Mediterranean Diet Sweeteners: What to Use and What to Avoid
The Mediterranean Diet has long been established as an effective lifestyle for attaining good health. Its reputation comes not only from many generations of people living in the Mediterranean with thriving health, but also from many modern-day scientific studies backing up its benefits.
It’s been linked to better cardiovascular health and mental health, increased lifespan, and slower age-related cognitive decline. All of this lies in stark contrast to the known effects of the “Standard American Diet” (known as SAD). The SAD diet is associated with increased incidences of diabetes, poor cardiovascular health, cognitive decline, and weight gain.
The Mediterranean Diet vs. The Standard American Diet
Although there are many differences between the Mediterranean Diet and the average American diet, one of the most prominent ones is the types of sweeteners that are commonly used. Overall, the SAD diet is very high in highly processed sugars such as high-fructose corn syrup, rice syrup, sucrose, maltose, dextrose, and many others. Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin are also frequently used as a low-calorie alternative to sugar.
The Mediterranean Diet uses sweeteners sparingly and sticks to natural sources like honey, maple syrup, and monk fruit. You may be familiar with the rhetoric “a calorie is a calorie” or “all sugars are the same”, but the truth on this topic is more nuanced than this.
While it’s certainly true that natural sugars generally contain similar amounts of calories as their highly processed counterparts, the effects they have on metabolism, cardiovascular health, inflammation, and even disease outcomes are vastly different. This is because food is much more than just calories. Food provides energy, but it also contains hundreds of complex molecules that essentially function as chemical messengers that lead to different reactions and outcomes within the body.
The Effects of Highly Processed Sugars
Sugar itself isn’t inherently harmful. In fact, it’s a naturally occurring substance within many different kinds of healthy foods. There are naturally occurring sugars in fruit, honey, nuts and coconut, dairy, and even some vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes.
Despite containing sugar, these foods have plenty of health benefits and they aren’t directly linked to causing any chronic health issues. Highly processed sugars on the other hand are often linked to diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and high levels of triglycerides.
Although processed sugars are originally sourced from nature as well, they go through several steps that alter their chemical structure and change their health effects. High fructose corn syrup, for example, originates from corn before being processed into cornstarch and further processed into a syrup.
The result is a sweetener devoid of any micronutrients with a very high caloric density. This makes it very easy to overconsume since it’s not satiating in the way whole foods with natural sugars are. In practical terms, this looks like a bag of candy containing plenty of calories and sugars being easy to eat, whereas the same amount of calories or sugar from apples would be much harder to consume because of the feeling of fullness the comes along with the apples.
Another contribution to this factor is that naturally occurring sugars in foods are generally packaged alongside fiber, minerals, vitamins, and other substances that alter how the sugar is digested. This not only makes them more filling, but it also reduces blood sugar spikes after eating. A measure of how much a food or meal is likely to spike blood sugar is known as its glycemic index rating (GI).
Highly processed sweeteners are among the highest GI rated foods around. This means that over time, overconsumption can contribute to insulin resistance, maladapted hunger cues, and even diabetes.
Where Sweeteners Fit Into the Mediterranean Diet
So if highly processed sweeteners don’t fit into the Mediterranean Diet, you’re likely wondering what sweeteners do, and in what amounts.
Traditional diets in the Mediterranean were much lower in any type of sweetener than what’s common today. The most frequently used sources of sugar would have been fruit and honey. Today, there are a few other types of sweeteners that also fit into the Mediterranean style of eating, namely, maple syrup and monk fruit.
Honey is a dense natural source of sugar, but it also contains minerals, flavonoids, and polyphenols which function as antioxidants. It also contains slightly less calories per gram than sugar, and it has a lower glycemic index. This is thought to be because of its mineral and antioxidant content, as well as the structure of the sugars in honey.
Maple syrup is not native to Europe and therefore not a part of traditional diets, but it fits into a modern adaptation of the Mediterranean Diet thanks to its status as a naturally sweet whole food. Like honey, maple syrup is high in antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals. This includes riboflavin, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and potassium.
This means maple syrup provides nutrition and health benefits in ways processed sugars do not. One of the most prominent features of the Mediterranean Diet is “nutrient density”, and this clearly shows why natural sweeteners are preferred. They provide more nutrition per calorie which may help prevent overeating while still providing adequate amounts of all of the nutrients needed to thrive.
Monk fruit is another modern addition to the Mediterranean Diet, however, it’s quite different from honey and maple syrup. Monk fruit sweetener is a type of zero calorie sweetener derived from monk fruits sourced in Southern China. The monk fruit gets its intensely sweet flavor from antioxidants called mogrosides rather than from sugar, and this makes it an extremely low ranking GI food.
Monk fruit extract can now be commonly found in grocery stores and health food stores as a powdered sweetener with a crystalized appearance similar to sugar. However, not all monk fruit sweeteners are created equal. Some contain a sugar alcohol called erythritol which has been linked to gastrointestinal distress. For this reason, it’s best to opt for a erythritol-free monk fruit sweetener when possible, particularly if gut health is something you struggle with.
How To Use Sweeteners on The Mediterranean Diet
Although certain sweeteners fit into the Mediterranean Diet, they can still be misused. Sweeteners should be used to enhance the flavor of other foods and sweeten occasional desserts rather than become a major source of sustenance. Highly processed sources of sugar like table sugar, packaged sweets, and condiments should be avoided or at least largely reduced.
Pairing sweet foods with other ingredients also decreases the total glycemic load and can make it easier for the body to digest the meal well. Fiber, fat, and protein can all dampen the blood sugar response of sweet foods, so consuming a balance of foods at every meal is recommended.
As always, the most important thing is to listen to your hunger cue, focus on nourishing yourself with nutrient-dense food, and try to opt for whole foods as much as possible.
