The American Heart Association recommends that the amount of sugar added daily not exceed 6 teaspoons (25 grams) for women, and 9 tablespoons (36 grams) for men. However, the association indicates that most people consume twice or 3 times this limit, as a result of large quantities of hidden sugar in processed foods and spices such as ketchup and the barcio sauce.
Experts warn that excessive intake of added sugar is associated with a number of serious health problems, most notably obesity, heart disease, and a high risk of diabetes, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Society of Internal Medicine in 2014.
With the increase in awareness and global trend towards healthy diets, some have turned into the use of natural alternatives to table sugar, which are derived from natural sources, such as plants or fruits, which provide a balanced mixture of nutrients and health benefits, unlike refined sugar whose sugars reach the bloodstream without adding any other nutritional value.
Here are some natural sweeteners that use a substitute for refined sugar:
Grape
Some give up fruits because of its high sugar content, but the nutritionist Julia Livin explains – for the “Helthi” – that the body does not treat sugar in the fruit in the same way as treating table sugar, and adds that grapes contain a few calories and is also rich in fiber and antioxidants that have proven effective in preventing heart disease and cancer.
According to the nutritionist, you can use grapes to sweeten the juices or mix it in the mixer and use it instead of sugar in preparing cakes and pancakes, and it can also be a substitute for raisins (dried grapes) in the sultans or rice dish or add a touch of sweetness to the chicken salad.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon contains a very few calories, and it can reduce the acquisition of fat associated with refined foods, and a study published in 2020 in the “Endocrine Association” magazine indicated that cinnamon may improve the level of blood sugar in people with pre -diabetes, which slows the development of type 2 diabetes.
According to what was published by the “Financial Express” website, sugar can be replaced with a little powder or cinnamon sticks in your hot drinks such as coffee and tea, and for those who eat oatmeal, spray a teaspoon of crushed cinnamon on a bowl of oatmeal that can enhance the taste and smell and satisfy your desire to eat sugars, as well Its stirred taste or sprinkle it on the apple slices to get a taste similar to the apple pie.
Facarded bananas
Banana contains many nutrients and provides natural sweetness that reduces the need to add sugars, and half a cup of mature banana contains a quarter of the calories in almost the same amount of sugar.
You can take advantage of the sweetest mashed banana and its creamy texture to sweeten many baked goods and enhance their nutritional value, which is especially delicious in muffin, cakes, pancakes and biscuits, and each cup of sugar required in the recipe is used as a cup of banana.
To prepare bananas, add ripe banana to the food processor with a tablespoon of water, and mix it for a thick texture, and it is preferable to add a teaspoon of lemon juice to slow the banana oxidation and turn brown.
According to the “Bob Shujer” website if you have a very ripe banana, you can benefit from it through his cruise and freeze in ice cubes and save it in the freezer, and if you want to sweeten the oatmeal, for example, you can heat 3 cubes in a bowl in the microwave or leave the banana cubes with oats in the refrigerator throughout the night to add natural sweetness to it.
Apple sauce
Each cup of apple sauce contains 102 calories, while the same amount of sugar is equivalent to 774 calories, so the apple sauce is another healthy alternative, and it can be used with yogurt, oats and baked goods.
A study – published by the Journal of Applied Sciences in 2024, entitled “The effect of apple gais as an alternative to fat and sugar on the texture and physical properties of cakes” – that apple sauce gives natural sweetness and moisture to the cakes without affecting its strength, and you can use ¾ cup of non -sweetened apple sauce for each cup of sugar, and you will also need to reduce other fluids in the recipe by a quarter A cup for each cup of apple sauce used.
Dates
Dates are rich in important minerals such as potassium, copper, iron and manganese. Thanks to its low acidity, it gives a clear, caramel -like flavor even when using small amounts of it. According to the “Vogue” website, dates can be used as a healthy alternative to sugar in baked goods, to sweeten coffee, or add it to Greek yogurt and juices.
As for “Health Line”, it recommends using dates dough as the best alternative to white sugar. To prepare it, the dates are soaked in hot water until softening, then mixed in the food processor with a quantity of soaking water to get a thick dough rich in nutrients. And if the recipe requires a cup of sugar, it can be replaced with a similar cup of dates.
A sweetened monk fruit
The monk fruit, or what is also known as “Le Han Gu”, is one of the most common sugar alternatives in the followers of low -carb diets, as it contains compounds that give when extracting the sweetness of the sweetness of the cane sugar beyond 300 times, yet the monk fruit does not contain calories and does not affect the level of sugar in the blood.
You can use the monk fruit extract in the same way as regular sugar in many recipes, so add it to cocktails, ice tea, lemon and other drinks, or mix it with coffee instead of sugar or sweetened cream, and you can also use it for sauces and spoils instead of brown sugar and in cake recipes, biscuits and pies.
maple syrup
This natural sweetener contains calcium, potassium and zinc, and it is an excellent source of MENNES, and it also helps to neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative damage, and it can be used in almost any application, such as adding it to seasoning, sauces or bread, and you can also use it to sweeten janola, coffee or morning tea.