Health Benefits of Coconut Sugar

The coconut tree has bestowed humanity with all sorts of gifts, and two of the most popular ones among individuals who are health conscious include coconut water and coconut oil. Did you know that there is also coconut sugar on today’s market? Continue reading to get yourself acquainted with this amazing type of sugar!

Perhaps you have already heard or read about the many health nightmares linked to the consumption of refined sugar and that’s why you are currently on the hunt for an alternative sweetener.

Going for artificial ones that are available nowadays in sachets and can be found in all sorts of foods and beverages that are intended for dieters is a bad thing. According to doctors, these synthetic replacements for refined sugar is just as terrible for the health as refined sugar itself — some say that they’re actually worse than real thing!

Luckily, there are in our midst a handful of sugar types that are less processed, thus they are deemed way healthier than refined sugar. Spoonful for spoonful, they may still contain pretty much the same amount of calories as refined sugar, but at least they retain some of the vitamins and minerals present in cane sugar where they came from.

Coconut sugar, unlike those other types of sugar, does not come from sugar cane — the name pretty much gives that fact away. One of the biggest advantages that coconut sugar has over other less refined sugar variants out there in today’s market is it contains inulin. Here are the perks that inulin brings, according to doctors:

It Encourages the Growth of Beneficial Bacteria in the Gut

Your intestines serve as a home for bacteria. Some of them are bad while others are actually good for you, and they are the ones that everybody refers to as probiotics. Probiotics offer numerous health benefits, from improving the process of digestion to strengthening the immune system.

Unfortunately, poor eating habits, the intake of antibiotics and undergoing certain medical treatments can cause a decline in the population of those beneficial bacteria. Luckily, it is very much possible to increase their numbers. Consuming fermented foods and drinks and those with added probiotics in them is one. Another is by the intake of foods that contain inulin in them, and one of those is coconut sugar!

It Helps Control the Levels of Sugar in the Blood

Another perk that is offered by inulin is the slowing down of the release of sugar into the blood. This is great news for diabetics or those who are at risk of diabetes because the inclusion of inulin-containing foods in their diet such as coconut sugar can make it so much easier for them to keep high sugar levels in check, thus keeping at bay all sorts of scary health complications.

However, doctors say that it’s still very important for diabetics to limit their intake of coconut sugar because, even though it contains highly beneficial inulin, it still packs glucose just like refined sugar.

These are the most noteworthy benefits of inulin that you can find in coconut sugar. But other than its inulin content, there is another reason why coconut sugar is way better for you than refined sugar, and it’s the fact that it contains certain vitamins and minerals. Nutrition experts say that coconut sugar has calcium, zinc, iron, potassium, magnesium, and even vitamin C which is an immune booster.

However, there is one downside to coconut sugar, and it’s the fact that it tends to carry a steeper price tag than refined sugar or most other healthy alternatives to sugar.

When shopping, always read the label. Some coconut sugars out there are actually mixed with cane sugar. If you want the real deal, make sure that the packaging says that it is 100 percent pure coconut sugar.

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