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A study has now revealed that maple syrup can definitely be used as a smarter sweetener.
Maple syrup has been a part of diets for a long time.
Made from the sap of maple trees, maple syrup has been a part of diets for a long time. There have been plenty of discussions about the benefits of maple syrup and whether it can be used as a perfect element to lose body weight. While there is no concrete evidence on the optimal benefits of maple syrup, a study has now revealed that it can definitely be used as a smarter sweetener. A study led by Dr. Andre Marette, Laval University, revealed the potential benefits of maple syrup and how it can prevent metabolic diseases as well. “Substituting refined sugars with maple syrup in individuals with mild metabolic alterations result in a significantly greater reduction of key cardiometabolic risk factors compared with substitution with sucrose syrup, in association with specific changes in gut microbiota,” read the study. “The role of the gut microbiota in these effects remains to be further explored,” it further added.
The study was conducted on 42 overweight adults with mild cardiometabolic alterations in a random, double-blind, controlled crossover trial and the participants were instructed to substitute 5 percent of their total caloric intake from added sugars with either maple syrup or an artificially flavored sucrose syrup for 8 wk. It was claimed that the trial comprised two 8-wk intervention periods that were separated by a 4-wk washout period and preceded by a 2-wk lifestyle stabilization period.
The study claimed that “replacing refined sugars with maple syrup over 8 wk decreased the glucose area under the curve when compared with substituting refined sugars with sucrose syrup, as determined during the oral glucose tolerance test, leading to a significant difference between the intervention arms (−50.59 ± 201.92 compared with 29.93 ± 154.90; P < 0.047).”
It was found, as per the study, that “substituting refined sugar with maple syrup helped in decreasing android fat mass (−7.83 ± 175.05 g compared with 67.61 ± 206.71 g; P = 0.02) and systolic blood pressure (−2.72 ± 8.73 mm Hg compared with 0.87 ± 8.99 mm Hg; P = 0.03).” At the same time, it was noted that no changes in the blood lipid profile were observed after the study.
