An All Natural Sugar That's Actually Healthy

I’ve mentioned using “Trehalose” in several of my recipes rather than sugar. And, I’ve gotten questions asking “what’s Trehalose” and “where can I get it”, “is it really healthier than table sugar?”

Let me answer those questions for you:

I ran across Trehalose about 12 years ago when I was trying to replace the sugar substitutes that my diabetic Mother was using in her baked goods. She loved to bake and “share” her goodies with us… but they tasted nasty and just plain Y-U-C-K.

But rather than hurt her feelings and telling her they were absolutely horrible, I went on a “sugar-hunt”.

There had to be something better and HEALTHIER than the the garbage in those little yellow, blue and pink packages that she was using.

In my research, I started seeing articles about Trehalose and how it was being used, not only in high-end cosmetics as a moisturizer, but also the food and beverage industry as a sweetener.

It’s considered a prime way to sweeten foods, without triggering the blood sugar levels. And, it’s not only an antioxidant, but it also enhances the flavor of food.

The more I read, the more intrigued I became:

It’s found naturally in succulent desert plants, such as cacti and the Resurrection Plant, honey, shrimp, brewer’s yeast and some varieties of mushrooms.

•  It’s considered a prime way to sweeten foods, without triggering the blood sugar levels. It is not only an antioxidant, but it also enhances the flavor of food. (Although the Mayo Clinic, will not endorse trehalose directly in connection with diabetes, it does acknowledge that it reduces insulin resistance and that the blood sugar levels are substantially lower than with sugar or artificial sweeteners. )
• It appears to improves Neurological Disorders…Although the research is not conclusive in this area, there are many indicators that Trehalose is very effective in helping individuals who suffer with nervous system disorders. Improvements such as better muscle control have been documented with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and other neurological disorders.
• It tastes, sweetens and bakes just like sugar.
• It can be substituted cup-for-cup for sugar in any recipe
• It only has half the calories of sugar.

There was one problem… it’s only 45% as sweet as table sugar. But I immediately knew of a quick solution for that!

It was a little pricey… but if it was as good as it sounded, then it would be well worth it. I ordered 2 kilos

WOW… it turned out to be better than I could have imagined.

To increase the sweetness, I mixed:

• 1 kilo of Trehalose
• 1/16th teaspoon (“a dash”) of Kal Pure Stevia Extract.

I put the Trehalose and the stevia in a tupperware bowl, put the lid on and shook it really hard for a couple of minutes, then poured it into my sugar cannister. I didn’t tell my family that it wasn’t regular table sugar for several weeks… they had never noticed any difference.

That tiny bit of Stevia brought the sweet level up to the same as table sugar, but added NO calories and didn’t leave ANY after-taste.

As I said before, I’ve used Trehalose for about 12 years and highly recommend it to everyone and especially those with blood-sugar issues. I use it exclusively as my sweetener.

Yes, it’s a little pricey, but helping keep my blood sugar in range without giving up sweets is definitely worth it. You can buy it here…

If you don’t have measuring spoons that 1/16, then you need to get a set of these spoons that measure a dash, a pinch, a smidgen or a tad.  You can read more about them here.  I use mine all the time.

If you want to read more about Trehalose… do a Google search. There are literally thousands of research papers and articles about it’s uses and health benefits. And there are no known negative side effects.

Have you tried Trehalose… or have you ever heard of Trehalose before now?  I encourage you to try it and let me know how you like it.