Is maple syrup a healthier sweetener than refined sugar? Okay, as a Canadian I need to make sure to check my bias. In a study presented by Dr. Andre Marette at the American Society of nutrition conference they found some health promoting effects for maple syrup. This study is important because of the way that it was designed. Research participants were randomized to either refined sugar syrup or maple syrup for 2 months, then they took a break, then they switched to the other type of sweetener for another two months. The participants were blinded, so they didn’t know what kind of sweetener they were using. Compared to refined sugar, the maple syrup reduced belly fat, decreased blood pressure and had some subtle improvements in how their body managed blood glucose. The refined sugar increased levels of some detrimental bacteria in the microbiome, whereas the maple syrup did not. These findings were with about 2 tablespoons of maple syrup per day. Putting this into context, I think this study supports that substituting refined sugar with maple syrup could be slightly healthier, but it’s still the most important to reduce overall sugar consumption of any kind. That’s what science tastes like.

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