Can we talk about natural sugars? (Honey, maple syrup...)

[FairyRae]

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on these. Raw honey I'm sold on as beneficial healthwise in moderation, but what about maple syrup and blackstrap molasses? (I've been off everything but honey and fruit for a bit of time now, but thinking about dabbling in other sweetners again to see if/how they impact how I feel...) I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on using these (in moderation of course). And for those of you who avoid most/all sugars, I'd love to hear from you as well. I think the best test (for me) is to try going w/out and then readding things in to see how they make *me* feel, but if you have any links on all of this stuff or thoughts/ideas, I'm interested in seeing them!!

I'm also interested in insulin and sugars, etc. I really don't know a lot about it all though and would love more info!

[wholewheatchick]

I'm not much help here, but I am so interested to hear what other people say! I definitely need to limit sugar a lot more! I was really good about it for a few months, but then I slipped and that stuff is addictive!

[mamadelbosque]

Well... we definetly don't avoid sugar in general, so my take might not be relevant... but anyhow. We *LOVE* maple syrup on pancakes/skinny pancakes/french toast/waffles/etc. We have pancake night once a week where I make one of the above for dinner, and otherwise, we have them occasionally during hte week too. I think maple syrup is a great natural sweetener personally

[wholewheatchick]

Just wanted to add that from what I remember from Full Moon Feast, she said that maple syrup actually had nutrients and such in it like raw honey, so long as it is organic and not mass-produced; the un-organic stuff is processed with formaldehyde, if I remember correctly, which then of course alters all the healthy trace components in the syrup. I'm sure someone out there knows much more about this than I do!

[snowbunny]

Maple syrup, molasses and sorghum syrup are actually quite dense in minerals in a way that honey is not. They're even a richer source of some nutrients than many vegetables - not that that means we should eat them every day, you know? We mostly use honey, but I'll use the other stuff occasionally.

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by snowbunny

Maple syrup, molasses and sorghum syrup are actually quite dense in minerals in a way that honey is not. They're even a richer source of some nutrients than many vegetables - not that that means we should eat them every day, you know?

Fascinating! I read this about blackstrap molasses, but not maple syrup...I want to look into that!

I live in an area full of maple trees and have access to local maple syrup. So I've got access to the really good stuff...

Mamadelbosque, I TOTALLY agree that maple syrup is way delicious! I just go back and forth on the idea of how many sweetners I/we *should* really be ingesting, from a health standpoint, and an evolutionary standpoint, yadda yadda yadda. (Testing myself will probably be the best source of info for me...my own response to foods usually tells me a lot!)

Glad to have posted this and am looking forward to more responses!

[mamadelbosque]

I really don't buy the need for 'organic' maple syrup. It is *ILLEGAL* to use formaldahyde in maple syrup production. ILLEGAL. It may have been used at one point, but it is *NOT* used anymore - if its found in maple syrup, the producers of that maple syrup are in BIG trouble. We get our syrup locally for super cheap ($25 a gallon), and its definetly NOT organic, and I am just so not worried about it. I've bought non-organic maple syrup at the store in the past, cause' I for one just do not see the need to spend 2 or 3x the price on syrup - its expensive enough as it is!!

[amcal]

I've been using Coconut Palm Sugar and I'm very happy with it so far. I get highs and lows from sugars - all sugars - honey and maple syrup included - and I don't get that at all with this. It's low glycemic which is very important to me. My dad, who is diabetic, does great with it - it doesn't affect his blood sugar at all.

My understanding is that you have to be careful because a lot of coconut palm sugars aren't actually from the coco nuciferous tree. Only the coconut palm from the coco nuciferous tree is low glycemic.

The only one certified is this one:
http://www.bigtreefarms.com/sweettreecoconutsugar/

[swood]

I heard that maple syrup has a lot of calcium. One of the best priced I found was a super target and it says on the bottle that theirs is as good as organic b/c it comes from old forests where they don't use pesticides and whatnot anyways. Blackstrap molasses has a lot of iron.

Does anyone know the difference between "blackstrap" molasses and just (unsulfured) molasses?

We are far from sugar free around here! But I use a variety of natural sweeteners... but usually honey b/c it is the least expensive.

[crunchy_mommy]

I have been nearly sugar-free at times... I'm hypoglycemic so I try to watch my sugars!

We use brown cane sugar these days... maple syrup when we can afford it... I don't think either have any great nutritional benefits but they are less refined & therefore less stripped of every little nutrient...

Blackstrap molasses is great due to the iron & calcium but the flavor is a bit strong for everyday use IMO so we don't use it as often as I'd like...

Agave nectar is tasty & has less impact on blood sugar, also is pretty cheap, we use it in place of any syrup in recipes or on pancakes...

We don't use honey (vegan) but it has a lot of nutritional & immune benefits too and I might use it if I wasn't grossed out by it lol.

We also just cut the sugar in everything we cook by about half.

So I guess it depends on why you're avoiding sugar, not sure if I said anything useful here lol

[Straggletag]

I like malt, and it's easy to make at home, but since there's hardly enough space to turn around in this place, I go with molasses and maple syrup, with a promise to myself to try birch syrup in the near future.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by Straggletag

I like malt, and it's easy to make at home, but since there's hardly enough space to turn around in this place, I go with molasses and maple syrup, with a promise to myself to try birch syrup in the near future.

How do you make malt?

[elleystar]

Originally Posted by amcal

I've been using Coconut Palm Sugar and I'm very happy with it so far. I get highs and lows from sugars - all sugars - honey and maple syrup included - and I don't get that at all with this. It's low glycemic which is very important to me. My dad, who is diabetic, does great with it - it doesn't affect his blood sugar at all.

My understanding is that you have to be careful because a lot of coconut palm sugars aren't actually from the coco nuciferous tree. Only the coconut palm from the coco nuciferous tree is low glycemic.

The only one certified is this one:
http://www.bigtreefarms.com/sweettreecoconutsugar/

I have some of that same coconut palm sugar and like it, though I've been off all sweeteners for over a month so it's just been sitting there. I wanted to ask you where you saw that it is certified? We were discussing this in another thread some time ago and never found out. It doesn't say it anywhere on the bag, or on the website that I could find. It would be a weight off my mind to finally see it for fact!

[FairyRae]

I'm loving all the replies!

I'll totally look into the coconut sugar--cool to hear it doesn't effect you and your dad the same way as honey etc... Blood sugar highs and insulin issues are very interesting to me, part of why I'm looking into this!

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by swood

Does anyone know the difference between "blackstrap" molasses and just (unsulfured) molasses?

http://earthclinic.com/Remedies/mola...TRITIONALCHART

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOLASSES AND BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES?
Regular ole molasses is the first or second boiling of cane sugar syrup while blackstrap is the third boiling of the syrup. Iron levels appear to increase 5% in the 3rd boiling

More details here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/art..._molasses.html

[ginnybee]

Interesting. We use mostly honey in baking and maple syrup on pancakes, in smoothies, etc. My kids LOVE blackstrap molasses in their yogurt - they've eaten it that way since babyhood. Not for me, though I do use it in pancakes and baked goods some time. I have agave nectar in the cabinet, but have never used it.

I'm curious about Cane Syrup - anyone know how refined it is? It's a pretty regional thing - I'm originally from Louisiana, and can't really find it outside of the deep South (my Mom ships it to me in Seattle occasionally). It doesn't appear to be very refined (taste similar to regular molasses), and I love it. Because I'm not sure how refined it is, I keep it for myself (the rest of my Yankee family is fine with that.)

BTW, Grade B maple syrup is less refined and, therefore has more nutrients in it.

[ginnybee]

btw, when I say Cane Syrup I mean the dark brown stuff - not the clear, simple sugar syrup that is also called cane syrup sometimes.

[wife2jason]

Slightly off-topic but what less-refined product could you use in place of corn syrup? Would Agave syrup or coconut sugar work? I don't make a lot of "candies" but have enjoyed my hand at marshmallows and toffee for Christmas gifts. Wasn't sure if I had options to sub out the Karo.

I bake with honey or sucanant for the most part. Coconut sugar in plain yogurt is so yummy though! And like others, we do maple syrup on pancakes.

[Magelet]

We love blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, honey, and palm sugar, though we do try to not eat too much of even unrefined sugar. we love the blackstrap molasses in oatmeal with cream. its soo good.

The blackstrap and maple syrup have a lot of minerals, the honey has a lot of enzymes, and the palm sugar has more minerals than refined sugar, and sometimes you just need sugar that will melt like cane sugar. None of them make my blood sugar and behavior spike as badly as refined sugar. I would also be happy to get unrefined cane sugar, if I could figure out what it was, but I don't trust the brands I see to definitely be unrefined and not "less refined".

If we bake, we almost always use molasses, maple syrup, or palm sugar and usually save the honey for non-cooking applications, since it ruins all those wonderful enzymes if you cook it, but sometimes we do cook it, if we want the taste.

We never use agave syrup, I would prefer to use white refined cane sugar to agave, which is I've heard, worse than high fructose corn syrup, and not actually a traditional sugar. (the only traditional use is for tequila making).

[ginnybee]

I did some research today in answer to my own question. "Ribbon cane syrup" is the official name of the cane syrup we grew up on in Louisiana. It comes from a species of cane that is only used for syrup, not sugar. I guess it's a pretty rare thing these days. It's even been listed on Slow Food's Ark of Taste as a food tradition at risk of becoming extinct.

Ribbon cane syrup isn't refined, it's boiled down just like maple syrup. Not sure what nutrients or minerals are present (as just a few small producers still make it and nutritional info is hard to come by) or if it's available "organic". Still, I'm glad to know my favorite pancake topping may not be so bad after all. If you're in the deep south, you might want to check it out.