Natural Sweeteners 22 results

5 Top Healthy Sweeteners

Top ratings go to 1) Raw Honey, 2) PureLo by Swanson, 3) Swerve Sweetener, 4) Lakanto, and 5) Raw Stevia leaves, the only healthy sweeteners I can find. My criterion are purity, stable blood sugar, and balanced metabolism. With a world epidemic of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic disorder, we need sweeteners that stop the sugar cycle in it's tracks. Sadly, grocery stores do not carry healthy sweeteners, so we buy them online. We don't really need sweeteners, but some of us got used to a ...

Xylitol, NOT a low calorie sweetener!

By Jane Barthelemy. Is Xylitol a healthy sweetener? Touted as a safe sugar substitute for diabetics in snacks, chewing gum, and baking, Xylitol is NOT the low-calorie sweetener it's cracked up to be. Just look at the nutrition label and you'll see it's loaded with calories and carbs. I don't accept that stripping birch bark and thus killing the tree is sustainable or earth-friendly. How is Xylitol produced? How does it affect the body? You deserve to know the truth to make an informed choice. ...

Myth-Busting “Natural” Sweeteners. It’s about FRUCTOSE, darlin’!

BEWARE when a sweetener claims to be "natural" or "low glycemic". Don't be fooled. Sugar is sugar no matter what form it's in. Here's a little-known secret to help you see clearly through marketing hype: The two primary sugars in foods are glucose and fructose. Most sweeteners are a mixture of both. Both fructose and glucose taste fabulously delicious! Yet they're both the toxic root of obesity and metabolic mayhem in the body. Together these two sugars cause or exacerbate most of our modern chronic diseases. ...

Uh Oh! Coconut Sugar is 100% Sugar!

Terrible news! Coconut sugar is 100% sugar! You won't feel a glycemic rush, as coconut sugar is relatively low in glucose. But here's the rub: The rest of the sugar is fructose! It's 100% sugar! Just like HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup), fructose in coconut sugar is a liver toxin that causes high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes (Yup, our top epidemics). Fructose doesn't give you a glycemic jolt. Instead it quietly and insidiously fills your liver with bad lipid (fat) deposits and ...

How Healthy is Your Breakfast Cereal?

A healthy breakfast means a bowl of cereal. Right? After all isn't this an American tradition? Nope. It’s actually a very recent marketing invention. A tiny mistake in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1870 changed the face of breakfast forever. Harvey Kellogg (recognize the name?) was the director of a popular health retreat. Kellogg was said to treat his guests with many bizarre experiments for health improvement. One of his invention was a whole grain corn breakfast cereal served ...

AVOID! The Toxic Truth About Stevia

By Jane Barthelemy. Stevia is marketed as a healthy sweetener. But surprising new evidence indicates all stevia sold in grocery stores is highly processed with methyl alcohol or other toxic chemicals. Healthy Solution: Look for my top natural non-toxic sweeteners. Do you know if your stevia is pure? Or is it mixed with other sweeteners, sugars, and chemicals? Do you wonder how your stevia is refined? What does “natural” mean, if anything? Where is your stevia produced? You ...

Maple Syrup LOADED with SUGAR! The devil is in the details.

We LOVE to drizzle gobs of maple syrup on Paleo Pancakes! Because it's pure sap from maple trees - Right?  Uh Oh!  Sorry, the answer is NO!  But maple syrup is unprocessed - Right? The answer is again NO!  Maple syrup low in sugar - Right? NO NO NO! Maple won't acidify my body pH like sugar.  SORRY, IT ACIDIFIES THE SAME AS SUGAR!  As usual, the devil is in the details. This won't be my most popular post. Ha Ha! Here goes! Here's the ELEPHANT in the Room! As we generously smother our ...

High-Sugar Forbidden Fruits, Which Ones Make You Fat?

What's the worst food for weight gain? Sugary fruit! Surprising new studies show high-fructose fruits are top culprits in weight gain. Due to a genetic mutation 40,000 years ago, the fructose you eat goes immediately to fat. To lose weight, skip these high-sugar fruits: Bananas, Grapes, Pineapples, Mangos, Oranges, Dried fruits, Raisins, Dates, Melons, Peaches, Sweet apples and juices. Instead eat tart low-sugar fruits: raspberries, grapefruit, lemons, limes, strawberries, and ...

Best Paleo Sweeteners

  By Jane Barthelemy. The spotlight is on Paleo Sweeteners - minimally processed that don't raise blood sugar. We live in times when sugars and refined carbs in industrial foods are causing epidemic health challenges worldwide. Many people are turning to the Paleo diet for guidance. What did our ancestors eat? ...

2 Reasons Why Sugars Make You Fat

Our body has the amazing ability to turn what we eat into energy. We can use it right away, or store it for the future! By Guest Writer Traci D Mitchell, nutrition coach, personal trainer. What doesn't get used as energy get stored, typically as fat. Healthy Solution: Use non-glycemic natural sweeteners! Sugar has a profound impact on your diet and waistline, ...

Good-bye Sugar Cravings. Hello Health!

It's 3:30 pm, your brain is getting foggy, your energy is a bit low, your nerves are on edge, and you need a sweet snack. Sound familiar? Sugar cravings are a very physical reality in our lives. Sugar stimulates the brain’s reward centers through the neuro-transmitter dopamine, just like other addictive drugs. Foods high in fat and sugar stimulate ...

Paleo Sweets with no sugar spike or weight gain?

Sound too good to be true? Nope, it’s real. My big "aha!" discovery is how to make healthy desserts with no blood sugar rush or added pounds. Let me explain how this is possible. Easy! Simply follow my recipes, using original, unrefined, low carb, low glycemic Paleo ingredients like coconut, almond flour, and chicory root sweetener. ...

My Biggest “Aha!”, Easy Weight Loss

A few years ago, when I was overweight, diagnosed with cancer, chronic fatigue, adrenal failure, digestive collapse, chemical sensitivities, food allergies, and two frozen shoulders, I began to make changes in my diet and lifestyle, slowly – just one change a week. If I felt better, I would hold onto the change to make it a habit. ...

My Surprising Journey to Health

Why on Earth did I become a Paleo/gluten-free chef? Well, here's my surprising story. I come from a long line of nature enthusiasts, artists, and foodies. I’ve done many creative things in my life – this may be my 9th career – I lost count...

How to Speed-Read Nutrition Labels

By Jane Barthelemy. There’s a marketing war going on in every grocery store, battling for your attention and your money. The best advice is to simply eat real, original food, and skip packaged foods altogether. However most of us do eat some packaged foods. If that's you, get ready to put your boots on and shop like a true warrior. Ours is an important battle, where we are defending our right to quality food and to live a healthy life. ...

325 Sweeteners, Which is Best?

By Jane Barthelemy.

I’m passionate about natural sweeteners, and I hope you are too. This is an exhaustive list of 325 sweeteners available in the USA, by yours truly. Gleaned from nutrition labels and supermarket shelves, it’s the most complete list ...

Healthy Paleo Brownies? A shocking comparison

By Jane Barthelemy. I love all brownies! But hey, they're never what they claim to be. I analyzed three brownie recipes to see which is best. All of them taste great. But which one is healthiest? We believe Paleo brownies are always low-carb and healthy. Right? Nope. Not always. These Nutrition Facts will shock and surprise you!...

The Skinny on Obesity – Video Series

By Jane Barthelemy. The data is in. Sugar causes fat deposits and obesity. Sugar causes diabetes. It's that simple. Here's an amazing new video series from the U of C showing clear scientific evidence that obesity, diabetes, and many diseases are caused by sugar and ...

My Trip to the Just Like Sugar Factory

Everybody asks me: "What's in the chicory root sweetener?" Last week I paid a visit to the Just Like Sugar factory to give their CEO, Mike Sylver, a signed copy of my book Paleo Desserts. I had already done an enormous amount of research comparing hundreds of sweeteners on the market and I compiled...

Lick the Sugar Habit without Deprivation

By Jane Barthelemy. Many of us crave sweets, like Brownies and Chocolate Fudge. They taste wonderful in the moment, but when your blood sugar plunges a few minutes later, and you suddenly gain 5 pounds, it’s a bad day. Sugars and carbs are the problem with most sweets, causing a spike in blood glucose that destabilizes metabolism, and weight gain. ...