Plant Based Sweeteners
Date
Some people are afraid of dates because of their high sugar content, but natural, organic dates contain only fruit sugar. A whole food sweetener, their all-natural fruit sugar comes with the fats, carbs, and proteins that help your body digest sugars properly. Dates are rich in fiber and potassium which helps promote digestive and heart health, while fighting inflammation in the body.
Maple
JP’s 100% organic, pure maple syrup does much more than simply add a rich, sweet taste, it provides 24 different antioxidants, while refined and processed sugar has minimal antioxidant reactivity. Maple syrup contains high quantities of manganese, a mineral that is critical to over 300 different enzymatic reactions in our bodies.
Honey
Raw Honey is one of our pure, natural sweeteners. Because it is completely unprocessed, unrefined, unheated, and unfiltered, it is also able to retain its nutrients in addition to its delicious taste. Raw Honey is a sugar in that it is a carbohydrate, but it contains fructose, the natural sugar that is more slowly released in your body, resulting in sustained energy rather than a spike in blood sugar and a “sugar high.” It contains B vitamins, calcium, potassium, and iron, and its texture is soothing to a sore or irritated throat.
Agave
One of our natural sugars, agave is our healthy alternative to traditional processed, refined, cane sugar. Agave has a much lower glycemic index than cane sugar, so it does not spike your blood sugar and can have a beneficial effect on glucose control and insulin sensitivity. Additionally, agave is much sweeter than cane sugar, so less is needed to get the same great taste, meaning fewer grams of sugar and less calories.
Coconut Nectar
JP sources its coconut nectar from a small, family-owned company called Coconut Secret. All Coconut Secret coconut nectar comes from organic farms in the Philippines that are family owned and operated, where farmers climb the coconut trees and collect the coconut sap by hand. Coconut sap nectar is inherently sweet in its pure, raw state. Unlike refined sweeteners that have been isolated from companion nutrients, coconut nectar is naturally abundant in 17 amino acids, the building blocks of protein, broad-spectrum B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Minerals like Potassium and FOS, a prebiotic that feeds good bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.