5 Sugar substitutes for your dental and general health
Dr. D.Sendhil Nathan MDS, DNB Prosthodontics And Implantology
Sugar is the primary ingredient you should avoid at any cost.
Because sugar does not has the minerals, vitamins s to nurture our body. The white refined sugar you are using has been processed in the purification process so that it is left with carbohydrates alone. Moreover, the white color is also developed artificially with bleaching substances.
Apart from Diabetes, people who consume too much sugar are more susceptible to various dental problems and deadly diseases like heart attack, obesity, etc.
You can get various natural sweeteners that are far better than the adulterated sugar in sweetness. Those aspartame-free natural sweeteners are good in nutritional content too.
1) Honey
Honey – The thick, sweet liquid has high nutritional value and is an excellent source of minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, iron, calcium, Vitamins B & C.
Besides this, natural honey has antibacterial properties. This empowers the fluid to repair the internal cells that help in healing wounds. Likewise, honey is recommended as a home remedy for cracked lips, gum diseases and various dental problems.
Note: Honey is composed of water and a small amount of sugar components (Glucose & Fructose). Excess consumption of honey also affects our health.
2) Jaggery
Jaggery is the concentrated product of cane juice. It is prepared by boiling the cane juice until the fluid hardens. This is highly nutritious and contains iron components. It possesses various health benefits like boosting our immune system, detoxifying liver, prevents constipation, etc.
Note: Jaggery has a high amount of calories. Overconsumption of this natural sweetener causes obesity.
3) Palm Jaggery
Commonly known as Karuppatti in Tamilnadu, it has been used as a sweetener in beverages like coffee. Similar to jaggery, this is prepared by boiling the sap extracted from the Palmyra palm tree. Palm Jaggery is also a powerhouse of vitamins, iron, magnesium and other mineral components that can regulate our nervous system and nourish our body.
The positive side of palm jaggery include enhances digestion, reduces body fat, cure throat infections, reduces the sugar level in blood, etc.
4) Coconut Sugar
Coconut sugar, also known as coconut palm sugar is prepared by boiling and dehydrating the coconut palm sap. Replacing table sugar with coconut sugar does not make much difference.
It is because coconut sugar also holds the same amount of components like sucrose and fructose present in processed sugar. It differs from regular table sugar with the Phytonutrients, mineral components and low Glycemic Index (GI) Score.
The main advantage of coconut sugar is it promotes the growth of intestinal bifidobacteria that boosts our immune system and treat problems associated with intestines like diarrhea, ulcerative colitis.
5) Date Sugar
Date sugar that looks like brown sugar is extracted from ground and dehydrated date fruits. Hence you can get the benefits of dates through this sugar. Some people believe that eating dates increase the sugar level in blood. You don’t worry about that.
The date fruits are rich in natural sugar called Fructose does not harm our oral health and physical health. It will not harm you unless you take it in a limited manner. Otherwise, fructose will make you a little obese because our body converts this sugar into fat.
Along with the natural sugar, the dates are packed with low calories, proteins, fibre, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper and other essential minerals.
Bottom Line
The refined sugar extracted from sugarcane undergo a refining process to exclude molasses present in the cane. This purification process cleanses the organic compounds essential for our body and leaves with a sweetening thing called sucrose which is a kind of carbohydrate. This makes the sugar a harmful substance to our body.
Switching to natural sweeteners helps you to avoid the problems linked to sugars. The natural sugars we have explained in this article will ensure good health and dose of sweetness you desire.
