Skip to main content

maple syrup healthy or unhealthy

-

     

Maple Syrup: Healthy or Unhealthy?




Maple syrup is a popular natural sweetener that is claimed to be healthier and more nutritious than sugar.
However, it’s important to look at the science behind some of these assertions.
This article explains whether maple syrup is healthy or unhealthy.

Maple syrup is made from the circulating fluid, or sap, of sugar maple trees.
It has been consumed for many centuries in North America. Over 80% of the world's supply is now produced in the province of Quebec in eastern Canada.
There are two main steps to maple syrup production:
  1. A hole is drilled in a maple tree so that its sap pours into a container.
  2. The sap is boiled until most of the water evaporates, leaving a thick, sugary syrup, which is then filtered to remove impurities.
The final product can be used to sweeten many dishes.
SUMMARYMaple syrup is made by tapping sugar maple trees, then boiling the sap to produce a thick syrup. Most maple syrup is produced in eastern Canada.

There are several different grades of maple syrup characterized by color, though classification can vary between countries.
In the US, maple syrup is classified as either Grade A or B, where Grade A is further categorized into three groups — Light Amber, Medium Amber, and Dark Amber — and Grade B is the darkest available syrup (1).
The darker syrups are made from sap extracted later in the harvest season. These have a stronger maple flavor and are usually used for baking, whereas the lighter ones are drizzled directly atop foods like pancakes.
When buying maple syrup, make sure to read food labels carefully. This way, you’ll get real maple syrup — not just maple-flavored syrup, which can be loaded with refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.
SUMMARYThere are several different grades of maple syrup based on color. Grade B is darkest and boasts the strongest maple flavor.

What sets maple syrup apart from refined sugar is its minerals and antioxidants.
Around 1/3 cup (80 ml) of pure maple syrup contains (2):
  • Calcium: 7% of the RDI
  • Potassium: 6% of the RDI
  • Iron: 7% of the RDI
  • Zinc: 28% of the RDI
  • Manganese: 165% of the RDI
Though maple syrup provides a decent amount of some minerals, especially manganese and zinc, keep in mind that it also packs plenty of sugar.
Maple syrup is about 2/3 sucrose or table sugar — 1/3 cup (80 ml) supplies around 60 grams of sugar.
Consumed in excess, sugar may be a leading cause of some of the world's biggest health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease (3, 4, 5).
The fact that maple syrup contains some minerals is a very poor reason to eat it, given its high sugar content. Most people already eat copious amounts of sugar.
The best way to get these minerals is to eat whole foods. If you eat a balanced diet, then your chance of lacking any of these nutrients is very low.
In addition, the high sugar content may affect your blood sugar levels — though maple syrup may be a better option than regular sugar in that regard
The glycemic index of maple syrup is around 54. In comparison, table sugar has a glycemic index of around 65 (6).
This implies that maple syrup raises blood sugar slower than regular sugar.
SUMMARYMaple syrup contains a small amount of minerals, such as manganese and zinc. However, it is very high in sugar.

Oxidative damage, which is caused by free radicals, is believed to be among the mechanisms behind aging and many diseases.
Antioxidants can neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative damage, potentially lowering your risk of some diseases.
Studies indicate that maple syrup is a decent source of antioxidants. One study found 24 different antioxidants in maple syrup (7).
Darker syrups like Grade B supply more of these beneficial antioxidants than lighter ones (8).
However, the total antioxidant content is still low compared to the large amounts of sugar.
One study estimated that replacing all the refined sugar in the average diet with alternative sweeteners like maple syrup would increase your total antioxidant intake as much as eating a single serving of nuts or berries (9).
If you need to lose weight or improve your metabolic health, you would be better off skipping sweeteners altogether instead of going for maple syrup.
SUMMARYThough there are a number of antioxidants in maple syrup, they don’t offset its high dose of sugar.
 Provides Other Compounds
Numerous potentially beneficial substances have been observed in maple syrup.
Some of these compounds are not present in the maple tree, forming instead when the sap is boiled to form a syrup.
One of these is quebecol, named after the maple-producing province of Quebec.
The active compounds in maple syrup have been shown to help reduce the growth of cancer cells and may slow down the breakdown of carbohydrates in your digestive tract (10, 11, 12, 13, 14).
However, human studies to confirm these health effects found in test-tube studies are lacking.
Moreover, keep in mind that most maple syrup studies — which are often accompanied by misleading headlines — are sponsored by maple syrup producers.
SUMMARYMaple syrup boasts other compounds that may benefit health — but most studies are misleading and sponsored by the maple syrup industry.
  The Bottom Line
Even though maple syrup does contain some nutrients and antioxidants, it is also very high in sugar.
Calorie for calorie, maple syrup is a very poor source of nutrients compared to whole foods like vegetables, fruits, and unprocessed animal foods.
Replacing refined sugar with pure, quality maple syrup is likely to yield a net health benefit, but adding it to your diet will just make things worse.
Maple syrup is a less bad version of sugar, much like coconut sugar. It cannot objectively be labeled healthy.
If you consume it, it’s best to do so in moderation — as with all sweeteners.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
LOW CARB 1200 CALORIE DIET PLAN: 7-DAY MEAL PLAN FOR SERIOUS RESULTS The Low Carb 1200 Calorie Diet Plan is a low-calorie, low-carb quick weight loss program that can help you reach your weight loss goals. On the plan, you’ll eat 1,200 calories per day and under 25 grams of carbs each meal. You need at least 1,200 calories per day for your body’s metabolic needs, so make sure you’re not dipping below that amount. On the low carb 1200 calorie diet, you typically eat three meals per day and have one mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. Each meal should come in around 350 calories, with two snacks totaling 150 calories. Or you can split the calories up according to your needs. For example, you could have a 300-calorie breakfast, 350-calorie lunch, and a 400-calorie dinner. When it comes to low carb meal planning, your goal is to remove unhealthy carbs like pizza, white bread and refined sugars, and up your good carbs that come from foods like vegetables and fruits. Choose food
Read more

FITNESS PROGRAMS

-
Image
                   THREE WEEK FAT LOSS PLAN   This 3-week fat burning cycle focuses on low-carb food choices and hardcore workouts that restrict rest between sets, finishing with intense 15-minute cardio sessions. Workout Summary Workout Summary Main Goal Lose Fat Workout Type Full Body Training Level Intermediate Program Duration 3 weeks Days Per Week 4 Time Per Workout 45-60 minutes Equipment Required Barbell, Bodyweight, Cables, Dumbbells, EZ Bar, Machines Target Gender Male & Female Recommended Supplements Pre-Workout ,  Whey Protein ,  Casein Protein ,  Fat Burner (optional) 21 day cycle expectations This cycle is designed to  strip away fat while maintaining muscle tissue . It can help you achieve that ripped or toned look you are after. During the first week of a reduced calorie and carbohydrate diet, you will flush a lot of excess water and lose weight rapidly. This is neither unhealthy nor an
Read more

the carb cycling guide

-
Image
  The Carb Cycling Guide   Learn everything you need to know about the Carb Cycling  Diet plan including its history, guidelines & components, & all the science behind it. carb cycling is a dietary tool that essentially uses a fasted and fed approach; however, it is unique in that it focuses specifically on carbohydrate intake and not any other macronutrient It uses long periods of carbohydrate restriction coupled with short windows of carbohydrate referring. The theory behind this diet is similar to other diets that manipulate dietary carbohydrates in that they are attempting to leverage insulin signaling to maximize fat   loss Carb cycling adopts a different approach from other diets like the   ketogenic diet or other low carbohydrate diets by including periods of high carbohydrate intake. Carb cycling is also referred to as the cyclic ketogenic diet as it uses periods of ketosis which are purported to have some health benefits. History of Carb Cyc
Read more