Sweeteners Guide: Natural Honey, Stevia & Sugar Risks

Are natural sweeteners like Stevia and Manuka honey safer than white sugar? Explore the health impacts of sugar addiction, the dangers of aspartame for kids, and why high fructose corn syrup is restricted in certain regions.

Banana sandwiches with honey in close-up

Is the Sugar in Bananas Bad for You?

Bananas are a sweet source of natural sugar, but they also contain health-promoting nutrients, such as fiber, potassium and B vitamins, making them a healthy addition to most diets.

Read more →
Bowl with sugar and a wooden spoon

Differences Between Organic Sugar & White Sugar

Americans eat an average of 61 pounds of refined, white sugar each year, according to an article in the October 2009 edition of "Discover Magazine." In recent years, interest in organic sugar has increased as more people become concerned with the potential health hazards of eating refined and processed foods.

Read more →
Stevia – Sugar Substitute

Stevia Vs. Sugar

Sugar and stevia are natural sweeteners that have been used around the world for centuries. Stevia as a sweetener is relatively new to the United States, but consumers rapidly are catching on to its health benefits, resulting in its addition to some commercially prepared foods.

Read more →
Closeup Woman Pouring Blue Syrup Onto Ice Of Snow Cone

Calories in Snow Cone Syrup

Because a snow cone is simply a cup of flavored shaved ice, you may think that it's a dieter’s delight because it is mostly ice. However, the syrupy topping is flavored sugar water, and the calories add up quickly.

Read more →
Group of friends eating donuts in the city

15 Reasons to Kick Sugar

There’s nothing sweet about what too much sugar does to your diet and your health. Sugar has been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, acne, wrinkles and other signs of accelerated aging.

Read more →
grains of sugar cane

What Are the Benefits of Brown Sugar vs. White Sugar?

You might place raw brown sugar instead of refined white sugar in your shopping cart, feeling virtuous, thinking you're buying a healthier sugar for your family. Unfortunately, brown sugar, whether raw or refined, has little to recommend it over white sugar in the health department.

Read more →
Female Trail Running

How to Reverse the Damage of a Sugar Addiction

An addictive substance is characterized by its ability to cause pleasant feelings, to cause long-term changes in the brain, to lead to physical dependence and to cause cravings, according to the website Research Penn State.

Read more →
Fall Color in the City

Can I Eat Tree Sap?

Although you can eat several types of tree sap, you should not start gnawing on every tree trunk you see. Some trees produce bitter or even poisonous sap. Plus, even edible sap licked directly from the tree is not very tasty.

Read more →
two jars of honey,honeycombs and drizzler on yellow background

Manuka Honey & Allergic Reactions

Natural bee honey has been suggested as an alternative treatment for hay fever and other allergies. Not all honey is the same, however, since bees make honey by gathering nectar from the flowers common in their vicinity.

Read more →
Cane sugar cubes

Nutrition of Sugar Vs. Golden Syrup

Golden syrup, a product manufactured in England, is a cane sugar syrup. Its nutritional profile is virtually identical to that of table sugar, or sucrose.

Read more →
Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi)

Sugar in Grapefruit

While eating any fruit generally qualifies as a nutrition win, grapefruit scores even higher because it has only about 6 grams of sugar per 100 gram serving. Compare that to dates (73 grams), bananas (20 grams), figs (19 grams) and pomegranates (17 grams).

Read more →
Homemade Muffins and Donuts

How to Calculate the Percent of Total Carbohydrates That Are Sugars

The number of total carbohydrates in a product includes both sugar and fiber. If you are trying to reduce your sugar intake in general, knowing what proportion of your carbohydrate intake is sugar allows you to track how you’re doing and adjust your eating habits, if necessary.

Read more →
Close-up of dates

What Fruits Are High in Fructose?

The natural sugars found in honey and fruits are known as fructose. When it comes to blood sugar and carbohydrates, your body doesn’t react any differently to the fructose that naturally exists in fruit than it does to added sweeteners like corn syrup.

Read more →
Coconut sugar

Nutrition in Coconut Sugar

Coconut sugar is a natural sugar substitute. It is made from the flowers of the coconut tree by evaporating the sap of the tree. Coconut sugar is also sometimes referred to as palm sugar, and the two terms are often used interchangeably.

Read more →

Natural Substitute for Pancake Syrup

From crepes to fritters, a variety of pancakes find their way to dining tables around the world. Evolving from their humble beginning of simply flour and water, today’s pancakes look and taste more like delicious works of art, boasting ingredients such as dark chocolate, shaved lemon and ricotta cheese.

Read more →
Fruit mix

Nutrition for Fructose Malabsorption

If you have fructose malabsorption, you need to avoid some healthy fruits as well as some sugars and sweetened processed foods and drinks to avoid suffering from abdominal bloating, pain, flatulence, diarrhea or constipation.

Read more →

Do Corn Chips Turn to Sugar in the Body?

Corn chips are a snack food made from whole corn, corn oil and salt. Because corn chips are made out of the starchy vegetable corn, they are rich in carbohydrate. Carbohydrate is a type of nutrient that, unlike protein and fat, turns into sugar.

Read more →