Re: Natural sweeteners questions

[Guest guest]

>

> Natural sweeteners are controversial. Unrefined sweeteners contain high

amounts of nutrients, but also spike blood sugar to unhealthy levels for many

people.

> It seems odd that there is a controversy over natural sweeteners because they

have probably always been a staple of primitive diets.

After agriculture, maybe. For hunter-gatherers, sweet was seasonal around the

globe.

> Groups with a supply of honey I'm sure ate as much as they could gather, dried

fruits have probably always been a staple, and primitive peoples may have made

sugar out of dried fruit juices.

All agricultural

> I know dehydrated cane juice spikes my blood sugar significantly because it

makes me sleepy, but the raw, unpasteurized honey I eat does not have an effect

no matter how much of it I eat.

Honey has more fructose, I believe.

> It seems that at least some natural sweeteners above moderate levels would be

healthy for most people because of the ready availability of natural sweeteners

throughout our existence and because of their probable high consumption because

of man's craving for them.

Don't agree at all.

Above moderate levels = unhealthy for most people

Ready availability of natural sweeteners = no, seasonal

Probably high consumption = see seasonal

Man's craving = only documented after usage becomes immoderate

>

[Guest guest]

--- <ccmg5678> wrote:

> > It seems that at least some natural sweeteners above moderate

> > levels would be healthy for most people because of the ready

> > availability of natural sweeteners throughout our existence and

> > because of their probable high consumption because of man's

> > craving for them.

>

--- Connie <cbrown2008@...> wrote:

> Don't agree at all.

> Above moderate levels = unhealthy for most people

> Ready availability of natural sweeteners = no, seasonal

> Probably high consumption = see seasonal

> Man's craving = only documented after usage becomes immoderate

Connie,

I agree that foods with added sweeteners of any kind should be minimized. Small

amounts of fruit should be OK for most people, except those with pre-diabetes or

diabetes. I think one of the biggest mistakes people make in moving to a

" traditional " type diet is moving their sweet tooth from refined sugars to less

refined forms, but the amount of fructose they ingest remains about the same.

And if you have a sweet tooth and crave foods with added sweeteners, then you're

probably getting too much fructose. Most popular natural unrefined sugars are

about 50% fructose, which in large amounts daily is bad news for long-term

health, and that includes honey, molasses, and less refined cane sugar. Agave

" nectar " is almost all fructose. Too much fructose over time appears to wreck

our metabolism, especially in conjunction with too much polyunsaturated fats.