AN_images/sugar-on-teaspoon-thumb.jpg' alt='Healthiest Sweetener For Baking' title='Healthiest Sweetener For Baking' />Discover the gluten free baking tips and tricks to transform your favorite recipes into goodforyou treats. The Hearty Soul is pleased to offer our readers a FREE bag of Sprouted Quinoa through Thrive Market, an online grocery store that delivers organic, healthy, nonGMO. Buy NOW Foods Erythritol Natural Sweetener, 1 lb on Amazon. FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders. Heres The 8 Best And Worst Sugar Substitutes For Your Health Whether youre into baking at home or trying to buy the right products at the grocery store, its. Natvia is a Stevia sweetener made from natural sweeteners and a healthy sugar substitute. Amazon. com Swerve Sweetener, Confectioners, 12 oz Sugar Substitute Products Grocery Gourmet Food. Natural Sweeteners That Are Good For Your Health. Quitting refined sugar can be tough. But given how incredibly harmful sugar can be, it is definitely worth the effort. Luckily, there are quite a few sweeteners found in nature that are actually good for your health. They are low in calories, low in fructose and taste very sweet. Here are 4 natural sweeteners that are truly healthy. Stevia Stevia is a very popular low calorie sweetener. It is extracted from the leaves of a plant called Stevia rebaudiana. This plant has been grown for sweetness and medicinal purposes for centuries in South America. There are several sweet compounds found in Stevia leaves, the main ones are Stevioside and Rebaudioside A. Both are many hundred times sweeter than sugar, gram for gram. Stevia is very sweet, but has virtually no calories. There are some studies in humans showing Stevia to have health benefits When blood pressure is high, Stevia can lower it by 6 1. However, it has no effect on blood pressure that is normal or only mildly elevated 1, 2, 3. Stevia has been shown to lower blood sugar levels in diabetics 4. There are also studies in rats showing that Stevia can improve insulin sensitivity, reduce oxidized LDL cholesterol and reduce plaque build up in the arteries 5, 6. If you need to sweeten something, Stevia may be the healthiest choice. However. many people really hate the taste of Stevia. It does depend on the brand though, you may need to experiment to find one that you like. Bottom Line Stevia is a natural, zero calorie sweetener that can lower both blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Erythritol. Erythritol is another low calorie sweetener. It is a sugar alcohol that is found naturally in certain fruits, but if youre buying powdered erythritol then it will most likely be made via an industrial process. It contains 0. 2. Erythritol doesnt spike blood sugar or insulin levels and has no effect on biomarkers like cholesterol or triglycerides 7. It is absorbed into the body from the intestine, but eventually excreted from the kidneys unchanged 8. Studies show that erythritol is very safe. However, same as with other sugar alcohols, it can cause digestive issues if you consume too much at a time 9, 1. Erythritol tastes very much like sugar, although it can have a mild aftertaste. I wouldnt say that erythritol is healthy but it certainly doesnt appear to be harmful in any way and seems to be better tolerated than most other sugar alcohols. Bottom Line Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that is very sweet, but low in calories. Studies show that it is very safe to eat, although it can cause digestive problems at high doses. Xylitol Xylitol is a sugar alcohol with a sweetness similar to sugar. It contains 2. 4 calories per gram, or about 23rds of the caloric value of sugar. Xylitol appears to have some benefits for dental health, reducing the risk of cavities and dental decay 1. It may also improve bone density, helping to prevent osteoporosis 1. Xylitol doesnt raise blood sugar or insulin levels 1. However, as with other sugar alcohols, it can cause digestive side effects at high doses. If you have a dog in your home, then you might want to keep xylitol out of the house because it is highly toxic to dogs 1. Bottom Line Xylitol is a very popular sweetener. It is a sugar alcohol, with about 2. It has some dental benefits and may improve bone density and lower the risk of osteoporosis. Yacon Syrup Recently I reviewed a rather unique sweetener called Yacon syrup. It is harvested from the Yacon plant, which grows natively in the Andes in South America. This sweetener has recently become popular as a weight loss supplement, because one study found that it caused significant weight loss in overweight women 1. It is very high in fructooligosaccharides, which function as soluble fibers that feed the good bacteria in the intestine 1. Yacon syrup can help against constipation and it has various benefits due to the high amount of soluble fiber 1. Dont eat too much at a time though, as it can cause digestive problems. Bottom Line Yacon syrup is very high in fructooligosaccharides, which feed the good bacteria in the intestine. It may be helpful against constipation and may help you lose weight. What About Less Bad Sugars Like Honey There are several popular sweeteners that health conscious people often eat instead of sugar. This includes coconut sugar, molasses, honey and maple syrup. I recently wrote an article making the case that they really arent much different from sugar. They may contain slightly smaller amounts of fructose and some tiny amount of nutrients, but your liver really wont be able to tell the difference. However. I should definitely clarify something here. Eating Mold. The harmful effects of sugar depend completely on the context. Most of the studies are done on people who are already eating a high carb, Western junk food diet. For those people, especially those who are overweight andor insulin resistant, large amounts of sugar are downright toxic 2. There are a few people who might want to avoid sugar based sweeteners completely. This includes food addicts, binge eaters and people who are on a very low carb, ketogenic diet. Other people can eat sugar in small amounts without any harm. It is still empty calories and will still be bad for your teeth, but it wont harm your metabolism, give you fatty liver or end up destroying your health. If youre one of those people who eat healthy but like to to bake stuff with healthy ingredients, then I dont see a problem with using natural sugar based sweeteners like honey as long as the majority of your diet is based on real food. In the context of a healthy, real food based diet, small amounts of these natural sugars wont cause harm.