Excerpt from the book “Food to the Rescue” by Dr. Jennifer Shell, D.C. 

Photo by Pea on unsplash.com 

Acceptable Sweeteners; 

This section covers the sweeteners that are acceptable but should be limited. 

• Stevia: This wonderful leaf is actually thirty times sweeter than sugar, has negligible calories, and does not raise blood sugar – awesome, right? To use stevia powder in recipes, use one-half to one teaspoon in place of one cup of sugar and add one to two tablespoons of extra liquid. When you bake with it, don’t expect the product to brown. I have cooked the crap out of stuff not realizing it was done! But, don’t worry, friends. The “Is it done?” mystery is easily solved with the old-fashioned toothpick test. 

• Chicory: The product “Just Like Sugar” is made from the chicory root.

• Unsweetened apple sauce (which would include the fiber) for baked goods

• Unsweetened apple juice (which does not have any fiber) 

• Date sugar: It is full of vitamins, minerals and fiber. 

• Coconut sugar: It is high in vitamins and minerals and does not cause a sugar spike, so I do like it in baking. 

• Molasses: It is extracted from sugar cane and also still has minerals intact. 

• Pure maple syrup: It has minerals like calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and iron. Try to find organic, locally produced maple syrup because some producers use formaldehyde in their processing. Formaldehyde causes cancer. 

• Raw hone: It contains vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants. Raw hone has beneficial enzymes that digest carbs. Remember, kids under one shouldn’t eat honey because of a potential bacteria they cannot digest.

• Barley malt: It has fiber, complex carbs, and potassium. Be careful if there is a gluten allergy in your family because barley malt contains gluten. 

• Brown rice syrup: It has complex carbs instead of simple carbs. 

• Limited amounts of sugar alcohols like Xylitol, etc. 

The bottom line is that sugar, any sugar, will feed disease. Any sweet taste will perpetuate the need for more sweet tastes, so the key is reduce consumption.