Juice has 12 teaspoons of sugar. Brown Cow Blueberry Yogurt has over 8 teaspoons of sugar.

The USDA web site says that the United States is the largest consumer of sweeteners, including high fructose corn syrup. In Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan says, "Since 1985 our consumption of all added sugars—cane, beet, HFCS, glucose, honey, maple syrup, whatever—has climbed from 128 pounds to 158 pounds per person." There is no doubt that we have a major, major problem with sugar consumption in this country.

Of all the industrial foods, I regard sugar as the most villainous. Eating sugar depletes B vitamins (which leads to premenstrual symptoms and depression, my sisters), promotes Candida albicans, bone loss and tooth decay*. Then of course there is obesity, diabetes and heart disease since sugar raises blood sugar, triglycerides, and cholesterol.

With that said, it's almost impossible for me to completely avoid added sugar in my diet. Life just wouldn't be worth living without the occasional taste of sweetness. For me, it's about sparing use. I buy plain, no-sugar-added yogurt and flavor it with a very small amount of maple syrup, for example. When sugar is necessary, I believe in using the ones which have at least some redeeming qualities (unlike white table sugar which has none). Here are four of my favorite sugar substitutes:

Stevia. To do it justice, I really need to devote an entire post on the subject of stevia. Stevia rebaudiana is a South American sweet leaf with a fascinating history. In short, it has been used as a natural sweetener in South America for over 1500 years. It's totally non-caloric and the extract is about 300 times sweeter than sugar. Research shows that stevia can actually regulate blood sugar. In South America, stevia is sold as an aid to people with diabetes and hypoglycemia. It's available in liquid, tablet or powder form but is not labeled as a sweetener.

Due to major political subterfuge (which I'll explain in a future article), in 1991 the United States Food and Drug Administration labeled stevia as an "unsafe food additive" and restricted its import. Stevia remained banned until after the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act forced the FDA to revise its stance to permit stevia to be used as a dietary supplement. It could be advertised and sold as a supplement but not as a food additive. (I know this makes no sense and I'm sure you smell a rat like I did. So stay tuned for a separate post on stevia.)

I use stevia in coffee and tea and in whipping cream.
Conversion to sugar: See this Stevia.net page for detailed answer.

Raw Honey. Honey that hasn't been heated over 117 degrees is loaded with enzymes that digest carbs (amylases) as well as all the nutrients found in plant pollens. If you use it for oatmeal or toast, the amylases help digest grains. Buy honey labeled "raw" and use it in desserts that don't require heating. But moms please note: raw honey should not be given to infants as they lack sufficient stomach acid to deactivate bacteria spores.
Conversion: 1/2 cup honey = 1 cup sugar. Reduce liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup.

Rapadura. Rapadura is the commercial name for dehydrated cane sugar juice, which the people of India have used for thousands of years. It is rich in minerals, particularly silica and iron. Rapadura has a great flavor and closely mimics sugar in chemical properties. It gives good results in cookies and cakes but be careful not to overdo as Rapadura is still a concentrated sweetener. Use carefully if you have sugar balance problems.
Conversion: 1 cup Rapadura = 1 cup sugar

Maple syrup. Maple syrup is concentrated from the sap of sugar maple trees. True pure maple syrup is expensive because it takes 30 to 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. It's rich in trace minerals manganese and zinc, brought up from below ground by the tree's deep roots. Unfortunately formaldehyde is used in the production of most commercial maple syrup so check your sources. Also check to make sure that corn syrup hasn't been added. And get the less refined grade B for richer flavor. I like maple syrup on yogurt, cream-based desserts and baked goods.
Conversion: 1/2 to 2/3 cup maple syrup = 1 cup sugar. Reduce liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup.

*However, it doesn't promote tooth decay for the reason you might think. Sugar upsets the balance of calcium and phosphorus, which causes teeth to rot from the inside out.

Comments

[aimee deLongchamp]

Thank you for this post on sugar -esp. the conversions! I am going to send this to my daughter's school because the teachers are always struggling to get the parents to stop giving their kids sugar.

What do you know about palm sugar agave?

[Chef Herb Dreyer]

I think your article is timely and good. I would like to suggest, however, that refined sugar is the substitute and the other sugars are the real thing. The problem with substitutes--of any kind--is that one can never get enough of it; only the real thing satisfies. And so it is with all real foods and their substitutes.

[Anna]

Great post. But folks need to keep in mind that all of the alternatives to refined sugar, with the exception of stevia, still need to be used in very small quantities on an *infrequent* basis. It is not enough to substitute natural sugars in the same amounts that folks usually consume refined sugars. All sugars raise blood glucose levels and have the potential to wreak havoc on the insulin levelsand insulin levels and that contributes to a whole host of health problems for many people.

I have high blood sugar and people are always offering me honey instead of white sugar, but it still will raise my blood sugar the same as sugar (I can test it with a glucose meter). For that matter, so do bananas and many other fruits except in very small quantities, but that is a rant for another time.

[Carla]

Aimmee, I wrote a post on Agave. I haven't used it much personally. For some reason, I'm not drawn to it.

Well said, Herb!

Anna, good point. I assume that people just know about the evils of too much sugar, but better said than unsaid.

[Lindsey]

Great article! I have to point out, though, that Odwalla (at least that particular drink) doesn't put any refined sugar in their drinks- check the ingredients. If you were doing your calculations from the nutrition label, you may have missed the fact that those are all fruit sugars from the fruit in the drink (not even isolated fructose, unless I'm horribly mistaken). STILL a lot of sugar, as per Anna's comment. :)

[renee pearman]

I'm computer challenged...I don't even know what a url is!!

What can you tell me about a product called Excella sold as a sweetener. You'll probably have to google it.

[Judy]

Where can I buy Rapadura? I've checked every health food store and market in the area! Is it that difficult to get?

[Lisa]

I, too, am having a problem finding it. Seems that Rapunzel is the only organization selling it. Guess I'll have to order it online, because Whole Foods doesn't carry their brand any longer. UGH!!!!

[Carla]

Lisa,
Sucanat is easier to find. Both Rapadura and Sucanat are rich in minerals. For a while Sally Fallon (in the Nourishing Traditions book) wasn't recommending Sucanat because certain manufacturers were using white sugar. This isn't the case today. You can buy Sucanat from the Local Forage store!
Carla

[Lisa]

Thanks, Carla. I'm just getting into all this, so it's a bit of a learning curve :)

I'm going to order some Rapadura from Rapunzel (they seem to be the only company selling it). So, can I use Sucanat for baking? Is it a 1:1 ratio (to refined white/brown sugars)?

Have you ever used gur or jaggar for baking? There are several Indian grocers near me and I thought about trying it out.

Thanks for the info.

Lisa

[Carla]

Lisa,
Yes, you can use Sucanat for baking. Use 1 to 1 in place of sugar. I have not used gur or jaggar. Both Sucanat and Rapadura are commercial names for dehydrated cane sugar juice, which is what the people of India have used for thousands of years.

[me]

i try so hard to cut refined sugar out but I must be addicted to it - i absolutely crave it and things made with other sweeteners don't seem to do it for me... it's really frustrating!

[Kathy]

I have been using manuka honey or agave nectar instead of sugar these days. For a long time I was using splenda which is basically another poison. I get my stevia from Amazon Herbs and I have been having trouble knowing how much to use. They say just a few drops in a cup of tea but it doesn't seem to sweeten. If you add too much it is very bitter. Any ideas? thanks :-)

[Carla]

Kathy,
I really like the SweetLeaf brand.
I use 4 drops of SweetLeaf SteviaClear liquid stevia and it's perfect for a mug of tea. I have not noticed that the Sweetleaf products are bitter. I also have their SteviaTabs in my purse (the liquid needs to be refrigerated) and I use half a tab per cup. The tabs are great as they are instantly dissolving.
Carla

[Mara]

Have you all heard of Lakanto? See the Body Ecology website for more information. This is a popular sweetener used in Japan - it is extremely pricey, but, like stevia, it is actually good for you and does not affect your body like sugar does! It is made from fermented corn or something like that. Also, the cool thing is, unlike stevia, you can bake with it and it has a 1:1 substitute ratio with sugar.

[Steve Kudlak]

Actually Rapidura is just a word in Brazil for aform of brownsugar and is much the same as a commonly used English Word like well QuickBrownSugar. It is a formof European attempts at dominance thazt they try to take over thelanguage of others. Wonder what would happen if we did that with German?

Have Fun,
Sends Steve

[nicole]

I have several sugar alternatives listed on my blog, as my goal is to go without refined sugar for the year. I have recently discovered that some natural alternatives aren't a whole lot better based on glycemic index and carb load. Do you know much about fructose? It has come up lately on ingredients labels and I was wondering about the nutritional content of it. I know it occurs naturally in fruit (being a fruit sugar), but it is being used as an isolated form of sugar.
Thanks!
myyearwithout.blogspot.com

[Amanda Louden]

I would also recommend Sucanat.

[Chuck]

Stevia is good for people with blood sugar problems, but for a syrup you can use agave. It enters the blood very slowly. Stevia sweetens with a substance many times sweeter than sugar.

[Chuck]

Stevia is good for people with blood sugar problems, but for a syrup you can use agave. It enters the blood very slowly. Stevia sweetens with a substance many times sweeter than sugar.

[Nick]

Thanks for the information. You should, however, cite your sources when you copy someone's book verbatim, so as to avoid copyright violations.

[Carla B.]

Nick,
In your opinion, what source should I be citing? I usually do a pretty good job of that if I'm using a reference and certainly if I'm copying something verbatim.
~carla

[Olivia L.]

I work at a local health food store, and we sell the Rapunzel Rapadura. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to try the brownie recipe on the back tonight.

And, yes, the more "natural" sweeteners are still sugar, but they're a lot better for you than refined white sugar.

Also, a really good syrup substitute (if you can't afford the good maple) is 1/2 agave and 1/2 molasses. It doesn't taste like maple, but it tastes better than just agave. (Plus you get the iron from the molasses.)

If anyone has any recipes using rapadura, I'd appriciate it.

[Olivia L.]

Nicole-

You're right, fructose is fruit sugar. It is slightly lower on the glycemic index than white sugar. So, technically, it is better for you, but not much. There is still a lot of processing that goes on there.

[Dana]

FYI, if you are going to measure the healthfulness of a carbohydrate food by way of the glycemic index, bear in mind that the GI only measures the body's response to *glucose.* It does not measure how we respond to other sugars. This is important because even though fructose does not cause the same kind of glycemic response as table sugar (which, by the way, is roughly half fructose!), consuming too much of it over a long period of time will lead to fatty liver and metabolic syndrome in susceptible individuals (which, IMHO, is most if not all of us, but how soon we succumb will vary individually). So all this talk about agave nectar and crystalline fructose being better for diabetics is hogwash; you're better off eating stevia--or even sucralose for that matter.