The CBC has a nice article dispelling myths and misconceptions about what’s sweetening your diet. 

When cutting calories from their diet, especially during the holiday season, conscientious eaters often start by eliminating sugar. But adding honey to tea or substituting “raw” sugar for white won’t make a difference. A teaspoon of table sugar has 14 calories, no matter its color, as does honey, molasses and other “natural” sweeteners.

And artificial and plant-based sweeteners may pose additional health risks, as they’ve been linked to cancer and other serious health problems in previous animal studies. Packets of plant-derived Stevia, sold in health food stores as a dietary supplement, aren’t even approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for sale as a food additive. High fructose corn syrup, an artificial sweetener used in products like soda and ice cream, has been increasingly blamed for rising levels of diabetes and obesity.

All the caveats have left consumers confused about sugar, and it’s frequently difficult to find straightforward answers. That’s partly due to the controversy surrounding sugar consumption, and while scientific research is still inconclusive on many of these questions, there are some very basic guidelines that consumers can follow to stay healthy.

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