If you have ever enjoyed a stack of pancakes or some fluffy waffles, you have probably also enjoyed your maple syrup. This type of syrup is made from the sap from various types of maple trees. It is typically made from red, sugar, and black maple trees. After the sap is extracted from the trees, it is then boiled to remove the impurities and made it food-safe, dried, powdered, then turned into a liquid syrup.
The great thing about real maple syrup is that it is sweet on its own with very little sugar added. However, when shopping for maple syrup that provides the health benefits in this report, you want to look at the ingredients and nutritional content. Ignore the maple syrup with a lot of sugar added, as it is not going to be good for you.
Nutrients in Maple Syrup
One of the reasons maple syrup has the following health benefits is due to the unique nutrients. While it can vary, maple syrup typically has calcium, potassium, manganese, iron, and zinc, as well as minerals and of course lots of antioxidants. It does contain some sucrose, which is like table sugar, so you want to have small quantities of it. Keep reading if you want to learn all about maple syrup and how it can be nutritious for you.
1. Alternative to Sugar
The first big health benefit of using maple syrup more in your regular diet is that it is a great alternative to sugar. While you are still getting sucrose with maple syrup, it is more of a natural sugar, similar to when you eat fruit and certain vegetables. You get an amazing sweetness and sugary goodness from the syrup, but it is better for you with more nutrients than regular table sugar.
You are not only getting something more natural with plenty of nutrients when you use maple syrup, but it is going to have all the other health benefits and nutrients at the same time. It doesn’t get much better than that!
How to Use Maple Syrup as an Alternative to Sugar
So, how do you replace sugar with maple syrup? This is actually a lot easier than you might think, but the quantities are slightly different. You don’t just use a cup of maple syrup to replace a cup of sugar in a baked recipe. Instead, you want to use about 2/3 cup of syrup for every cup of sugar in the recipe. This is because you are using liquid instead of dry, and maple syrup has a strong concentration of sweetness. You should also lower the baking temperature slightly.
Recipes That Work Great with Maple Syrup
If you are interested in replacing sugar with maple syrup, think baked goods. This is where you can really reduce that sugar content and increase health benefits at the same time. This includes foods like:
- Cookies
- Cake
- Cupcakes
- Muffins
Other Alternatives to Sugar
Maple syrup is a wonderful choice when you want to replace table sugar with something a little more natural, but it isn’t your only option. Here are some other choices to consider:
- Raw Honey
- Molasses
- Coconut Sugar
2. Maple Syrup is an Antioxidant
Now for all those excellent health benefits and nutrients of maple syrup. The first nutrient that you should think about when deciding if you want to use more maple syrup is antioxidants. There are lots of antioxidants in maple syrup, as long as you choose real and pure maple syrup. Remember to avoid the regular breakfast syrups that are loaded with sugar and additives.
What are Antioxidants?
You may know that antioxidants are good for you, but aren’t quite sure why they are recommended. Everyone talks about the antioxidants in your food, especially healthy options like fruits and veggies, because they can help your overall health and fight many diseases and even cancer.
Antioxidants are a combination of nutrients and vitamins that can help protect your body from free radicals. These free radicals can attack your cells, leading to things as minor as decreasing your immune system and causing the cold or flu, or something more serious like cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Antioxidants in Maple Syrup
In maple syrup, the antioxidants are varied, but often include polyphenols. These are the same antioxidants you will find in foods like blueberries and green tea. When looking for maple syrup that contains a good amount of antioxidants, you want to look for the darker color. These are usually more nutrient-rich.
3. It Helps to Boost Your Immune System
Not only does maple syrup have antioxidants, but many other nutrients in the syrup can also help to boost your immune system. This includes minerals like zinc and manganese, which are wonderful for helping to boost your immune cells. The reason you want these nutrients is because both zinc and manganese deficiencies are linked to a reduced amount of white blood cells. This can be harmful to your immune system.
When you don’t have a strong immune system, you are susceptible to illnesses and diseases more easily than someone with a good immune system. This means you can get a cold or flu more easily if you come in contact with someone who has these illnesses, as well as a heightened risk of infections and diseases.
Try a little maple syrup in your diet if you are looking to boost your immune system and fight illnesses with something sweet and delicious.
4. Male Reproductive System Benefits
One of the more surprising health benefits of maple syrup is the fact that it can help with your reproductive system if you are a male. There are unique nutrients located in this syrup that is great for male reproductive health. Of course, all these nutrients are good for women as well, but men who are struggling with fertility issues or just want to boost their reproductive health will enjoy these extra benefits.
Nutrients for Male Reproductive Health
So, how does maple syrup help with male reproductive health? It is mainly due to the high levels of zinc and other minerals located in maple syrup. Zinc is a type of metal with trace minerals that are great for your health. You already know it helps with your immune system, but for reproductive health, it helps by balancing out your hormones. If you have a low testosterone level or other male hormones, you can get a boost with enough zinc in your diet, hopefully boosting your natural fertility.
Aside from the help with your reproductive health, zinc can also help to fight the cold, as well as reduce inflammation in your body and fight free radicals, as you already know is vital for overall health.
An Easy Way to Use Maple Syrup
Not a fan of sugary baked goods? If you want to get the zinc and other health benefits from maple syrup without eating fattening foods, try adding a little syrup to your coffee in the morning. As a sweetener, you can replace sugar and creamer and just use a little maple syrup in your coffee.
5. It’s Heart Healthy
The nutrients already discussed in this report about maple syrup will also provide other health benefits, including boosting your heart health. No matter what your current health status is, you should always be focusing on having a healthy heart. Many heart-related conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease show little to no symptoms. It is often not until something serious happens or you go in to your doctor for a routine visit when they discover you have high blood pressure or get bloodwork and discover your cholesterol is much too high.
This is why healthy foods like maple syrup with zinc and antioxidants are so great for your health. You know you are doing what you can to boost your heart health by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, plus giving it a nice boost with the maple syrup.
Maple Syrup for Proper Heart Health
The first way maple syrup helps your heart health is by providing nutrients like antioxidants and zinc. These are good for fighting free radicals that could damage your membranes. The nutrients also help to boost the good cholesterol (LDL) and decrease the bad cholesterol (HDL). Additionally, you are using a natural sweetener instead of loading food and drinks with sugar, which is never good for you.
6. Improve Your Skin
This might be the most surprising health benefit of maple syrup, since people often think of acne and breakouts when they think of sugar. However, keep in mind you are not using regular table sugar on your skin or consuming sugar that is often linked to bad skin. You are getting a natural sweetener in syrup, plus all of the additional nutrients, particularly with the antioxidants.
Maple Syrup for Your Skin
What you may not realize is that antioxidants are not only good for your physical health on the inside, but are also wonderful for your beauty and skin. Antioxidants are often linked to anti-aging, along with reducing damage from free radicals, which can definitely impact your appearance. They can also help to protect your skin from environmental conditions.
Using Maple Syrup
Not only will you be getting those antioxidants by consuming maple syrup more often, but you can actually use it right on your skin. There are a variety of different creams, masks, and scrubs that contain a small amount of syrup to help with anti-aging and to clear your skin. It will also be great for moisturizing the skin and offering a youthful glow.
As always, make sure you are using pure maple syrup, not syrup from the grocery store that is loaded with preservatives. For a simple scrub that uses maple syrup, consider combining the syrup with a little bit of oats. If you need more liquid, you can use warm milk or almond milk. Use it like a normal scrub where you rub it on your face gently, let sit for a few minutes, then rinse with warm water.
7. Reduces Inflammation
The last health benefit of maple syrup to think about is that it can help reduce inflammation in your body and your skin. This once again is due to those beautiful antioxidants included in maple syrup. What could be better than using maple syrup for your tea, coffee, or baked goods, and knowing you are also helping your physical health and beauty?
Inflammation is often linked to medical conditions and diseases that you want to avoid, such as heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and arthritis. It is often linked to skin issues, so if you want to help your skin and have a more youthful, glowing appearance, it doesn’t hurt to add a little more maple syrup to your diet.
Healthy Ways to Use Maple Syrup
Do you want to benefit from maple syrup, but follow a healthy diet and are concerned about it? No need to worry! There are a lot of healthy and nutritious ways to use maple syrup instead of having pancakes or baked goods on a consistent basis. Here are a few ideas to try out:
- Enjoy a little maple syrup in your coffee or tea
- Have a bowl of fruit with a teaspoon of maple syrup, instead of a bowl of ice cream
- Put your syrup on 3-ingredient pancakes made with eggs, bananas, and cinnamon
- Top your overnight oats with maple syrup and lots of fresh fruit
- Make a smoothie with greens, fruit, Greek yogurt, almond milk, and maple syrup
As you can see, there are a lot of options available to you. You can benefit from maple syrup by getting zinc, antioxidants, and other vitamins and minerals, while having something delicious that goes great with a wide range of recipes.
