Sugar Hierarchy
Sugar isn’t good for you.
It’s one of the very few things almost everybody agrees on except the sugar industry.
Sugar has been known to:
- Make holes in your teeth
- Disrupt your blood sugar
- Cause inflammation
- Be a precursor to many problems including coronary artery disease, heart disease, certainly the obesity epidemic, insulin resistance, joint pain and a host of other things.
First, some general discussion; later on there is a list, what I call “The Sugar Hierarchy.” These are my opinions, based on years of reading research, but still my opinions.
There isn’t one right answer; for some people, one choice is better than another. However, the thing to note is that some of these are DEFINITELY better than others.
All sugar is not created equal.
General Discussion
Some sugars are really bad for you, like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). Others are better, like coconut sugar.
There are different answers for different people. If you are diabetic, fake sugar is probably better than real sugar, although still not good for you.
Personally, I think the fake sugars are awful: saccharin, aspartame, sucralose (Sweet’N Low®; NutraSweet®, SPLENDA®). Your body recognizes them as sweet; you still have the inflammation and cravings even with no calories. It still reeks havoc on the insulin system. They are made in the laboratory and your body sees them as invaders.
Probably for diabetics, the best choices are the sugar alcohols: mannitol, sorbitol, erythritol, xylitol. Erythritol seems to be the best. They can be purchased at the Health Food store in bulk or in packages. They are basically equal, and are all a little sweeter than sugar; too much of any of them will give you the runs.
For some people who do not have blood sugar issues, honey is a good alternative. Honey, although it has some nutrients and vitamins, is still sugar and will send your blood sugar through the roof. So it depends on what your issues are. It’s a natural product; it’s not processed. Try to get local honey.
Agave has been debunked in recent years because it’s way too processed.
The Sugar Hierarchy:
Let’s run them down sort of in groups. Any single item on the hierarchy list is not necessarily better or worse than what is directly above or below it. Just generally the stuff at the beginning of the list is MUCH better than those at the end of the list.
- Better:
- Stevia is probably the best. Stevia is a plant, naturally sweet, with a slightly bitter taste. It’s actually better to use it to bring out existing sweetness.
- Molasses is a great product – The more refined (i.e. processed), the sweeter it gets and the worse for you it becomes. Blackstrap is the least processed, the least sweet. It’s full of vitamins.
- Honey is good for some; it’s natural and has vitamins. Bad choice for a diabetic; it’s still sugar.
- Coconut sugar – it’s still sugar! It has a lower glycemic index which means it doesn’t spike the blood sugar as fast as other sugars, plus it has some nutrients.
- Maple syrup – more natural, some vitamins, still sugar!
- Truvía® – a processed product made of Stevia.
I would say these above are the better choices depending on your story. Not the better choices if you are diabetic or even hypoglycemic.
-
- Beet sugar
- Next: I would say are the 4 sugar alcohols, although some people disagree and say these are really bad. They all can cause gastric upset (the runs) if you eat too much of them.
-
- Xylitol
- Mannitol
- Sorbitol
- Erythritol
- And the choices which are not as good, which basically just run up your blood sugar, give you empty calories, and contribute to general ill health:
-
- Rice syrup
- Glucose syrup – purer than table sugar which is sucrose and glucose. Pure glucose does not seem to have some of the deleterious effects of other sugars. It’s still sugar!
- Cane sugar
- Brown sugar – just one micro step away from table sugar
- Raw sugar – ditto
- Table sugar is sucrose, which is glucose and fructose.
- Fructose – IF it’s in fruit, it’s better. As a white powder, it’s worse. It’s been proven to cause both inflammation and fat and weight gain. See Dr. Robert Lustig on YouTube for more on fructose research and how it causes problems.
- Agave
- Corn syrup – not only pure sugar, you don’t always know what you are getting. Could be mixed with fructose, could be GMO corn which is likely.
- HFCS – High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Fake sugars at very bottom of pile:
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- NutraSweet® which is aspartame
- Sweet’N Low® which is saccharin
- SPLENDA® which is sucralose. Want to read about problems? Google “dangers of SPLENDA ®,” or “dangers of aspartame.” By comparison if you google “dangers of coconut sugar,” you just get that it’s still sugar, not a laundry list of potential side effects that read like a warning label on a medication.
Artificial sugars should be avoided at all costs. Some of us think of these as poison. For diabetics, obviously the choices are slightly different. I would still opt for the sugar alcohols before the fake sugars.
Newer research shows that all sugar, fake or otherwise makes the body think it’s getting sugar.
A side note: A relative of mine works for SPLENDA ®, which makes our family gatherings interesting and our topics of conversation rarely about food!
