Coconut Sugar

Healthy sugar alternative or a Big, Fat Lie?

As the harmful effects of sugar and high fructose corn syrup become increasingly more evident, people are turning to natural alternatives.

A sweetener that has become very popular in the past few years is coconut sugar.

This sugar is derived from the coconut palm tree and is touted as being more nutritious and lower on the glycemic index than sugar.

Is it more Nutritious than regular sugar?

Regular table sugar and high fructose corn syrup don’t contain any vital nutrients and therefore supply “empty” calories.

However, coconut sugar does retain quite a bit of the nutrients found in the coconut palm.  Most notable of these are the minerals iron, zinc, calcium and potassium, along with some short chain fatty acids, polyphenols and antioxidants that may also provide some health benefits.

Then it contains a fiber called Inulin, which may slow glucose absorption and explain why coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than regular table sugar.

Coconut sugar is very high in calories (same as regular sugar) and you’d have to eat a ridiculous amount of it to satisfy your need for the above nutrients.

I’d like to point out that even though coconut sugar contains some nutrients, you would get a lot more from other real foods.  But as an alternative to what is currently available I know what I have in my

pantry…