Sugar has earned a bad reputation for being bad for your heart, your brain and your waistline. Because of this, there have been many attempts
to market sugar substitutes. Some are useful, but some are even worse than the original problem.
Here the common ones and how they rank.
Worse than sugar:
High Fructose Corn Syrup: man made sugar that is used because it is cheap to produce. Affects your liver and fat storage negatively.
Aspartame: Has some negative effects on brain and organ function. Effects can be reduced by eating protein with the meal.
About the same as sugar:
Honey - More micronutrients than sugar if in its unprocessed form. Other than that, in processed form, its the same as sugar.
Brown Sugar - Just a color difference.
Agave Syrup - Has more calories than sugar, but is also sweeter. So you just end up using less. Basically the same as sugar.
Better than sugar:
Some sugar alcohols - e.g. xylitol. Lower calories than sugar. Has some anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal effects. However beware that many other sugar alcohols can cause digesting disturbance i.e bloating, flatulence, and loose stools.
Stevia - this is a herb-based sugar substitute, safer than any other substitute.
NOTE: For some people who are very overweight, or have a history of diabetes or other blood sugar related problems, even the taste of sugar can trigger the fat-storing and blood sugar-raising mechanism in your body. That means that even if you use a zero calorie sugar substitute, you can get the "bad" effect of sugar. If you fall into that category, its best to go off sugars and keep you fit.
Source: Coach Jonathan Wong. Fit to Post Health
Courtesy: Health Prior 21

