If you are a health conscious individual, you probably know that sugar has been identified as one of the worse dietary substances there is around today. When we eat the body converts the food into glucose for use by the cells and muscles. Glucose is a form of energy that fuels all of our bodily needs. Foods like simple carbohydrates are easily converted into glucose but others like proteins require more processing and therefore take a longer time for conversion. Today however, a large percentage of the foods we eat use refined sugars like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to enhance the taste. These sugars are digested swiftly and allow for quick boosts of energy, but their impact on the body is devastating.

Numerous studies have shown that sugar elevates insulin levels and often leads to a condition known as insulin resistance where the body ceases to respond effectively to the presence of insulin in the blood. Insulin elevation and insulin resistance are known harbingers for the development of obesity and diabetes. High sugar consumption is also known to wreak havoc in terms of hypertension, gastrointestinal disorders, stroke, heart diseases and cancer. Quite naturally then, one would want to avoid the consumption of sugar at all cost, but in the modern world, short of an indefinite fast, this is extremely difficult to do.

While it is extremely difficult to eliminate sugar altogether from your diet there are some safe options that you might consider when the need for sugar arises. These include stevia, fructose, honey and dark chocolate.

• Stevia is a natural sweetener made from the leaves of plants native to South America. It is said to be 300 times sweeter than table sugar and is not known to elevate blood sugar.

• Fructose is the sugar that occurs naturally in fruits like oranges, apples, pears, etc. It is safe to eat in small amounts and does not spike blood sugar levels like HFCS.

• Raw honey is produced naturally by the honey bee. It has long been used as a sweetener and for medicinal purposes plus it is packed with antioxidants. But most of all, blood sugar is not affected substantially by the ingestion of limited amounts of honey.

• Dark chocolate is a product of the cocoa plant. It is less sweet than other chocolates and when eaten in small amounts does not spike blood sugar levels. Furthermore, it has been found to be quite beneficial to the heart and brain.

In addition to minimizing the amount of refined sugar in your diet, it has been found that including limited amounts of the sugars described above in your meals or snacks will not cause serious elevations in your blood sugar levels and as a result will reduce any risk associated with the consumption of sweet foods.