Sugar Review

Honey:

Is predigested by bees and therefore a simple sugar, as opposed to complex (more than two molecules). This is a preferred sweetener for people who are on diets due to sensitivities re: complex sugars. Not all people tolerate honey well.

Honey also, when mixed with water (sweat, etc.) creates a very mild hydrogen peroxide solution. It is believed that this is why Manuka honey, in many cases, works better on diabetic lesions than antibiotics.

I have alternated honey and epsom salts and oregano/garlic tea on a staph infection on my daughter's face (rather than going right to a cortisone cream which is hard on the skin) and had success with it.


Stevia:

Plant extract. Not much is really known about it at this point. It does have some hormonal questions surrounding it. Diabetics have little choice. So, if you don't absolutely HAVE to use it... use it once a week. This way, if there are hormonal toxic factors, your body will have rebound time before the next use.


Maple syrup:

Plant origin. And of course being Canadians, we're very pro-maple syrup.

Still, it is a complex sugar and not allowed on diets like SCD, etc. Also, it is considered illegal on a raw food diet because, of course, it's boiled tree sap.


Agave nectar:

Again, complex sugar.

It's also part of the asparagus family which can be fairly reactive for some people. Hint: If asparagus makes you nauseas or throw up (whether you like the taste or not), this would be your last choice for a sweetener.

Dried fruits:

raisins, dates, nuts, apples, apricots, etc.

If you can afford a dehydrator, you will avoid the chemicals that factories use to dry foods. (Sulphite sensitivities come into play here.) Then you can either cut up the dried fruit and add it to cereal, muffins or whatever.

Date sugar:

See above.


Frozen fruits:

strawberries, grapes and apples

Think ice wine. These foods get incredible sweet when they've been frozen. You can even freeze apple cider... the water will freeze and the cider part becomes thicker... almost syrupy. Puree them up in nutmilk and you'll have a great sweetened, flavoured, cereal milk.

Pureed fruits:

Bananas, etc.

Bananas should have brown spots on them though. The brown spots indicate that the complex sugars are being broken down to simple sugars. That's a good thing.


***
Can't think of anything more right now. Rotation is best. There are enough sugars out there that you can have a different one for every day of the week. This way also, if you fell crumby on your 'apple days', then odds are, your body doesn't like apples. Apple sensitivity (caucasian cultures) is more common that people realize. Papaya sensitivity is more common in East Indian cultures. Keep this in mind and don't keep eating stuff that makes you feel bad.

Also keep in mind, too much concentrated sugar (dried/powdered is the easiest to overdo for most people) is not going to help you get that 'ripped' look.

As always, if I've written something that seems contradictory, ask me about it. What I can review quickly is only an extremely minute portion of information. I'll come back and edit as questions are asked for the sake of immediate clarification for new readers.

I'm done now. I think. ;)