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Sugar substitutes are low-calorie and are good for your health: from honey to mannitol, here are the alternatives to sugar so as not to give up the sweet
Sweet and good alternatives to sugar they are healthy and low-calorie? There are galore!
From honey at the xylitol passing through the mannitol up to the east amasake, here are the best tasty, light and natural substitutes for the number one enemy of health and shape: lo sugar.
We present them to you one by one.
Photo Credits: Wikipedia
Stevia
Stevia is a natural sweetener which is obtained from a shrub in South America.
It has a greater sweetening action than that of sugar but, unlike this, it does not contain calories.
It is used in powder or liquid version, to be added to both hot and cold drinks and foods.
Stevia helps digestion and effectively protects the skin, making it more elastic and not asphyxiated like sugar does.
Honey
Honey contains about 18% water and 80% simple sugars (glucose and fructose), followed by sucrose and maltose.
It is also rich in mineral salts and B vitamins that come from the remaining traces of pollen.
It turns out to be an easily digestible and well assimilable food since it is composed mainly of simple sugars.
Furthermore has detox properties that purify the liver, anti-inflammatory properties, soothing for irritated mucous membranes and also laxative.
It is preferred to sugar because it is totally natural
It does not require preservation treatments because the high sugar concentration reduces the amount of water necessary for the growth of microorganisms, so the naturalness of the product is top.
Mannitol
Mannitol is the natural sugar that is extracted from mannite, also known as D-mannitol.
It is obtained naturally from the manna produced by Fraxinus ornus or even from seaweed.
According to EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority), the consumption of foods or beverages containing mannitol instead of sugar contributes to the maintenance of tooth mineralization.
In addition, mannitol raises blood glucose levels much less than sugar.
Erythritol
Erythritol is a natural polyalcohol found in fruit. It is extracted from vegetable sugars subjected to the fermentation process.
Among the pros of erythritol is the glycemic index equal to zero and a calorie intake ranging from zero to a maximum of 0.2 kcal per gram.
Despite being low-calorie, its flavor is very sweet therefore it is excellent in the preparation of desserts.
But be careful not to take too much because it could have laxative effects.
Xylitol
Xylitol is a natural sugar obtained from the fibers of the birch and beech bark
Has a very low glycemic index and prevents the appearance of caries, unlike sucrose which instead causes them.
It has 40% fewer calories than sugar (2.4 kcal per gram) and can very well be substituted for sucrose for the preparation of desserts and to flavor hot or cold drinks.
However, it is good to remember that xylitol should not be used in preparations that require the use of natural yeasts because it would end up hindering their growth.
Molasses
Molasses is made from sugar cane and beetroot. After the squeezing phase of the juice (from which the white sugar is obtained), this waste product is obtained which is much less harmful than the primary one, sucrose.
It comes in the form of a very dark and dense liquid, like honey but more in the nuance of the chestnut variety.
It has a very intense and sweet taste, perfect for the preparation of spicy desserts or to flavor foods with a more neutral taste such as yogurt and ricotta.
There are also those who spread molasses on bread, just as if it were honey.
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a very beneficial sweetener
Among the main benefits it brings to the body, the high content of potassium and B vitamins stand out.
On the contrary, the calorie is very low (250 calories per 100 grams).
Maple syrup is widely used in the United States and Canada, mainly used for the preparation of doughs for sweets, biscuits, cakes, pancakes or even to sweeten milk.
Amasake
Of oriental origin amasake is a sweetener obtained from a rice manufacturing process.
Beneficial because of natural origin, very digestible and rich in fiber and B vitamins, it has a very low caloric intake, equal to one third of that of sugar (153 kcal per 100 grams).
It can replace sucrose to flavor sweets, food in general and drinks, both in the cold version and in the hot version.
Isomalt
Isomalt is obtained from beets through a chemical process.
It comes in the form of a white powder or in very crystalline granules.
Its use is mainly confectionery, in the sense that in pastry it is often used instead of sucrose, especially when a sugar that crystallizes more slowly is needed.
So in cake design, especially to prepare sugar sculptures, isomalt proves to be a fundamental tool.
It has a low calorie content (about 2 calories per gram) but should be consumed in moderation because it could lead to intestinal disorders.
Maltitol
The maltitol it is a disaccharide which is obtained starting from maltose syrup, in turn made from corn starch.
It comes in the form of powder or as a syrup and has a low glycemic index which makes it suitable even for those suffering from diabetes.
The caloric content is about 60% lower than that of sucrose.
The liquid version of the syrup is to be preferred for confectionery preparations that cannot be heated otherwise there is a risk of lumps because the powder is quite grainy.
