What Are The Healthiest And Safest Sweeteners For Baking?

Do you love and crave sweet treats? People with a sweet tooth might struggle to avoid sugar, especially when they love to eat cake, cookies, brownies, dessert, and other food containing added sugar, such as soda, juice, processed food, etc. Admit it or not, you have been a victim of these sweet treats from time to time.

On the other hand, too many sweet treats can increase blood sugar, which causes major health problems, such as obesity, health complications, and diabetes in the long run, not just to adults, but for kids also. The good thing is, there is a wide variety of natural and artificial alternative sweeteners that you can use for cooking or baking, as a healthy choice. It is essential in reducing the amount of table sugar in your baked goods. If you love sweet treats and there’s no way you cannot survive a day without consuming sweet food, then this article can help you.

Alternative Sweeteners for Baking or Cooking

White table sugar contains a high number of calories. In contrast, table sugar is highly processed sugar, and refined sugar can cause insulin spikes and increases blood sugar, so what are you going to use as a sweetener for your food? It is unnecessary to omit your sweet treats from your everyday life. Here’s the list of alternative sweeteners that you can use for baking and cooking.

Coconut Sugar

Coconut palm sugar or coconut sugar is made from coconut nectar. Don’t worry because it doesn’t taste like coconut. It is a healthy and safe alternative to table sugar as its glycemic index is lower than table sugar. Coconut sugar has a lot of nutrients like short-chain fatty acids, such as antioxidants, polyphenols, and minerals like calcium, potassium, iron, and zinc. This type of sugar alternative is the best substitute for brown sugar.

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is also a good sugar alternative for baking. It contains carbohydrates and minerals, such as iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, and more. Maple syrup can be used in marinading, on baking cinnamon bread, or toast. You can also combine it in your oatmeal, cereals, and so on.

Stevia

Stevia sweeteners are 200 times sweeter than sugar. It contains a glycemic index of zero, and it contains between zero and one calorie. It is good for people with diabetes. This can help to increase insulin production and stabilize blood sugar levels. You can grow a stevia plant in your home, so it would be available in case you need to use it on your food.

How to choose the right sugar substitute

The sugar alternatives mentioned above are only some of the so many sugar substitutes that you can use. Besides knowing what the healthiest and safest sweeteners you can use for baking or cooking are, you should also know how you will know the right alternative sweetener for you. And here are the things that you should know:

• Know the four sugar alternative categories – Artificial sweeteners, novel sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and natural sweeteners are the four sugar substitute categories. Each alternative has advantages and disadvantages based on your goals.
• Know why you want to reduce your sugar – It is important to know why you are cutting down sugar so that you can use these sugar alternatives in moderation. Artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols are better sugar substitute for people with diabetes. In contrast, natural sweeteners can still increase your blood sugar. It is still best to consult a dietitian or doctor to know what sugar is the best for you.