Optimal Health Daily - Fitness and Nutrition 3132: Is Honey or Maple Syrup Better Than Cane Sugar?
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Sep 26, 2025 Explore the showdown between natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, and agave against cane sugar. Discover how our bodies process these options, revealing that added sugars are the real problem. Learn why it's unrealistic to completely eliminate sugar and the importance of focusing on whole, minimally processed foods. Dr. Neal Malik shares expert tips on spotting hidden sugars in ingredient labels, making healthier choices at the grocery store.
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All Carbs Become Sugar
- Avoiding all sugar is unnecessary and practically impossible because any carbohydrate becomes sugar in the body.
- Focus on limiting added sugars rather than all sugars from whole foods.
Added Sugars Are The Main Issue
- Added sugars, not naturally occurring sugars in whole foods, appear to drive health problems.
- Use maple syrup and molasses sparingly because current evidence doesn't show major metabolic benefits over table sugar.
Syrups' Prebiotic Claim Is Unproven
- Maple syrup and molasses contain fructooligosaccharides that might act as prebiotics in lab studies.
- Human evidence is lacking, so don't assume these syrups behave differently than table sugar.