How to Understand What Natural Sugars Are
Refined sugars are a major component in modern diets, showing up in soft drinks and energy drinks, cakes, cookies and candy, and even in the ingredients of many savory processed foods. Natural sugars can be as sweet as processed sugars, but because our bodies take longer to break them down, they don't enter our bloodstream as quickly and do not spike our blood-sugar levels as dramatically as do refined sugars. Natural sugars are still sugars, though, so you can't eat as much of them as you like. Nonetheless, they are considerably healthier than refined sugars. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Honey
- Barley malt
- Maple syrup
- Rice syrup
- Fruits
- White sugar
- High-fructose corn syrup
Instructions
-
-
1
Taste a variety of sweeteners, both refined and natural. Compare the complex flavor of natural sweeteners such as honey, barley malt and maple syrup, rice syrup and different fruits. These natural sweeteners have more complex flavors because their sweetening component has not been extracted from the food that contains it, as it has been with granulated sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Because these natural sweeteners are available as food, rather than chemically simple, sweet extracts, our bodies process them more slowly than refined sugars, lessening their impact on blood-sugar levels.
-
2
Replace processed sugars with natural sugars in your diet for at least a month, and pay attention to how you feel. You probably will experience a craving for refined sugars, at least initially, but over time this will subside. Your energy level will be more consistent and you will probably experience a reduction in mood swings, if you are prone to them. These changes will come about because your body is digesting the natural sugars in tandem with other nutrients, slowing their absorption and lessening their impact on your blood sugar levels.
-
-
3
Read the ingredient labels on foods that you buy, especially processed foods. You'll notice that many of them contain processed sugars, while few of them contain natural sugars such as honey, maple syrup or real fruit juices. Processed foods contain unhealthy amounts of refined sugars because refined sugars are cheap to manufacture. In contrast, natural sugars can be significantly more expensive because they need to be processed with care.
-
1
