The latest discovery is that coconut sap sugar has been clinically tested as the best sugar substitute for diabetics and health buffs, as it is without side effects, says the Philippine Coconut Authority (Philcoa).

Erlene C. Concibido-Manohar, Philcoa project development officer, said that the brown-colored coconut sap sugar is derived not from the nut but from the toddy or sweet sap from which the locally made wine tuba is also made.

It is also suited for those who are meticulously managing their weights. Moreover, it gives slower increase in blood sugar response when consumed because of the fructose content.

Now dubbed as “health food,” coconut sap sugar (CSS) has been developed and improved through research done by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Coconut Authority (DA-PCA). And the good news is that it is ready for commercialization.

A broadside for the war against artificial sweeteners from one of my favorite foodie blogger:

End of love affair with Splenda

There is nothing natural about Splenda. It is as artificial as Equal,
NutraSweet and all the other sugar substitutes out there. The “made with sugar” tagline has proved misleading to many people but that’s really the intention. When did truth and advertising ever go together? Most times, it is the wrong impression that makes a product such a hit.

The Philippine Food and Nutrition Research Institute used the following procedure to determine the Glycemix Index (GI) value of coconut sugar.

Fifty grams (240 ml) standard glucose tolerance test beverage (Medic Orange 50, Product no. 089) and fifty (50) grams of coco palm (Cocos nucifera) sugar  was fed in random order to ten (10) human subjects.

Nutritive value of coconut palm sugar

The Philippine Food and Nutrition Research Institute released the following information about their analysis of nutritive values found in  coconut palm sugar

There are many people out there who are not only after healthy sweeteners but is also concerned on how their sweeteners are made. In fact, due to the human propensity for creativity, too many of the same thing is being hawked around as something else and when consumers are actually buying the same thing but having a different name.

Cane Sugar

The other day, I was asked to describe its color and got stumped. Originally, our process produces a dark, chocolate shade of brown, sometimes coppery or just plain brown. Now, it's way lighter than light brown and neither beige nor buff but not white. So, off I went to consult Mr. Google: its color is cream, a hint of yellow tone to the white.

Palm sugars come in different forms (cakes, tubes, bars, bricks, granules,powder, flakes), color (pale gold to dark brown) and taste (complex taste without the cloying sweetness - very much unlike sugar as you know it). The sweet, watery sap dripping from cut flower buds are harvested from a number of different palm varieties. The process, techniques even palm sap variety used in making palm sugar contributes to a different flavor profile, color, and smell for each type of palm sugar.