Ok, now that you are back we shall continue. We are going to talk about palm sugar, also called coconut sugar. While the names may be used interchangeably, palm sugar and coconut sugar can come from different trees–like the date palm or sugar date palm and the coconut palm. We are specifically referring to coconut palm sugar in this article.

Coconut palm sugar, which comes from the sap of a coconut blossoms, is high in potassium, zinc, magnesium, and iron and has trace sources of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and Vitamin C. Most places thicken the sap under controlled heat to maintain the flavor and nutrients in the sugar. Some places such as Coconut Secret process the sap at low temperatures to keep it raw with enzymes intact.

A benefit of coconut palm sugar is that it has a lower glycemic index (35-40) than other sugars and has a better makeup than sweeteners such as agave. Agave nectar is also low glycemic, but is high in fructose and many times over processed. Coconut palm sugar is mostly sucrose which is made up of fructose and glucose, however when fructose is in this bound up form of sucrose it responds better in the body by not immediately being processed in the liver–as is the case with high fructose corn syrup or agave nectar. The presence of trace minerals also aids in balancing blood sugar levels (minerals such as chromium have been shown to reduce blood sugar spikes). Always look for sweeteners that are less refined with some trace minerals.

Another benefit is that palm trees are highly sustainable and produce 50-75% more per acre than sugar cane. One problem with coconut sugar is that the sap that comes from the flower is what nourishes and eventually allows the flower to become a coconut from which we get coconut oil, flour, and dried coconut. Without the sap there are no coconuts! Some trees have been set aside particularly for the purpose of collecting the sap, which is a great idea, as many times the sap is used for alcohol or vinegar. However, demand is currently extremely high, while supplies are limited resulting in high prices across the board for coconut products. (So go ahead and plant some coconut trees so we can have enough for both sugar and oil).

We recommend checking out:
- Coconut Secret
- Sweet Tree
- Navitas Naturals

UF Health Science Center February 23, 2010

New York Times July 7, 2010

PloS One October 20, 2009; 4(10):e7506

Cell Stem Cell July 2, 2010; 7(1):78-89

Journal of Applied Physiology December 31, 2009

HGH Magazine

HowToBeFit.com

www.mercola.com~
Oh yes, here we have it again.
Big surprise, the number one source of calories in the US and the primary cause of the obesity epidemic is being used to sell this product.
“Vitaminwater is Coke’s attempt to dress up soda in a physician’s white coat. Underneath, it’s still sugar water, albeit sugar water that costs about ten bucks a gallon,” said litigation director Steve Gardner of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

Actually I disagree with the “sugar water” part as pure cane sugar water is an order of magnitude healthier than free-floating fructose. When you drink Vitaminwater, what you really get is 33 grams — more than six teaspoons — of sugar, including crystalline fructose.

I recently began warning about this new variety of fructose, which may be even worse for your health than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). I recently exposed agave as being worse than HFCS but crystalline fructose is much worse than agave.
While many people mistakenly believe that fructose is an acceptable form of sweetener, it is far from healthy. Refined man-made fructose metabolizes to triglycerides and adipose tissue, not blood glucose. One major downside of this is that fructose does not stimulate your insulin secretion, nor enhance leptin production.

Together, insulin and leptin act as key signals in regulating how much food you eat, and several studies have linked dietary fructose to increased food intake and weight gain.
Additionally, fructose is also known to significantly raise your triglycerides, which puts you at an increased risk of heart disease.
Based on the latest research, crystalline fructose is definitely something you’ll want to avoid as much as possible. Whereas regular HFCS contains 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose, crystalline fructose is at minimum 99 percent fructose, which could only mean that all the health problems associated with fructose may be even more pronounced with this product.

If anyone tries to tell you “sugar is sugar,” they are way behind the times. There are major differences in how your body processes each one.
The bottom line is: fructose leads to increased belly fat, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome — not to mention the long list of chronic diseases that directly result. As a standard recommendation, I strongly advise keeping your TOTAL fructose consumption below 25 grams per day ‚Ķ and this leaves no room for Vitaminwater in your diet.
And if that’s not bad enough, crystalline fructose may also contain arsenic, lead, chloride and heavy metals.

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

The sugar industry groups can tout all the misleading propaganda they want, but it won’t change the fact that sugar, and especially fructose, is essentially public enemy #1 for human health.
When you eat sugar, it actually causes negative changes in your genes that last for two full weeks! So indulge in a couple of sodas or splurge on a hot fudge sundae and not only do your genes turn off controls designed to protect you from heart disease and diabetes, but the impact lasts for 14 days!
Even more concerning, if you eat too much sugar for a long time, your DNA may become permanently altered, and the effects could be passed on to your children and grandchildren.
For most Americans, sugar is not only a regular part of their diet, but often the source of the most calories! On average, adults are eating over 22 teaspoons of sugar a day … which is way over the American Heart Association’s recommended limit of 6.5 teaspoons a day for women and 9.5 for men.

How Can Industry Groups Continue to Claim Sugar and Fructose are Healthy?
We now know without a doubt that sugar in your food, in all its myriad of forms, is taking a devastating toll on the health of the United States and other developed nations.
Yet, industry groups are trying to take away all the negative press by highlighting that sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are “natural.” The Corn Growers Association, for instance, wants you to believe that HFCS has the “same natural sweeteners as table sugar and honey.”
But don‚Äôt fall for it. HFCS is highly processed and does not exist anywhere in nature. The biggest difference is that due to its costs HFCS has massively increased the sugar load in the typical diet, but additionally, HFCS also has fructose as a “free” sugar not joined to other sugars like glucose so it is more easily absorbed and able to devastate you metabolically.
Still, even in its “natural” form, it is a well-proven fact that sugar and more specifically, fructose, increases your insulin and leptin levels and decreases receptor sensitivity for both of these vital hormones. This can lead to:
• High blood pressure and high cholesterol
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Weight gain
• Premature aging
Elevated insulin levels are one of your key physical influences that contribute to rapid aging, and there is no question that optimizing your insulin levels is an absolute necessity if you want to slow down your aging process.
Consuming sugar (and grains) will increase your insulin level, which is the equivalent of slamming your foot on your aging accelerator. There’s simply no more potent way to accelerate aging than eating sugar.
Agave syrup, too, is being falsely advertised as “natural.” In reality, it is actually HIGHLY processed and is 80 percent fructose. The end product does not even remotely resemble the original agave plant and has virtually no nutritive value.
Likewise, honey is very high in fructose. Although its fructose content varies, it typically contains about the same amount as HFCS, or more. So even though honey contains many other beneficial nutrients, you’ll want to use honey very sparingly.

Why You Need to Avoid Fructose-Based Sweeteners, Even if They‚Äôre “Natural”
One of the main claims that industry groups are making for the safety of their sweeteners is that they‚Äôre “natural.” But this argument falls flat when you look a little deeper at the way sugar, and especially fructose, behaves in your body.
I am convinced that FRUCTOSE is the primary cause of the obesity epidemic in both children and adults. Sweetened beverages and processed foods are the main sources of fructose.
For an in-depth understanding of just how fructose is destroying your health, and that of your children, please watch this excellent video lecture from Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at University of California in San Francisco, in its entirety.
It was Dr. Lustig’s presentation on this subject that really opened my eyes to this issue, and then Dr. Johnson, who is the chairman of medicine at the University of Colorado, reinforced that with his book The Sugar Fix: The High-Fructose Fallout That Is Making You Fat and Sick.
You probably already know that fructose is a sugar, but what you may not realize is that it’s distinctly different from other sugars as it’s metabolized through very specific pathways that differ from those of glucose, for example, and through its distinct metabolic action, uric acid is generated.
Uric acid is a normal waste product found in your blood. High levels of uric acid are normally associated with gout, but it has been known for a long time that people with high blood pressure, overweight, and people with kidney disease, often have high uric acid levels as well.
It used to be thought that the uric acid was secondary in these conditions, and not the cause — but Dr. Johnson‚Äôs research indicates that it could be a lead player in the development of these conditions.
And it turns out that one of the most potent ways to raise uric acid is via fructose!
Folks, this is exactly why I am so passionate about educating you on the dangers of fructose! I am thoroughly convinced that it’s one of the leading causes behind the massive rise in needless suffering from poor health and premature death.

Cutting Back on ALL Forms of Sugar is Essential for Optimal Health
Sugar, in any form, will contribute to the decline of your health. Fructose will do so as well, and likely even more rapidly.
This is why significantly limiting sugar in your diet has long been at the crux of my nutrition plan for optimal health.
Reducing sugar in your diet can be tough for some people. After all, sugar is just as addictive as cocaine! But it’s possible, and Dr. Johnson provides helpful guidelines for doing so in his book.
If you’re currently a soda drinker, this will be one of the first areas in which to start cutting back. The major sweetener used in soda is HFCS, and since 55 percent of HFCS is fructose, one can of soda alone would nearly exceed your daily allotment. It is easy to see that anyone who is drinking three, and certainly four, will easily exceed 100 grams of fructose per day.
As a standard recommendation, I strongly advise keeping your TOTAL fructose consumption below 25 grams per day.
However, for most people it would actually be wise to limit your fruit fructose to 15 grams or less, as it is virtually guaranteed that you will consume “hidden” sources of fructose from most beverages and just about any processed food you might eat.
This includes limiting your consumption of fruit and especially fruit juices so you don‚Äôt go over this limit. I‚Äôve included the reference table below to help you keep the total fructose from fruit below 15 grams per day (which should allow you to stay below 25 grams a day total after factoring in the excess fructose from “hidden” sources).

Are Any Sweeteners Safe?

A far safer alternative to table sugar and fructose is to use pure glucose.
I personally prefer to use the herb stevia but lo han can also be used.
You can buy pure glucose (dextrose) as a sweetener for about $1 a pound. It is only 70 percent as sweet as sucrose, so you‚Äôll end up using a bit more of it for the same amount of sweetness, making it slightly more expensive than sucrose — but still well worth it for your health as it has ZERO grams of fructose.