With so much information out there now on the effects of sugar on your health, I have often been asked ‘what can I use as a substitute?’ this is an interesting question to me because usually my answer is that you shouldn’t be eating anything that requires sugar to be added to it, biscuits and cakes can be sugared up by using dried fruit or apple juice, but I also realised I needed to inform my readers of what other choices they have.  I have 2 choices for you, my first choice is stevia and my second choice is xylitol.

Stevia is a plant known as Stevia rebaudiana derived from South America, it is a sweet plant and is used as a substitute for sugar, honey and artificial sweeteners in home cooking and in manufacturing, it is widely used for diabetics to reduce their dependence on medication.  As Dr Mercola says, “There is some concern about Stevia. "Just because it's natural doesn't mean that it's safe," says Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest. "That's why tests should be done." Stevia may be linked to genetic mutations in lab animals”.  However the World Health Organisation says that Stevia sweeteners are safe.  Stevia is sometimes found in the nutritional supplement section, as it isn’t classed as a sweetener. 

It is important to note that the sweet extract from stevia is available on the market however extracting this compound may put into question the health benefits of this plant because when a plant is whole that’s when the benefits are there with no side effects, this extraction from stevia may not have any of the health benefits, this sweet active ingredient is known as rebaudioside A.  Some feel that the whole plant has a bitter after taste but depending on the manufacturing process this can alter.  In some countries it is approved as a food additive in Japan, Brazil and China. 

Truvia is a natural sweetener made from two sweetest portions of the Stevia compound.  Extracts from the leaves of the stevia plant are one of the safest sweeteners on the market unlike aspartame and other artificial sweeteners that have dangerous toxicities, stevia is also ideal if you are watching your weight as it has virtually no calories.  Although if you have insulin issues you should avoid sweeteners all together as they can decrease your sensitivity to insulin.  This includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or extra weight.

Xylitol is another sugar substitute that can be used for humans, however it is important to note that xylitol is toxic to your dog.  Xylitol has been increased in its use in nutritional supplements so beware of that for your pet.  Xylitol is a sugar alcohol extracted from corn and corn fibre, birch, raspberries and plums and is used to sweeten many products.  It can be purchase din a granulated form as a sugar replacement, it is as sweet as sucrose but only has two-thirds of the calories of sugar, and it also causes little if any insulin release in humans.  It is fine for rhesus monkeys, rats and horses, intravenous (IV) xylitol, as it causes little to no insulin release. However, in baboons, cows, goats, rabbits, dogs, and ferrets its affect is opposite causing fast insulin release. Its effect on cats is unknown.  It is also good in reducing dental plaque along with manuka honey.

Xylitol has the same amount of calories as sucrose but it metabolises differently and may be used safely for diabetics and hypoglycaemic. Bacterial salivary organisms do not grow on xylitol unlike other sugars.  In 1986, the FASEB report concluded that the use of xylitol in humans is safe and was approved as a food additive for use in foods for special dietary uses.  The World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, felt that adverse findings in animal studies conducted in the 1970s are "not relevant to the toxicological evaluation of these substances (e.g., xylitol) in humans."

The source of the xylitol is important; most xylitol is derived from genetically modified corn and produced in China. It is important to get the much better, no-GM, xylitol that is made in the US from birch and other hardwood.

References:

1. Nayak PA, Nayak UA, Mythili R, 2010.  Effect of Manuka honey, chlorhexidine gluconate and xylitol on the clinical levels of dental plaque. Contemp Clin Dent. 2010 Oct;1(4):214-7.