July 10th 2009 Maple Syrup: Fun for Your Taste Buds, Good for Your Health
Do you love eating sweets? Sure, sugar can quickly energize you, but it doesn’t last for long. Actually, excessive intake of sugar can harm your health. Processed white sugar causes tooth decay, cholesterol buildup, and decrease of B-vitamin levels in the body. Sugar doesn’t contain fiber or nutrients to keep the body functioning well. It is rich in calories, which are stored as fats when they’re not used by the body.
There’s a healthier alternative that’s just as sweet as sugar: maple syrup. You can still satisfy your craving for sweet foods while keeping your body healthy by making maple syrup a part of your daily diet. You can find many uses for maple syrup in your daily life including maple sugar candy and maple syrup recipe ideas. This thick amber liquid, which is made from the sap of maple trees, offers a host of health benefits besides enhancing the flavor of any food. Maple syrup is a more nutritious sweetener than sugar, even if it has a high sugar content. It has more minerals and fewer calories than sugar and honey. A ? cup of maple syrup contains more calcium than milk and more potassium than a banana. Maple syrup is a rich source of phosphorous, iron, and B vitamins, which are very essential to your health. What’s more, you have lower risk of diseases when you use maple syrup instead of sugar.
Because it contains manganese, maple syrup can help improve your energy production and antioxidant defenses. Aside from being an antioxidant, manganese also facilitates healing and reduces inflammations. Just one ounce of maple syrup a day can provide 22 percent of the recommended amount of manganese in the body. The manganese content of maple syrup is good for the immune system. Further enhancing the body’s response against infections is the zinc content of maple syrup. Zinc is also good for the heart. An essential trace mineral, zinc can minimize the likelihood of heart problems such as stroke, heart attack, and atherosclerosis or the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries. When it comes to reproductive health, men benefit a lot from maple syrup since its zinc content reduces the risk of prostate cancer. On the other hand, manganese in maple syrup contributes to sex hormone production in men.
Maple syrup is not dangerous to health compared to processed white sugar. This nutritious product contains very small amount of sodium at about 2 mg. per 50 mL. Low sodium content means maple syrup won’t pose a threat to people with high blood pressure, kidney ailment, or diabetes. Also, maple syrup doesn’t contain substances that interfere with the various functions of the body such as purines, oxalates, and goitrogens. It doesn’t cause allergies in most people, too.
When you use maple sugar as an alternative to sugar, you get to enjoy both its sweetness and health benefits. Thus, it pays to lessen your intake of sugar and make sure that you buy your own supply of maple syrup on your next visit at the local supermarket. Making sure that you have maple syrup equipment can mean the difference between an unhealthy and a healthy you.