I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that I have lots of notes in the recipes indicating that I use sweeteners other than regular old “sugar”. Some people have asked me about why I do this, so this post is an attempt to explain my reasoning. Please know that this is not intended to be an instruction to anyone on what sweetener you should be using. If you’re comfortable using what you’ve always used, that’s great. If you want to try something new, that’s great too.
There’s a fair amount of debate amongst those “in the know” (aka doctors, nurses, nutritionists, herbalists, cooks) about so called “natural sweeteners” vs. refined white sugar (RWS) vs. artificial sweeteners.
Some people will insist that using natural sweeteners, like blue agave syrup or sucanat, is better for your health than using table sugar.
Others will insist that this idea is a hoax and the effects on the body are chemically no different amongst the different categories of sweetener so just use regular old sugar.
There is yet another group who will tell you that all sweeteners, natural, artificial, or traditional will ALL kill you so don’t eat any of it! If you want a sweet have an apple and count your blessings!
To be fair, I think everyone has some decent points to make and, as with most things, I tend to be in favor of moderation rather than any dramatic stance in either direction. That said, I have my own thoroughly unscientific and anecdotal experiences with sugar that have influenced the choices that I make in my cooking and eating.
But let’s start with basic facts that most reasonable people in this debate don’t argue over:
1. Vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants are naturally found in food and these things assist the body in the digestion process and in metabolizing the sugars the food contains.
2. This is true for sugar too. The sugar cane plant itself is has high levels of vitamins and minerals. However, when it is processed into table sugar (aka refined white sugar) all those vitamins and minerals are removed from the sugar. This is why sugar is often referred to as “empty calories” since it doesn’t provide any nutritional value.
3. Refined white sugar (with the vitamins and minerals removed) reduces white blood cell activity, as soon as 10 minutes and for as long as 5 hours, after its consumption. This means there is decreased immune system response during that time. This is why a connection is sometimes made between sugar consumption and getting sick more frequently.
4. Less refining means more vitamins and minerals, which means higher nutritional content, which means fewer “empty calories”.
Now for the thoroughly unscientific anecdotal evidence… I try very hard to make all the cakes, cookies, ice-cream, etc. that my family eats from scratch, but I can’t control everything my kids eat because they got to school , friend’s houses, birthday parties, camp, go trick-or-treating etc. where I can’t control the things they are fed. So my “moderation in all things” mentality kicks in with this simple formula: What I have the ability to control (aka cook myself) I do and I use only natural sweeteners, and what I can’t control (i.e. what they get on Halloween) I don’t worry about. It works pretty nicely for my sanity level.
But this is what I’ve observed: when my kids eat something highly processed and refined they act like caged wild animals afterward. When they eat something I’ve made with natural sweeteners I do not see any behavioral problems out of them afterward. It’s damn near clockwork and there isn’t a lot of “scientific evidence” that’s going to convince me that there isn’t a cause and effect relationship here.
Next is my own personal experience. Remember how I mentioned in the salted chocolate caramels post about that monster bursting out of my chest when I eat refined white sugar? Well it’s true. About 1o years ago, after having been off RWS for a while, I ventured back to see what it would be like. In short, it was like my brain had been taken over by aliens. I couldn’t think clearly or abstractly. My emotional state also got really volatile. Basically, I became an adult version of that hyperactive kid hopped up on sugar.
Oh, and I also can’t stop eating the things that are made with RWS. That means that if I have a box of cookies then I have to eat the whole box of cookies and then figure out how to get a second and third box too. On the other hand, when I cook with natural sweeteners I can have a couple of cookies and feel satisfied. My kids too, will eat a couple of cookies but then be ok with putting the rest away for tomorrow. Regardless of what’s happening chemically in our bodies, being able to enjoy treats in moderation is always going to be healthier in my book.
Some resources to read more about this topic:
http://deliciouslyorganic.net/my-pantry/
http://www.healthychild.com/sugar-and-sweeteners/life-is-sweet-a-guide-to-using-healthy-sweeteners/
http://www.healthy-recipes-for-your-family.com/natural-sugar-substitutes.html
I’m with you…I like to use natural sweeteners whenever possible. It makes me feel a little better about giving my daughter a treat. Rock on!
I like your points! I am willing to give this a try – I, like you, figure my kids like sweets. I, like you, figure if my kids are going to eat cookies and cake I would rather it be home made. I refuse to use any artificial sweeteners and find that anything made with sucrolose, or the like, tastes terrible so why bother. I would like to try this natural sucanat and see how it goes. Now here’s the thing. I have to put sugar in my coffee, I just cannot stand the stuff without it, and I must have my one cup in the morning. What do you think about that agave syrup? Anything to it?
I think of blue agave as being a good substitute for things like corn syrup so I’m not sure how it would work in coffee, but I would not hesitate to try it in tea. For coffee, when I drink it, I use sucanat. It sweetens just like sugar and has a slight hint of molasses to it so I think it compliments the dark, rich, and slightly bitter taste of the coffee while it sweetens it.
So do you use sucanat in all your baking? I saw it is usually substituted for brown sugar, but you substitute it for white sugar too?
I substitute it for white sugar in anything where the color of the end product doesn’t matter (because it is brown in color). Sucanat is actually a contraction of “SUgar CAne NATural”. It’s the raw sugar cane without any processing beyond drying out the sugar cane juice. So it has a molasses-y aftertaste, but it doesn’t pack like brown sugar.
For things where I want the color to be lighter and more like RWS I use evaporated cane juice which has been processed just a little to lighten the color. It’s still more like a very light beige rather than white.
For brown sugar I used muscovado, which comes in light and dark varieties. It tastes almost exactly like traditional brown sugar except it’s a bit less sweet and more rich.
I use Sucunat but recently was introduced to granulated honey.
I like the Sucanat for brown sugar substitute but the granulated honey is less molasses-y and works much better in ice tea, for example. I find that it is a tiny bit less sweet (cup for cup) than white sugar but usually that isn’t a problem. It does seem to take a bit longer to dissolve in hot liquids than RWS.
J in VA
I love the idea of granulated honey. I’m going to try to find that and give it a try. Thanks for the wonderful suggestion.