These are the best sweeteners and most of them are natural!

This has been the talk of the town for many years: What are the best sweeteners available on the market? And this is a really good question since this topic is so sensible.

There are many ways you can make that cake you want to bake for your birthday sweeter or your tea, but if you want to have a healthy diet, you should know what the best option is.

Not all sweeteners are created equally, and while some of them are natural and not harmful at all, others are incredibly damaging to your gut and your health overall.

Read on and find out what sweeteners are okay and what sweeteners to avoid at all costs!

1. Honey

Generally, when you want to make a cup of tea or coffee sweeter, you will choose some sugar, but if you were to think about a healthier alternative, you might think about honey. And indeed, honey is definitely one of the best sweeteners you can use because it is more sweet than sugar.

If you are wondering how this can help, it is simple. One thing that makes sweeteners so bad is the fact that they have a lot of calories. But because honey is sweeter than sugar due to its high concentration of fructose, you will use less honey when you want to make something sweet. And less honey means fewer calories, so in the end, this is beneficial for your health.

Besides this, honey is well-known for its antimicrobial properties and also because it can help you if you have any allergy symptoms. So, these characteristics and its ability to help you consume fewer calories make it an incredible alternative to sugar.

2. Applesauce

When you think about the best sweeteners, you can’t miss applesauce. First of all, you can use this as an amazing alternative when you want to make your baked goods sweeter. Second, if you want to make sure that everything is natural, you don’t have to buy applesauce because you can easily make it at home.

You will need some apples. The more ripe they are, the sweeter the applesauce will be. You will peel and chop them, add them to a pan, and start the cooking process. Pour some water and apple cider vinegar, let them simmer until the apples are soft, then cover the pot and leave it for 10 minutes. Don’t forget to stir from time to time.

In the end, you will need to add some salt and cinnamon, put the lid on, and let them simmer for another 10–20 minutes. After all of that, you will need to mash the whole composition. This is how you can make your own applesauce.

When you use applesauce to make baked goods sweeter, remember that this is a wet ingredient. This is why you might need to reduce the quantity of other wet ingredients when following this recipe. This is how you make sure everything will turn out perfectly.

3. Allulose

This is a new sweetener, and maybe this is why you haven’t heard of it, but it is also one of the best sweeteners available on the market. It looks similar and tastes exactly the same as sugar, but it has fewer calories and carbohydrates per gram.

Alluose has 1/10 of the calories standard sugar has, and it is also found naturally in some foods, such as figs and wheat. So, if you want to watch your sugar intake because you are diabetic or if you just want to reduce your consumption of sugar, this is perfect for you; it is exactly what you were looking for.

One study has even found out that allulose can help you lose weight. Two groups were compared, one consuming allulose and the other sucralose, which is a trendy sugar substitute. At the end of the study, those who consumed allulose experienced more fat loss.

At first glance, it seems like allulose has no adverse effects, but since it is a new discovery, we need more research to see the long-term effects.

4. Stevia

Stevia is an extremely low-calorie sweetener that has grown in popularity over the past few years. It may be used as a healthy alternative to sugar in drinks and baking. It is processed from the leaves of a plant called stevia, and what makes it so special is that it is 200 times sweeter than regular sugar.

Stevia is an excellent choice for diabetics and those trying to reduce their sugar intake, as it has almost no calories per serving. This is what makes it one of the best sweeteners available on the market.

Not only does stevia help with blood sugar control and losing weight, but some studies show it may also lower blood cholesterol levels.

But there is one thing you should keep in mind when you plan to use stevia while baking: it can have a licorice-like aftertaste, and this can be a dealbreaker for some. This is why you can only replace half of the sugar in the recipe with stevia, and in this way, you will be able to maintain the desired taste of your baked goods.

5. Dates

This might not be one of the best sweeteners when it comes to your tea or coffee because it doesn’t have the right texture for it, but it can be a great replacement for sugar when it comes to baked goods.

All you need to do is puree it, and you are good to go. It does a great job at adding the sweetness you are looking for and will also make your muffins and cookies more nutritious since it is so rich in important nutrients.

Dates have a lot of fiber, more than 2 grams in a single fruit. If you want to start using dates in baking, first of all, you will need to make a paste. Combine 2 cups pitted dates and half a cup of water in a blender or food processor. In baking recipes, use this paste instead of granulated sugar in a 1:1 ratio.

Now that we’ve talked about the best sweeteners, let’s see which ones are the worst. Always avoid these sweeteners because they can be incredibly harmful to your health.

Aspartame

This is a popular substitute for regular sugar, and you usually find it in diet drinks. Also, you can find it on the tables of many coffee places and restaurants in the blue packages of Equal, a common sweetener.

Yes, it has zero calories, but it is very far from being one of the best sweeteners. It actually raises some concerns because it can damage the gut flora and cause obesity, insulin intolerance, and glucose levels.

Xylitol

This is a sugar alcohol, and it is not calorie-free, but it still has far fewer calories than regular sugar. Because of this, it has less impact on blood sugar levels. This is one of its positive traits, and many think it is one of the best sweeteners, but unfortunately, things are not really like this.

Sugar alcohols can draw water into the intestinal tract or start the fermentation process by gut microorganisms as they pass through your digestive system. This can lead to many unpleasant symptoms, such as bloating, gas, and even diarrhea.

If you want to start using stevia sweetener, this one you can buy from Amazon might be a good pick: Truvia Sweet Complete Granulated All-Purpose Calorie-Free Sweetener from the Stevia Leaf

You should also read: 6 Healthy Foods That Make Digestive Issues Worse