A refined product, such as granulated white or brown sugar, has been through a process which has stripped it of most of the plant from which it came, including all the nutritional value. Manufacturers of natural sweeteners avoid most refining processes in order to retain as much of the character of the whole food as possible. Besides vitamins and minerals, the plant sources also contain many different micronutrients important for the proper digestion, absorption and utilization of the food. Refined sugars lack these crucial micronutrients, causing the food to become more than just non-nutritive, but also a hazard to the body. Refined sugars enter the bloodstream very rapidly, causing and contributing to health problems and creating the ideal conditions for the development of an addiction.
Many people consider sugar a legal, but deadly drug.
Natural sweeteners tend to enter the bloodstream more slowly and are less apt to cause insulin related problems. Natural sweeteners also tend to be much less sweet than refined sugars, reducing the likelihood of a sweet-habit developing and causing less injury to the integrity of the sense of taste. Aspartame, an excitotoxin, has had more complaints noted against it than all other artificial sweeteners in history combined. And aspartame has been studied such a short time there is bound to surface more and more unsettling evidence to prove it is unsafe for human consumption. Choose natural sweets for your own health and for the health of your precious children.