How to replace sugar to make it healthy

Probably every person, and more than once, has heard that simple sugar is very harmful to health, especially when consumed excessively. Nevertheless, not everyone can refuse it on their own. However, there is a way to continue to be an avid sweet tooth, while easily giving up the harmful product. To do this, you just need to replace sugar, and what exactly we will tell you about in this article.

Agave syrup

Agave is a plant belonging to the asparagus family and grows predominantly in the wild in Mexico. It has a wide range of uses: the leaves are used to make paper, thread and twine, and traditional Mexican strong drinks are made from it. Some agave varieties are used to make a very sweet syrup, which is somewhat reminiscent of honey. You can hear another name, "agave nectar" is the same as syrup, the only difference is in the name.

Juice is obtained from agave flowers, which is subsequently filtered and then evaporated. At the end of the procedure, the juice acquires a viscous thick consistency. Unlike sugar, which contains almost equal amounts of fructose and glucose, agave syrup is almost 100% saturated with fructose. Therefore, the nectar of the plant is many times sweeter than ordinary sugar.

However, it is around agave syrup that controversy often rages about its benefits in relation to sugar. The fact is that supporters of the product's benefits rely on a low glycemic index (17). Hence, this prevents it from significantly affecting blood sugar levels. For this reason, agave syrup is often found on the dietary menu of diabetics. Another advantage of agave syrup over sugar is that it has a much lower calorie content - 310 kcal per 100 g. And if you consider that the syrup itself is sweeter and you need less to sweeten dishes, then the calorie content decreases even more. This sweetness of the syrup is due to the high amount of fructose. But the fact is that recent studies show disappointing data - excessive consumption of fructose can lead to serious health problems. This fructose overload is especially hard on the liver. An excess of fructose in the body negatively affects its entire work and can lead to irreversible consequences, so you should not abuse the product.

To avoid unnecessary misconceptions, it is worth making some explanations. Fructose is part of a large number of fruits, but this does not mean that they automatically become harmful. It is impossible to abuse fructose when eating fruit even from the physical side, but concentrated syrup can be a source of danger, so do not overload it.

Natural honey

IN benefits of natural honey there is no doubt, everyone knows about it clearly from childhood. He has a lot of varieties and each is useful in its own way, but there is something that is useful for any honey, regardless of its type and variety. This beekeeping product has a very rich chemical composition, which includes more than 300 different elements, which include everything you need.

The chemical composition of honey is nitrogenous compounds, organic acids, vitamins, minerals, essential oils and much more. Repeated studies have been carried out, which more than once confirmed the direct effect of honey on the strength of the immune system. The only disadvantage of honey is its allergenicity. You need to be careful with him and start using, especially a new variety of honey, little by little, monitoring the reaction of the body.

However, despite the benefits of honey, remember about its calorie content and know when to stop. It contains a lot of fast carbohydrates that can energize for a long time. Just imagine, just 100 g of this product has the same calorie content as 175 g of meat, 4 oranges or 90 g of cheese. Do not add honey to hot tea or boiling water, this will lead to a serious loss of honey's beneficial properties.

Honey is very rich in vitamins E, A, K, C and group B, namely B1, B5, B6, B2, B3. The amount of vitamins varies from variety to variety and depends on which plants the bees collected the nectar from. It contains no less trace elements, including iodine, calcium, sulfur, zinc, phosphorus, copper, silver, boron, cobalt, titanium, lithium and a lot more. Such wealth greatly affects health in a positive way. And by the way, honey is one of the very rare products that the body assimilates 100%. The positive effect of honey on digestion processes has been noted, which is explained by the presence of iron and manganese in honey, which accelerate the processes of enzymes responsible for the rate of digestion. It has a slight laxative effect on the body, which means that honey is very useful for people who regularly suffer from constipation.

You can talk about the benefits of honey for a very long time, but one thing is clear - if you are not allergic to honey, then replacing sugar with it is a very good idea! The main thing is to buy honey only in trusted places to be absolutely sure of its naturalness.

To replace sugar with honey, you need to know a few useful things:

• One teaspoon of sugar (5 ml) = a quarter teaspoon of honey (1 ml). For sweets, the calculation method can be 1: 1, or 4: 5 (honey: sugar).
• In order to use honey instead of sugar in a recipe, remember that it is optimal to take honey in a quarter less than the amount of sugar indicated in the recipe.
• If honey is used in baking, then you need to be prepared so that when it is heated above 150 ° C, it begins to darken.
• Due to the hygroscopicity of honey, baked goods with it may turn out to be slightly damp when finished.
• Remember that honey has a specific aroma that is transmitted to the dish.

Stevia herb

ABOUT stevia few have heard, and in vain. After all, this is really not only a worthy substitute for sugar, but also very, very useful. In fact, they have known about its miraculous qualities for a long time and that it is ten times sweeter than sugar too.

This seemingly unremarkable herb will prove to be very useful even for diabetics and those who are avid supporters of a healthy diet. It is very low in calories, does not affect blood sugar levels, and is also high in vitamins and minerals. Therefore, in addition to sweetness, you can significantly improve your body. It is very difficult to list all its positive qualities, here are only a small part of its effect on the body:

• due to the high content of antioxidants, it inhibits the aging process and strengthens the immune system;
• stevia thins the blood;
• normalizes blood pressure and maintains it at a normal level;
• makes blood vessels stronger;
• very useful for the pancreas;
• has a beneficial effect on oral health;
• speeds up metabolism and promotes weight loss;
• very useful for vitamin deficiency, as it saturates the body with everything it needs;
• seriously lowers blood cholesterol levels;
• treats diseases of the intestines and stomach;
• has an antitumor effect;
• treats dysbiosis and has preventive actions against it;
• maintains dental health;
• normalizes blood sugar levels and lowers it at an increased level;
• helps to quit smoking, as the craving for nicotine weakens;
• helps to cure alcoholism;
• if applied externally, the herb will noticeably improve the condition of the skin;
• has an expectorant effect.

With all the benefits, one can even say that stevia will be somewhat healthier than honey. Unlike a beekeeping product, stevia is hypoallergenic and also less high in calories. But to say that honey is healthier or stevia is impossible, since these are still two different products of nature.

Stevia can be used as an herb by simply adding the leaf to drinks, or stevioside, a glycoside from a plant extract, can be used. To make baked goods in which you plan to replace sugar with stevia, you can prepare a decoction from the herb. Pour a spoonful of stevia with a glass of boiling water and bring to a boil, holding it for several minutes. Then everything is poured into a thermos and left to infuse overnight. In the morning, the tincture will be ready to use.

Jerusalem artichoke syrup

One of the most affordable natural sugar substitutes. The taste of earthen pear syrup resembles the most common flower honey, and in terms of the glycemic index it can compete only with stevia. There are about 14 units per 100 g of syrup.

The great advantage of this sweetener is that it can be prepared at home. For this, a kilogram of Jerusalem artichoke, a juicer and a lemon are useful. Rinse the earthen pear and pass it through the juicer. Pour the juice into a saucepan and evaporate to a thick syrup. Refrigerate, then pour in freshly squeezed lemon juice, mix and pour the finished product into a sterile jar. If you don't feel like messing around, you can buy ready-made syrup. It is no longer in short supply and is quite inexpensive.

Maple syrup

Sweetness maple syrup due to the high content of dextrose in it. Maple syrup is especially common in the northern part of America and Canada, but gradually it begins to win the love of our compatriots. The only drawback of this product is the price, which can hardly be called democratic even with a stretch. But this is quite normal, considering that to get a liter of sweet syrup, you need to process as much as 40 liters of juice. The calorie content of such a syrup is slightly lower than that of sugar and is about 250 kcal. But if we compare sugar and maple syrup in chemical composition, then, unlike the first, the second, in addition to satisfying the taste, helps the body to be nourished with valuable substances. The largest amount of vitamins is contained in dark-colored syrup, the packaging of which is marked with grade "B". It is an ideal sugar substitute that is both tasty and healthy at the same time.

Sugar is not only unhealthy product, but also harmful. The only thing people love it for is its ease of use and taste. However, the foods on our list today also add sweetness, but at the same time they can cure and prevent many diseases. Yes, some of them will take some getting used to, like stevia, which has a specific flavor, but it's worth it. Then you will be healthy, slim and beautiful!