Sugar is in just about everything. What we think of when we refer to “sugar” is actually heavily refined cane sugar, not simply glucose in all its forms. The sugar we eat repeatedly throughout the day simply cannot compare to the health benefits gained through real New Hampshire maple syrup.
Using Natural Maple Syrup Instead of Sugar
Far Too Much Sugar
The average American consumes far too much sugar, even if they avoid sweets. SugarScience.org claims that Americans consume nearly 4 times the amount of sugar that is recommended every single day at a whopping 20 teaspoons (or 82 grams). While natural maple syrup also contains sugar, it does so in a much more natural and otherwise healthy way. In addition to being less sweet and more rich and flavorful, natural maple syrup contains other nutritional qualities that push it over the almost completely unhealthy refined sugar we eat in the form of breads, cereals, and almost every processed food.
The Downfalls of Refined
Most notably, however, refined sugars have been found to be addicting, causing us to crave sugar over other less-sweet options, making it a more dangerous choice to use in recipes and daily diet staples. As mentioned above, refined sugars offer almost no nutritional value, but are the leading contributor to a growing adult-onset diabetes epidemic hitting the developed world in addition to simultaneously worsening the also growing obesity problem. If that isn’t enough, this excess sugar throws off the body’s pH level, increasing internal acidity levels; to fight this, your body burns vital minerals and nutrients to offset the imbalance, which are not replaced by refined sugar.
Know What You’re Eating
When you eat refined sugar, odds are you aren’t even aware of it. Some sources suggest that up to a quarter of the entire American diet is refined sugars, which obviously extends well beyond soda and ice cream. This sobering thought can, and should, feel violating. The answer is to take back control of what you choose to put into your body by using more natural sweeteners to create your favorite recipes, rather than adding the same refined sugars that are snuck into your store bought and restaurant food already.
Make the Switch
It’s likely easier than you’d imagine to substitute delicious New Hampshire maple syrup into your favorite recipes for the refined sugar they currently demand. Check out this page on our site, which details exactly how to substitute our 100% all natural maple syrup for refined sugars and exactly what antioxidants and minerals you can gain back by doing so! All of the maple syrup sold through Ben’s Sugar Shack comes from traditional maple sugaring techniques made from actual New Hampshire maple sap harvested from hanging sap buckets in the middle of winter.
Learn more about Ben and our passion for maple syrup and sugaring here!