I cannot believe that Agave is listed as a better alternative. Natural News just published this fascinating article, too, Agave Nectar, the High Fructose Health Food Fraud. The writer is Rami Nagel, author of Healing Our Children.

agave? really? ive heard pretty awful stuff about agave as a sugar replacement. check out dr. mercola's site, he has a ton of info showing why agave is pretty harmful

How about Lo Han?
Also. xylitol causes terrible stomach problems for my adult son - They took over a week to resolve....I can use it in small quantities and like the taste - VERY like sugar only with a "cool" taste

Stevia is great! Agave??? a processed junk product according to current information. Xylitol? a great idea if sourced and processed properly. Beech wood is best source; rotted corn (often Chinese) is most common source. That version is heavily processed, not too savory....

Dear Dr Cutler, you should listen to dr Mercola abbbbout Agave

What about "Sweet Fiber"?

It has 0 calories, and has 1g of Soluble Fiber per packet.

The sweetness comes from a monk fruit, luo han guo. Any thoughts on luo han guo?

good info on healthy sugar replacements

There are studies that show that stevia extracts may cause some reproductive issues and genetic mutations. It's green in it's natural herb form and that's one thing. But our fixation on taking a natural product and concentrating it for flavor, convenience, marketing, or whatever is what gets us into trouble. Agave is largely fructose and it's refined as well. Plus, anything sweeter than sugar with zero calories confuses the brain and the body. We're hard-wired to store 'sweet" calories for energy. Use of zero calorie sweeteners can increase our cravings for carbs or cause more fat storage. Who needs that??! Honestly...if we want a little sugar, stick with the real thing - natural sugar cane.

I've posted this question in another comments section but it hasn't been answered yet so here I go again:

What about honey?

All of the "healthier alternatives to sugar" in this article are processed from plants but they are supposed to be better somehow than sweeteners processed out of other plants like sugar beets or corn. If eating healthier means avoiding processed foods, why would you still use processed ingredients? Processed ANYthing is still processed.
Honey is a healthy, natural, unprocessed sweetener that has been around for thousands of years and it's sold in grocery stores and farmer's markets everywhere.

I use Whey Low. Granular -- gluten free -- replaces sugar one for one -- one cup Whey Low equals one cup sugar. It bakes and tastes like sugar. Lee Zehner, Ph.D. is the inventer -- his wife was diabetic. American Family Owned and Operated -- Made in the U.S.A. Many bakeries use and sell it all across this nation. It is recommended by and available from Julian Whitaker, MD.

I just Just Like Sugar from "just like sugar" inc which is made from Vitamin C, Orange Peel, Maltodextrin, and Chickory Root, and was given the thumbs up by Dr. Russell Blaylock, Dr. Betty Martini, and the American Diabetes Association. If you've got the approval of Dr. Blaylock and Dr. Martini, you know you're doing something right. It's a bit more expensive than regular sugar though and the only place in my area that sells it is a drug store in a fairly bad neighborhood, but it is a 1:1 replacement for sugar.

>>>>>There are studies that show that stevia extracts may cause some reproductive issues and genetic mutations

More info please.

When baking cookies or brownies-why not mix in some applesauce, figs, dates or prunes in as the sweetner?
It's a lot less expensive and you know it's not chemically enhanced.

Glad to see Erythritol mentioned. Yes, it is still "processed". While not perfect, of course, I believe it qualifies as a fermented food. Any baking I do, I use Erythritol and Almond Flour for a much lower carbohydrate load. While many of the other sugar alcohols cause me gastrointestinal stress, Erythritol does not. Plus, I've found that most recipes call for way too much sugar/sweetener. My Grandmother's recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies calls for 1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar to 1 3/4 cup flour. I use 1/3 cup total sweetener. Since my husband doesn't care for the cooling taste of Erythritol (only noticed if using chocolate too), I use 3 Tablespoons granulated brown sugar (27 carbs) and 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon Erythritol to get the 1/3 cup total sweetener. Just sweet enough! Makes 25 cookies. Plus, using Almond flour makes the cookies VERY filling cutting back on the desire to overeat.

FIrst and foremost DR I am not here to to disrespect you, But I hate when people write stuff by assuming its good. This stuff called "agave " is really bad for you! there has been some recent studies on it. As my peers on this blog has commented on. Please don't list things that you "think" are good for you just because you read about it. I fell victim to it also here all this time agave was suppose to be raw and all this well its not and either is maple syrup grade a - grad d. after all them books and 11 days cleanse and all that I am appalled how mislead we are as a whole. Folks do your research!!!

- v