8 Healthy Ways To Sweeten Your Coffee

1. Agave syrup

Instead of adding table spoons or cubes of sugar to overcome the bitterness of coffee, try adding agave syrup. This ingredient contains high levels of fructose levels. So what is the logic behind using agave syrup instead of sugar? Well, the syrup is high in fructose, but has a low “glycemic index”.

Glycemic index is a numerical figure associated with a particular food, so as to describe the food’s effect on a person’s blood sugar level. Hence, agave syrup is way better than regular sugar, since it affects blood sugar on a lesser scale, and is comparatively sweeter.

2. Maple syrup

Here comes another nature-derived syrup that vows to make your coffee sweet in a healthy way. Besides adding to the sweetness of the beverage, maple syrup imparts anti-oxidant activities as well. It has been found to contain 13 phenolics (anti-oxidant compounds) which have been studied to impart anti-cancer, anti-diabetic and anti-bacterial properties.

What’s more? Well, adding maple syrup to your coffee shall add an additional maple taste to your drink.

3. Raw honey

Nothing can be as sweet and as mesmerizing as the taste of raw honey. Many people who have a sweet-tooth love to have honey. Ever wondered about adding it to your coffee?

Well, adding raw honey to your coffee is yet another way to sweeten it in a healthy manner. Moreover, honey contains anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties, which shall make your coffee a healer besides an appetizer.

4. Stevia

Stevia is a natural sweetener that is extracted from the South American stevia plant. This sweetener is found to contain no calories. Being low in glycemic index, stevia syrup tastes about 300 times sweeter than actual sugar. What could be more better than a sweetener with more taste, yet no effect on blood sugar? All you require is a small amount of this ingredient to enhance the taste of your beverage. Along with sweetening properties, stevia is known to contain anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-diarrheal and anti-microbial properties.

Want to know something more impressive about this stevia plant extraction? A fact quoted from a study that was published in the year 2000, in the “British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology” states that regular use of stevia extract lowers blood pressure in victims of high Blood pressure.

5. Add “nutty taste” to your coffee

Almond milk is a non-dairy product, and can act as a sweetener in place of sugar, providing less than half of the unwanted calories. Its unsweetened version may contain even less than 30 calories a cup. Want to add more ‘nutty taste’ to your beverage? Try adding some coconut milk or cashew milk. These nut-derived milk products can act as ideal creamers and sweeteners for your coffee.

6. Vanilla extract

The fascinating smell of home made vanilla cake comes mostly by the virtue of the vanilla extract. It is one of the best ways to sweeten your coffee in a healthy manner, since it imparts a delightful vanilla taste to your beverage besides saving you from extra calorie intake. Add two to three drops of the extract to your cup of coffee. You may adjust the amount according to your taste.

7. Unsweetened cocoa powder

Despite the fact that unsweetened cocoa powder has more calories than naturally extracted sweeteners, it definitely contains lesser calories than the regular sugar you use. Choose a suitable brand and enhance the taste of your boring regular coffee.

8. Xylitol

It is an artificial sweetener that is derived from corn stalks and birch trees. Xylitol contains a considerably low glycemic index and 1/3rd of the total calories that normal sugar contains. You may use it in place of regular sugar to sweeten your daily cup of coffee. Xylitol can give you the same taste with lesser chances of gaining weight.