The development of refined sugar allows manufacturers to create shelf-stable, appealing foods. Many pre-packaged foods on the market contained refined sugar, from snacks to spaghetti sauce. If you read labels carefully, you will notice refined sugar in products you had never imagined. The American palate has become accustomed to super sweet foods. Though they may taste good, refined sugars aren’t sweet to our bodies. Manufacturers highly process sugar cane and sugar beets to create refined sugars. Our bodies process these chemically altered foods differently from natural sweeteners.

Refined sugars represent a simple starch that rapidly raises the body’s blood sugar and insulin. While providing a burst of energy, refined sugars do not provide lasting satiety and encourage overeating. Refined sugars trigger the body to store energy as fat. Consumption of refined sugars has been linked to obesity, type-2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Refined sugars provide no nutrient values. Although they may be added to nutritious foods, the sweeteners themselves have lost any nutrient value they once possessed through processing.

The body responds much differently to natural sweeteners, such as those occurring in fruit, honey and maple syrup. The body more easily breaks down natural sugars. Though they’re also simple starches, the body can more effectively metabolize naturally occurring sugars. They also provide nutrients the body needs, along with energy. Natural sweeteners do not undergo the chemical alterations caused by the processing that creates refined sugars. People eat many whole fruits with their peels, fibers and/or seeds intact, such as apples, berries, and oranges. The addition of fiber helps encourage proper digestion and promotes satiety. Honey is usually minimally processed, and maple sap undergoes only evaporation to make maple syrup. By eating these sweeteners close to their original state, we offer our bodies a simpler, easier-to-process food.

That’s why at Wholesome Nibbles, we offer your family snacks that we serve to our own: treats that are naturally sweet to both taste buds the body. Why compromise health for good taste? And why compromise good taste for health? We provide both in healthful bites in a variety of flavors without refined sugars. Taste for yourself how Wholesome Nibbles are sweet to you.