Natural maple syrup better than white sugar? Topic


Today for breakfast I had one of those huge, unsweetened shredded wheat blocks. I added 1 TB of maple syrup to make it palatable and to avoid white sugar. Is there a different between the sweeteners? I could use fruit I suppose but I'm not there yet.


Hi German-shepherd-grl, if you are trying to lose weight and/or control your blood glucose, then you still need to treat maple syrup as a highly concentrated source of sugar, just as you would white granulated sugar., and aim to limit intake. 1 tbsp of maple syrup has slightly more calories and sugar grams than white table sugar. Although there might be a small amount of vitamins or minerals in maple syrup, in the amounts that people typically use, it is an insignificant intake. The same goes for blackstrap molasses, agave syrup, etc.

But there is another issue - when you are trying to eat healthier, less processed foods, does maple syrup vs. refined sugar play a role in that? If you find that using maple syrup vs. sugar is a part of your healthier food selection and helps you stay on track, then continue using it. But I would learn to like foods/drinks less sweet and see if you can go from 1 tablespoon (which is 3 teaspoons) down to 2 teaspoons, and then down to 1 teaspoon. And eventually, some foods/drinks might not even need an added sweetener.

I still use 1 teaspoon of honey or agave syrup in my coffee or tea because I love the taste. But I am very careful about portion size because all of those are still highly concentrated sources of sugar.

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RDN, CDE

Natural maple syrup better than white sugar?