We get it, we all get those sweet treat cravings! And although sugar is a natural food, consuming too much sugar isn’t the best for our overall diet. Instead of restricting yourself completely from sugar, there are plenty alternatives that you can add to your diet, so you can still enjoy some sweetness. We’ve put together everything you need to know about healthy sugar alternatives, including our favourite sugar free supplements.
What are Sugar Alternatives?
Sugar alternatives are food additives that can help satisfy your sweet cravings. Alternatively to sugar, these sugar alternatives may provide you with less calories. So, you can still enjoy some sweetness in your routine without putting a dent in your diet.
Benefits of Giving up Sugar
Increased Energy
Although a sugary snack might lift up our mood and give us a small boost of energy, when it leaves our system, our blood sugar may drop. This might leave us feeling more sluggish and less focused. Opting to provide yourself with sugar substitutes, will allow yourself to enjoy the sweetness, but without the risk of your energy plummeting.
Reduces Cravings
When we eat sugary snacks, our body can respond by providing you with dopamines. These dopamines, can influence cravings to the body, making you want more. Eliminating your sugar intake, can help your body’s dopamine levels to resume to normal and reduce any potential food cravings, that can lead to overeating.
Weight Management
Desserts, snacks, fruits, and all our other favourite sweet treats, as much as they taste good, they may influence weight gain. Therefore, trading in those sugary snacks to sugar alternatives may help prevent disrupting your diet.
Decrease Inflammation
Another downside to introducing too much sugar into your routine is it can increase inflammation in your body. Even though we can’t visibly see inflammation, it may lead to chronic pain and headaches. Cutting back on sugar and making the switch to sugar substitutes may help prevent inflammation.
Sugar Alternatives to Avoid
Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alternatives like xylitol, erythritol and sorbitol are still good alternatives to sugar, however they may have some implications to your gut health. Especially if you eat a lot of sugar alcohols in a short period time, your body may struggle to digest them. That said, we have a wide range of gut health supplements to help you in these cases.
Garden of Life Sugar Free Supplements
At Garden of Life, we put your health first, which is why we’ve compiled a list of all our sugar free supplements you can still add into your routine, if you’re cutting down on sugar.
1. Raw Organic Protein Powder
Containing a range of essential vitamins and minerals our Raw Organic Protein Powder is available in a range of delicious flavours. Simply add a scoop to a range of different recipes for the perfect protein and sugar-free alternative.