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Luckily there are quite a few sweeteners found in nature that are actually quite good for health. This video looks at 4 at the healthiest.

1. Stevia

Stevia is a very popular low-calorie sweetener. It’s extracted from the leaves of the South American Stevia plant.

There are several sweet compounds found in Stevia leaves, the main ones are Stevioside and Rebaudioside A.

Both are many hundred times sweeter than sugar, gram for gram, but have virtually no calories.

Some studies in humans have shown Stevia to have health benefits.

When blood pressure is high, Stevia can lower it by 6-14%.

However, it has no effect on blood pressure that is normal or only mildly elevated.

Stevia has been shown to lower blood sugar levels in diabetics, at least short term.

2. Erythritol

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that is found naturally in certain fruits, and also used as a low-calorie sweetener. Sugar alcohols are like hybrids of a carbohydrate and an alcohol molecule- it doesn’t contain any ethanol though so doesn’t make you drunk.

Erythritol contains 0.24 calories per gram, or about 6% of the calories as sugar, with 70% of the sweetness.

It doesn’t spike blood sugar or insulin levels and has no effect on biomarkers like cholesterol or triglycerides.

Erythritol tastes very much like sugar, although it can have a mild aftertaste. And while studies show that it’s safe, it can cause digestive issues if you consume too much at a time.

3. Xylitol

Xylitol is also a sugar alcohol with a sweetness similar to sugar.

It contains 2.4 calories per gram, or about 2/3rds of the caloric value of sugar.

Studies have shown it has some benefits for dental health, and may also improve bone density, helping to prevent osteoporosis. It doesn’t raise blood sugar or insulin levels.

But as with other sugar alcohols, it can cause digestive side effects at high doses. Oh, and it’s highly toxic to dogs, so you might want Xylitol out of the house if you have a dog.

4. Yacon Syrup

Yacon syrup is harvested from the Yacon plant, which grows natively in the Andes in South America.

This sweetener has recently become popular as a weight loss supplement, because one study found it caused significant weight loss in overweight women. While it’s promising, one study on its own doesn’t count for much.

But what makes yacon syrup stand out is the high fructooligosaccharide content, which function as soluble fibers that feed the good bacteria in the intestine.

It can help against constipation and has various benefits due to the high amount of soluble fiber. Don’t eat too much at a time though, as it may cause digestive problems.

There are several popular sweeteners that health conscious people often eat instead of sugar. This includes coconut sugar, molasses, honey and maple syrup.

In reality they really aren’t much different from regular sugar. If you are heavily overweight or insulin resistant, large amounts of any of these is not good for you.

That’s not to say they are harmful for everyone though. In the context of a healthy, real food based diet, small amounts of these natural sugars won’t cause harm.

Further reading: https://authoritynutrition.com/4-healthy-natural-sweeteners/

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Studies mentioned in video:

Study 1: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14693305
Study 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14681845
Study 3: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19254816

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