Refined Sugar and Alternatives

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Sugar is everywhere and like a lot of people, I can't resist a sweet treat!  I’ve written about finding unsweetened sauces in one of my previous blog posts, and I’m always on the lookout for no/low sugar options.  The ingredient label is my best friend!  Refined sugar is a major cause of inflammation in the body because it causes a huge spike in insulin levels.  I know that it is definitely a trigger for my skin, so I try to limit my sugar intake.  An exception that I do give myself is fruit, since it is more natural and also contains a lot of vitamins and nutrients.  However, due to my oral allergy syndrome, I can’t do a lot of raw fruits anyways.  When I am craving something sweet, I’ll usually turn to dark chocolate or dried fruit!  However, dried fruit actually contains a lot of sugar, so I have to watch how much I eat because they cause my skin to become itchy if I eat too much.  (Also, if they contain sulphites, they also make my skin more itchy - so I’ve been buying sulphite-free dried fruits).
Sulphite-free dried apricots. 😋
Since I’ve been trying out new baking recipes, I’ve been experimenting with different sugar options. Some refined sugar alternatives that I like are coconut sugar, blackstrap molasses, honey, and maple syrup.  Recently, I found out about raw date sugar, which is made out of dried dates and has health benefits and fibre.  I used it in my mini cupcakes for our one year wedding anniversary and I quite enjoyed it!  Other alternatives that I haven’t tried yet, but would like to some day are stevia and monk fruit sweeteners.  Although, you have to be very careful about the ingredients in those and to make sure that they are pure.  Apparently, a lot of monk fruit sweeteners have erythritol in them, which may cause gut issues.  Of course, all those alternatives are still forms of sugar and still have to used in moderation.  However, they do make my day a little sweeter knowing that they don’t wreck as much havoc on my skin! 🙃
 
Liva’s Raw Date Sugar - I used this in the mini cupcakes above. 

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