Maple Syrup: Nutrition, Benefits, Side Effects

Maple syrup is one of the most common natural sweeteners in the world. There are a lot of benefits of using maple syrup over sugar.

Maple syrup is nothing but the circulating fluid (sap) from the sugar maple trees. It mostly produced in North Americas as the continent covers about 80% of the world supply.

There are two distinct steps in the process of producing maple syrup from the sugar maple trees. These include:

1. The sap is collected in a container by drilling a hole in the maple tree.
2. After collection, the sap is heated until the evaporation of almost all of the water, which leaves a thick paste of sugary syrup. It is then further filtered to get rid of any other impurities.

Maple syrup can be bought in different grades in the U.S. But now, let’s talk about the various nutrition components of maple syrup along with their incidental health benefits.

Maple Syrup Nutrition Facts

There is a high amount of healthy nutrition present in Maple Syrup, which means maple syrup is very healthy for you. One tbsp of maple syrup includes: 

• 4 milligrams magnesium
• 0.02 milligrams iron
• 42 milligrams potassium
• 20 milligrams calcium
• 0.29 milligrams zinc
• 0.58 milligrams manganese

Health Benefits of Maple syrup

Rich in several antioxidants

When a comparison was made between different refined sugar products and natural sweeteners, massive differences were found in respect of total antioxidant content.

In the case of some popular refined sugar products like agave nectar and corn syrup, minimal antioxidant content was found.

On the other hand, there were substantially higher antioxidants activities in natural sweeteners like raw honey, brown sugar, dark and blackstrap molasses, maple syrup.

Some major antioxidants that are normally found in maple syrup are cinnamic acid, gallic acid, benzoic acid, and other flavonols like quercetin, rutin, epicatechin, and catechin.

All of these are good for you, but only some are present in high quantities. Due to these antioxidants, it is highly likely that the negative effects of consuming too much sugar in the form of maple syrup would be made up for.

Fights Inflammation

Maple syrup nutrition includes polyphenol antioxidants that are responsible for reducing inflammation in our bodies.

Therefore, maple syrup can be very healthy for you as it can reduce the risk of your body developing dangerous diseases like heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and arthritis.

Maple syrup is healthy for you as its nutrition reduces the oxidative stress in your body, which in turn slows down the aging process and increases the power of the body’s immune system.

You can also alternate the consumption of Maple syrup with buttermilk as it is rich in anti-inflammatory properties as well.

A lower score on the Glycemic Index

If you consume too much-refined sugar and refined carbohydrates, your liver will most likely metabolize them rapidly. This would cause a “sugar high” right before a rapid “sugar crash.” Moreover, the effects of refined sugar and carbs could elevate your insulin levels and blood sugar levels.

This raise can be harmful to your body in the long run. You must always keep in mind that excessive sugar from any source can lead to various diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

If you are already fighting some of these diseases, it is best to avoid consuming too much sugar, including maple syrup.

If you are looking to reverse diabetes or other blood-sugar conditions naturally, you must minimize the consumption of all the sugar sources but especially refined sugar.

Protection against cancer

There has been some evidence that says sugar can contribute to the development of cancer. However, out of all the different sweeteners, maple syrup is easily the least harmful.

There are antioxidants present in maple syrup that can prevent the cells from excessive mutation and DNA damage. However, it would be best if you kept in mind that solely consuming maple syrup won’t reduce the risk of developing cancer cells.

It is simply a much safer alternative than high levels of artificial sweeteners or refined sugar.

Better Skin Health

There are a lot of people that use maple syrup topically on their skin to make their skin healthier. Maple syrup is good for you if you want to cure various types of skin-related issues.

You can apply maple syrup in combination with raw honey, rolled oats, and raw milk or yogurt, on your face to keep your body hydrated and reducing irritation and other bacteria.

Similar to raw honey, maple syrup can help your face get rid of dryness, blemishes, redness, and skin inflammation.

Improves Digestion

 As we have mentioned multiple times in this article, maple syrup, and other natural sweeteners are great alternatives to refined sugar.

Consuming high levels of refined sugar can lead to leaky abdomen syndrome, candida, IBS, and other such digestive system disorders.

If you want to avoid these entire digestive issues while eating sugar, then maple syrup could be the right choice for you. Moreover, if you already have a leaky gut syndrome, consuming maple syrup in refined oil can help heal it.

Most of the artificial sweeteners are responsible for causing symptoms of constipation, cramping, bloating, gas, and indigestion. Maple syrup is a much better alternative to use in smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt, or other baked food.           

Essential Minerals and vitamins

 There are manganese and zinc available in maple syrup in substantial amounts, along with potassium and calcium.

Zinc present in maple syrup nutrition is highly effective in fighting illness and enhancing immunity as it is responsible for keeping the white blood cells level in our body high.

On the other hand, maple syrup nutrition also contains manganese, which is highly effective in enhancing nerve and brain function, blood sugar regulation, calcium absorption, and carbohydrate and fat metabolism.

May Improve Antibiotic Effects

Antibiotics are very important parts of our body as they are effective in fighting against various illnesses. However, there have been several studies that reflect the negative impact of developing too many antibiotics.

As per a comprehensive study conducted by researcher Nathalie Tufenkji, it was found that if maple syrup is consumed in the right quantities, the negative effects of antibiotics are minimized, resulting in better work.

Bottom Line

There are highly impressive nutrients in maple syrup nutrition, which make it a great alternative to refined sugar. It is considered great for fighting against inflammation, enhancing antibiotic effects, and providing essential minerals and vitamins.

However, you must avoid sugar consumption from any source if you are already suffering from any kind of blood sugar illness. Maple syrup is also very effective in the reduction of oxidative stress that prevents aging and enhances skin health.

What do you think? Would you switch to maple syrup now? Feel free to share your thoughts using the comment section down below.