The Best Healthy Sugar Substitutes for Weight Loss and Balanced Blood Sugar
Bonus: See the stevia compound that may help reverse hair loss
We know avoiding large amounts of sugar can help us steer clear of certain health problems. But who doesn’t love a sweet treat now and then? After all, experts say having balance in your diet is beneficial. That’s where healthy sugar substitutes come in!
They allow you to enjoy your sweetened coffee or baked goods without the health impacts that can come from overdoing it on refined sugar. But here’s what most people don’t realize: Natural sugar substitutes aren’t just stand-ins for the real thing. They’re functional ingredients with their own impressive health benefits—from protecting your teeth to stabilizing blood sugar to supporting weight loss. We spoke to nutrition and health experts to uncover which sugar substitutes deliver the biggest health wins and why they work.
The benefits of healthy sugar substitutes
“Americans eat far too much added sugar, leading to excess calories and increased risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease,” says Romy Nathan, MPH, RDN, is a seasoned nutrition consultant. “Replacing part of the added sugar in your diet with low- or no-calorie sweeteners can help cut calories, reduce blood sugar spikes and protect teeth all without giving up sweetness.”
Woman's World Answers
The 3 best healthy sugar substitutes
If you’re interested in reducing your sugar intake while still satisfying your sweet tooth, consider these healthy sugar substitutes. Not only are they easy to incorporate into your favorite foods, drinks and recipes, but they’re healthier alternatives to table sugar and can deliver some impressive long-term perks.
Allulose for steady blood sugar levels
“Allulose (sometimes called D-allulose) is a rare sugar found in small amounts in certain fruits and other foods,” says Joseph Mercola, DO, FACN, a Board-Certified Family Physician and Author of Your Guide to Cellular Health. “It provides sweetness similar to sugar, but contributes far fewer calories and appears to dampen post-meal blood-glucose and insulin responses.”
It’s naturally present in small amounts in foods such as figs, raisins and maple syrup, says Dr. Mercola. And Nathan notes you can also find it in “zero-sugar” baked goods, yogurts, syrups and drinks.
Health perk: In a study published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, adults drank a liquid solution with 50 grams of sugar plus varying amounts of allulose. Their blood glucose and insulin levels were tested. Those who consumed the liquid with the highest amount of allulose, 10 grams, had significantly lower blood glucose and insulin levels than those who had less allulose.
“Likely, the higher allulose amounts slowed the carbohydrate absorption and promoted glucose uptake in the liver helping to flatten post-meal glucose peaks,” says Nathan.
To get the benefits, swap table sugar for allulose in your morning coffee or sweet baked goods like brownies or cookies. According to the International Food Information Council, allulose is about 70 percent as sweet as sugar, so it tastes similar but has fewer calories, giving you room to add a bit more if you need to.
Xylitol for healthier gums
Dr. Mercola says xylitol is “a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener,” only the bacteria in our mouths can’t turn into the acids that cause cavities. “It tastes sweet like sugar, but with fewer calories and a lower glycemic impact,” says Dr. Mercola.
Where might you have seen xylitol? “It’s found in very small amounts of certain fruits, vegetables and berries, such as strawberries, plums and mushrooms,” says Dr. Mercola. “The riches[t] source is birch bark, which is what’s typically used for commercial extraction. It’s used in specialized products such as sugar-free chewing gums, sugar-free candies and certain oral-care rinses or gums marketed for dental health. I personally use about 5 to 6 grams daily in a homemade oral mouth-wash. It’s definitely effective for this purpose.”
Health perk: A study in Clinical Oral Investigations found that among 179 adults at high risk of tooth decay, those who chewed 2.5 grams of gum containing the natural sweetener xylitol daily for one year had about a 23 percent lower rate of cavities compared to those who chewed a control gum. The study’s follow-up data suggested the benefits lasted for a year after it ended.
“Xylitol helps fight cavities because the bacteria in your mouth cannot ferment xylitol into acid, so acid production drops significantly,” says Dr. Mercola. “With less acid attacking your enamel, the demineralization process slows. Xylitol also reduces dental plaque and caries-associated bacteria counts.”
Of course, chewing xylitol-containing gum is one of the easiest ways to harness the health benefits. But you can also use it in just about anything you would use table sugar in. Harvard Health notes that it “tastes about as sweet as regular sugar, but with only about half the calories per serving.” Try adding it to your latte for a lower-calorie twist.
Yacon syrup for weight loss
“Yacon syrup is a sweetening syrup derived from the tuberous roots of the plant Smallanthus sonchifolius (commonly called yacon) that is native to the Andes,” says Dr. Mercola. “It is rich in fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a type of prebiotic fiber, and has a relatively low glycemic index.”
It’s sold as a natural syrup like honey or agave, and sometimes added to prebiotic snack bars and powders, says Nathan.
Health perk: A Clinical Nutrition study had women with obesity consume yacon syrup one hour before meals every day for 120 days. Those who took the syrup lost weight, lowered their BMI and reduced their waist circumference.
Dr. Mercola says the prebiotic fiber in yacon syrup is fermented in the gut, which may help support appetite control, metabolic health and insulin sensitivity.
Next time you’re looking for a healthy alternative to honey, try yacon syrup. Cleveland Clinic says it “tastes a bit like honey,” but it’s less sweet and has fewer calories, so you can add a touch more if you prefer a stronger honey flavor.
Bonus benefit: Stevia may reverse hair loss
“Stevioside is a steviol glycoside derived from the leaves of the plant Stevia rebaudiana, a South American herb that has been used for centuries as a sweetener,” Dr. Mercola explains. “It is one of the primary sweetening compounds in stevia leaves.”
It’s primarily found in stevia-leaf extracts used as sweeteners, says Dr. Mercola. “Many commercial foods and beverages that list ‘stevia extract,’ ‘steviol glycosides’ or ‘stevia leaf extract’ derive sweetness from stevioside or related compounds. Because it is a purified compound, you won’t find meaningful stevioside amounts naturally in common whole-foods beyond the stevia plant itself.”
Health perk: A new animal study in Advanced Healthcare Materials found that mice with alopecia who were treated with a small, dissolvable patch containing stevioside and the hair growth drug minoxidil had faster hair regrowth than those given minoxidil alone. After 35 days, the stevioside and minoxidil patch produced about 67 percent hair regrowth, compared to only 26 percent hair regrowth with regular minoxidil solution.
Dr. Mercola explains how this sugar alternative led to measurable hair growth. “Stevioside helped minoxidil penetrate better into skin, leading to more follicles entering the growth phase,” says Dr. Mercola. “The sweetener basically acts as a carrier or enhancer to make the drug more effective.”
While the research is promising, you don’t need to seek out stevia-infused haircare products just yet. Dr. Mercola says more studies are needed to understand how the sugar substitute may affect human hair growth.
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