® Top Choices for Natural Sweeteners In 2000, the average American consumed 52 teaspoons of added sugars each day; over 5 times the recommended limit and the reason for which sugar may be considered the most prevalent food additive.1 Replacing refined sugar and artificial sweeteners with natural sweeteners is a healthier alternative for adding a touch of sweetness to your food and beverages. Natural sweeteners vary in taste, sweetness, form (e.g. granular, liquid) and nutritional profile, so experiment to find your favorites. You may find a combination of two different sweeteners most palatable. Choose organic and avoid bulking agents (e.g. maltodextrin). Although natural sweeteners are healthier choices than processed sugar, they are best used in moderation.

1 c. sugar = ¾ tsp pure stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) extract or 6 tsp liquid stevia Stevia *adjust according to brand Stevia is a sweet herb originating from South America. Steviol glycosides, stevia leaf extracts, make a zero-calorie sweetener that does not impact blood glucose.2,3 Stevia is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar.4 Did you know? *Sugar alcohols are not 1 c. sugar = 1 ¼ c. erythritol fully absorbed in the small Erythritol intestine, so overconsumption may cause bloating, flatulence, Erythritol, a naturally occurring sugar alcohol present in fruits and or diarrhea. Erythritol is 6 vegetables, is a low calorie sweetener. It is a granulated sweetener similar typically well tolerated. in taste to sugar. However, erythritol is 60-70% less sweet than sugar.5

2 1 c. sugar = ⁄3 tsp extract or (Luo Han Guo) 1 c. baking blend Monk Fruit *adjust according to brand Monk fruit is native to Asia where it was traditionally used medicinally. It is a concentrated zero-calorie sweetener that is about 300 times sweeter than sugar. Sweetness comes from mogrosides, which act as antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and anti-carcinogens.6,7 Monk fruit does not impact blood glucose.8 It is often combined with other natural sweeteners such as erythritol to make a 1:1 sugar replacement. Xylitol 1 c. sugar = 1 c. xylitol Xylitol is a sugar alcohol derived from birch tree bark or corncob. It has 40% fewer calories than sugar, minimal impact on blood glucose,9 and anticavity properties.10 Birch xylitol is often recommended due to concerns about corn allergies11 and GMOs.12

2 In baking, 1 c. sugar = ⁄3 c. maple syrup; reduce liquid ingredients by ¼ c. per 1 c. maple syrup Maple Syrup & reduce oven temperature 25°F Maple syrup is made from boiling maple tree sap to form a thick liquid. It is a good source of manganese and zinc,.13 contains sugar, has 52 calories per tablespoon,14 and impacts blood glucose and insulin levels.

In baking, 1 c. sugar = 1 1/3 c. molasses; reduce liquid ingredients by 5 Tbsp per 1 1 ⁄3 c. molasses & add 1/2 tsp baking soda Blackstrap Molasses Blackstrap molasses is a viscous byproduct of sugar processing formed from the third boiling. Extracted juices are boiled until sugar crystals form, at which point the crystallized sugar is removed from the syrup. Blackstrap molasses is mineral rich, containing manganese, copper, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and selenium.15 It contains sugar, has 58 calories per tablespoon,16 and impacts blood glucose and insulin levels. https://kalenaspire.com ∙ Copyright © 2016 Kalena Spire, Inc. All Rights Reserved. REFERENCES

1 United States Department of Agriculture. (2003). Profiling Food Consumption in America. In Agriculture Fact Book 2001- 2002 (Chapter 2). Retrieved from http://www.usda.gov/documents/usda-factbook-2001-2002.pdf 2 Yadav, A. K., Singh, S., Dhyani, D., & Ahuja, P. S. (2011). A review on the improvement of stevia [Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni)]. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 91, 1-27. doi: 10.4141/CJPS10086 3 Anton, S. D., Martin, C. K., Han, H., Coulon, S., Cefalu, W. T., Geiselman, P., & Williamson, D. A. (2010). Effects of stevia, aspartame, and sucrose on food intake, satiety, and postprandial glucose and insulin levels. Appetite, 55(1), 37-43. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2010.03.009 4 Prakash, I., DuBois, G. E., Clos, J. F., Wilkens, K. L., & Fosdick, L. E. (2008). Development of rebiana, a natural, non-caloric sweetener. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 46(7), S75-S82. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2008.05.004 5 de Cock, P., & Bechert, C. - L. (2002). Erythritol. Functionality in noncaloric functional beverages. Pure and Applied Chemistry, 74(7), 1281-1289. doi: 10.1351/pac200274071281 6 Wang, L., Yang, Z., Lu, F., Liu, J., Song, Y., & Li, D. (2014). Cucurbitane glycosides derived from mogroside IIE: Structure-taste relationships, antioxidant activity, and acute toxicity. Molecules, 19(8), 12676-12689. doi: 10.3390/molecules190812676 7 Liu, C., Zeng, Y., Dai, L. – H., Cai, T. – Y., Zhu, Y. – M., Dou, D. – Q., . . . Sun, X. (2015). Mogrol represents a novel leukemia therapeutic, via ERK and STAT3 inhibition. American Journal of Cancer Research, 5(4), 1308-1218. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4473312/ 8 Food Insight. (2015, August 6). Everything you need to know about monk fruit sweeteners. Retrieved fromhttp://www.foodinsight.org/monk-fruit-low-calorie-sweetener-facts 9 Sellman, S. (2002). Xylitol—Our sweet salvation. Total Health, 24(4), 22-24. 10 Touger-Decker, R., & van Loveren, C. (2003). Sugars and dental caries. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 78(4), 8815-8925. Retrieved from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/4/881S.full.pdf+html 11 Scibilia, J., Pastorello, E. A., Zisa, G., Ottolenghi, A., Ballmer-Weber, B., Pravettoni, V., . . . Ortolani, C. (2008). Maize food allergy: A double-blind placebo-controlled study. Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 38(12), 1943-1949. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2008.03094.x 12 Environmental Working Group. (2014, February 19). EWG’s 2014 shopper’s guide to avoiding GMO food. Retrieved from http://www.ewg.org/research/shoppers-guide-to-avoiding-gmos 13 World’s Healthiest Foods. (2016). Can you tell me more about maple syrup? Retrieved from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=351 14 United States Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Basic report: 19353, syrups, maple [Data file]. Retrieved from http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/6329?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=35&offset=&sort=&qlookup=maple+syrup 15 World’s Healthiest Foods. (2016). Can you tell me more about blackstrap molasses? Retrieved from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=350 16 United States Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Basic report: 19304, molasses [Data file]. Retrieved from https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/6293?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=35&offset=&sort=&qlookup=molasses

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