Healthy Sugars - Are There Any

Ranked #1,680 in Healthy Living, #35,540 overall

Are All Sugars Bad?

We've been told by countless people over countless years that Sugar is bad for us and we've believed it to be a true statement. The question we should be asking is this Is all sugar the same and are there healthy sugars and even vital sugars. We know know that the statement 'all fats are bad for us' was wrong. Some fats are bad for us but equally some fats are actually essential - Omega 3 being one. Sugar is the common name for sucrose and there are few people who would disagree that too much sucrose or sugar is bad for you. Notice that too much is the operative phrase. It might surprise you that sucrose is vital for the brain to work correctly - without it it doesn't work well. For the brain to work well sucrose is necessary. There are many other sugars that are both necessary and healthy. Healthy sugars are now finding their place alongside functional foods and combined with pharmaceuticals are giving therapeutic options never before considered.
Trehalose a healthy Sugar

Emulin

In Jan 2011 a new product hit the markets and it is creating quite a stir. It's name is Emulin and some people are calling it a sugar. It is derived from Grapefruit and appears to reduce the absorption of glucose from the blood stream and promote glucose to be taken up by cells from the blood. It also stimulates the pancrease to make more insulin and appears to resensitise the glucose receptors on cells - hence the increased uptake of glucose from the blood stream.
Emulin is made up of 3 flavenoids all of which interact with each other and together create the desired result. It is available in the USA as an over the counter medicine and as far as i know its not yet available in the UK.
So what are the potential good and bad points:
1. better blood glucose management means fewer side effects - peripheral neuropathy being just one
2. reduced complications
3. could help in the war against obesity

Bad points
1. we don't have enough data yet to really say that it is safe - i'm quite happy to let the US market test it first.
2. possibly difficult blood glucose level management issues with interactions with metformin/gliciside drugs
3. it is blocking the take up of glucose - that could lead to low blood glucose levels
4. may lead to complacency in diabetics - ie might stop trying to control by diet.

In summary watch out for this possibly wonderful addition the war on diabetes - i'll keep updates posted

Coco Sugar - Now thats a new one

This is an extract from the Phillipines News
Also good for diabetics is coco sugar. "A natural sweetener and functional food, coco sugar is a much welcome development for diabetics and hypoglycemics," said the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development (Pcarrd).

Compared with refined cane sugar, coco sugar has a glycemic index (GI) at 35. This is much lower than the 54 GI, the level which nutritionists consider as safe for people who have to watch out their glucose level.
"Having a low GI means that people who consume coco sugar will not experience sudden spikes in their blood glucose or blood sugar levels," explained Pcarrd, a line agency of the Department of Science and Technology.

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) agrees. Research results have shown that diabetics who use coco sugars are able to stabilize their blood sugar levels, PCA said in its website.
Full article here: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/lifestyle/2011/10/04/health-benefits-coco-rediscovered-182975

Daily Mail - News Item - Sugars

healthy sugars
A group of Australian researchers has studied the diets of 2200 adults and found some surprising facts. If you eat apples, sprouts, cauliflower or broccoli on a daily basis then your risk of cancer went down. Conversely, they found that drinking a glass of fruit juice din't have the same effect - in truth it increased your risk of cancer. To read the article from the daily mail click here

In case you want to think a little more about this then here goes. There are healthy sugars but sadly fructose in the amounts you get in fruit juice isn't one of them. I'm not saying fructose isn't good - its just that the amounts in the fruit juice are too high. Would it give better results if it was diluted - probably but it is a difficult issue to get the mind around.
The good sugars are ones that digest slowly:

  • Galactose

  • Trehalose

  • lactose

  • maltose

  • Amylose

  • cellulose

  • xylose

  • Now some of these may not taste very good so I wouldn't try using them as a replacement for sucrose except Trehalose which works really well.

Sugars are Not All Bad - Some Are Necessary

If you use honey are you aware that you are just using a slightly different form of sucrose -

Loading poll. Please Wait...

Sugar Doesn't Deserve The Bad Press

Is table sugar as bad as people say it is?

Loading Fetching blurbs now... please stand by

yes

professor anonymous says:

Yes, it is, and Stevia isn't. Stevia should be re-evaluated by researchers fully-independent of (the all powerfull) commercial interests

Tipi says:

The jury is in and white table sugar is convicted!

Lemming13 says:

I am intolerant of most processed sugars; only fructose doesn't cause me illness. I prefer to give my kids natural cane sugar, though they would riot if I took sugar away for good.

Rissa says:

White refined sugars are.

Marin says:

yes!

no

paulbarton says:

Is Trehalose as bad as sucrose for Tooth health?

A.Barnhart says:

I am doing a school report on sugars, on the Pro side. Sugars in small amounts are neccesary aren't they? Large amounts of refined sugar is obviously unhealthy, but not all sugars are right?

 
view all 14 comments

Honey - is it good for you?

So many people seem to prefer honey as a sweetener - but is it any better than sucrose?
Honey is made up mainly of fructose and dextrose - both monosaccharides and sadly both enter the blood stream really quickly wihc is fine if you need energy fast but bad if you want to stay healthy.
My advice would be to use it sparingly - almost as a treat. We recommend Trehalose as the best low/mid GI form as it is slow release.
There are several side benefits from using honey - the protein content is often helpful as are the trace minerals - so there are some great things about Honey.

The Greatest Tragedy of All Time

Loading

Xylitol - Xylose

Xylitol is not only a safe, natural sweetener without the bad side-effects of sugar and artificial substitutes, it's also good for your teeth, stabilises insulin and hormone levels and promotes good health.

Americans (and the rest of the western world) have a mighty hankering for sugar. It seems that we just can't get enough of the stuff. On average, a half a cup of sugar is consumed per person every day. It is estimated that the average American eats, drinks, slurps, stirs and sprinkles about 150 pounds of it annually. Never in modern history has a culture consumed so much sugar.

Sugar truly does deserve its reputation as a "white poison". Thinking of sugar as a food is really a stretch of the imagination, because it is more a chemical that is difficult for our bodies to utilise and digest. Humans were really not designed to eat large amounts of sugar in whatever form it may take: white and brown, corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, barley malt, honey, rice syrup and maple syrup. Sugar is also highly seductive, acting like an addictive drug that lures even the most well-intentioned person back into its sweet clutches.

According to Chinese wisdom, sweetness is one of the flavours necessary for maintaining balance in the body. But regularly eating large amounts of sugar will cause serious harm. Sugar can cause hypoglycaemia and weight gain, leading to diabetes and obesity in both children and adults. It leaches the body of vital minerals and vitamins. It raises blood pressure, triglycerides and the bad cholesterol (LDL), increasing the risk of heart disease. It causes tooth decay and periodontal disease, which leads to tooth loss and systemic infections. It makes it difficult for a child's brain to learn, resulting in a lack of concentration. Both children and adults exhibit disruptive behaviour, learning disorders and forgetfulness from sugar consumption. It initiates auto-immune and immune deficiency disorders such as arthritis, allergies and asthma. It also upsets hormonal imbalance and supports the growth of cancer cells.

So what are we to do? Will our sugar-cravings always hold us hostage, or is there really a way to lick the sugar habit successfully?

Xylitol is very helpful as a sweetener but not as a sugar to be used in cooking or food preparation - Trehalose is not only suitable but perfect for cooking

Xylitol to the Rescue!

During World War II, Finland was suffering from an acute sugar shortage. With no domestic supply of sugar, the Finns searched for an alternative. It was then that the Finnish scientists re-discovered xylitol, a low-calorie sugar made from birch bark. It had, in fact, been known to the world of organic chemistry since it was first manufactured in 1891 by a German chemist.

By 1930, xylitol had been purified, but it wasn't until World War II that the sugar shortages forced researchers to look at alternative sweeteners. It was only when xylitol was stabilised that it became a viable sweetener in foods. It was also during this time that researchers discovered xylitol's insulin-independent nature (it metabolises in the body without using insulin).

By the 1960s, xylitol was being used in Germany, Switzerland, the Soviet Union and Japan as a preferred sweetener in diabetic diets and as an energy source for infusion therapy in patients with impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Since then, many other countries including Italy and China have been producing xylitol for use in their domestic markets--and with remarkable health benefits. It has been relatively unknown in the USA and Australia, primarily because cheap supplies of cane sugar made the more expensive xylitol less economically viable.

Xylitol is a natural substance found in fibrous vegetables and fruit, as well as in corn cobs and various hardwood trees like birch. It is a natural, intermediate product which regularly occurs in the glucose metabolism of man and other animals as well as in the metabolism of several plants and micro-organisms. Xylitol is produced naturally in our bodies; in fact, we make up to 15 grams daily during normal metabolism.

Although xylitol tastes and looks exactly like sugar, that is where the similarities end. Xylitol is really sugar's mirror image. While sugar wreaks havoc on the body, xylitol heals and repairs. It also builds immunity, protects against chronic degenerative disease and has anti-ageing benefits. Xylitol is considered a five-carbon sugar, which means it is an antimicrobial, preventing the growth of bacteria. While sugar is acid forming, xylitol is alkaline enhancing. All other forms of sugar, including sorbitol, another popular alternative sweetener, are six-carbon sugars which feed dangerous bacteria and fungi.

Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1963, xylitol has no known toxic levels. The only discomfort that some sensitive people may notice initially when taking large amounts is mild diarrhoea or slight cramping. Since the body makes xylitol daily, as well as the enzymes to break it down, any discomfort usually disappears within a few days as the body's enzymatic activity adjusts to a higher intake.

Xylitol has 40 per cent fewer calories and 75 per cent fewer carbohydrates than sugar and is slowly absorbed and metabolised, resulting in very negligible changes in insulin. About one-third of the xylitol that is consumed is absorbed in the liver. The other two-thirds travels to the intestinal tract where it is broken down by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids.

Xylitol looks, feels and tastes exactly like sugar and leaves no unpleasant aftertaste. It is available in many forms. In its crystalline form, it can replace sugar in cooking, baking or as a sweetener for beverages. It is also included as an ingredient in chewing gum, mints and nasal spray.

New YouTube vids

Most Astonishing Health Disaster of the 20th Century
by mercola | video info

3,018 ratings | 680,780 views
curated content from YouTube

Great Health Sites

Natural Way Health
Statins - Statin Drug Side Effects
Statin Drugs - Side Effects and the Misguided War on Cholesterol
Healthy Answers Online. Ask Dr. Vicky Arcadi
This site provides information and suggestions regarding pregnancy, nutrition and to improve the health of parents, the unborn baby, and the woman during pregnancy, labor and delivery, as well as Post-Partum and breast feeding. .Then once the baby is born, there is education and suggestions that will promote long term wellness.
Natural Way Complementary Health Website - Based in Paignton, Devon, England, UK (Natural Way Health Shop & Online store)
Natural Way health food and supplement store with complementary health centre, Paignton, Devon - Secure mail-order online
Food & Cancer - How 1 father Got Educated
"I am a paediatric oncologist and I would like to congratulate you on the job you have done and that you are doing.
I read your book on food and cancer "How one father got educated". I think I have never read such an appropriate and detailed description and explanation of the harmful eff

Please Share Your Thoughts About Healthy/Unhealthy Sugars

submit
  • Reply
    mrducksmrnot Oct 20, 2011 @ 12:42 am | delete
    I love honey and it has many other useful antibodies built right in. Next would be organic sugar. Also Carob is a great sweetener and still in use in Egypt and a major crop for export in several countries. Great for cooking also. Wonderful lens
  • Reply
    Tipi Sep 25, 2011 @ 10:42 am | delete
    I use sugar and honey very sparingly and don't have much of a sweet tooth but still found this to be very interesting. I was surprised to learn about the benefits of xylitol. Well done!
  • Reply
    Lemming13 Feb 2, 2011 @ 4:36 am | delete
    I do use natural sweeteners like natural honey (not processed) and artificial ones like xylitol, because processed sugars makes me ill. I wish more manufacturers would cut down on sugar in their foods.
  • Reply
    DrWenley Nov 24, 2009 @ 5:36 pm | delete
    If people cut down on the amount of sugar and processed foods in their diets they would not only feel better but they would be healthier too. great lens, keep it rolling.
  • Reply
    realadviser Mar 23, 2009 @ 9:19 am | delete
    You know that such avandamet? All I can remember of taking this drug are the side effects. It became difficult to walk two miles in the morning, the distance I could swim comfortably slowly reduced and my legs started to swell. Between starting treatment and my next visit to the doctor was three months. He was very surprised. This drug has an excellent reputation for the treatment of type 2 Diabetes but take care.
  • Load More

Love This Lens?

If you would like to rate this lens, then you can do so here (Squidoo members only)

This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.

Add this to your lens »

Mannose

what is it

MannoseMannose is a simple monosaccharide with 6 carbon atoms. It is found in trace amounts, and I mean very very low levels, in legumes and a few vegetables. The largest source of mannose available is actually in the husk of brown rice. Guess what we do with the husk. We strip it off and feed it to animals. White or polished rice has no mannose in it. The other main source of mannose is the sap of the Aloe Vera plant but just be aware that the moment you cut the leaf the mannose begins to decay to nothing in as little as an hour. So you have a choice - eat fresh allow sap direct from the leaf or make sure you use aloe which has been stabilised.
In a series of studies many aloe products were found to contain very little or any mannose because they were not stabilised.

What is Mannose used for

Mannose is used in the body at a cellular level and has a direct communication role in cellular activity. It is also vital for skin repair, just remember the use of topical Aloe Vera gel on skin abrasion and burn, and has also gained a reputation as a very effective therapy for Urinary Tract Infections in its D-Mannose form.

Other beneficial Sugars

Loading

by

paulbarton

My name is Paul Barton and I live in the UK but work all over the world. My driving passion is my family and my personal goals. I believe that the population... more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Featured Lenses 

Loading