"Evaporated Cane Juice"

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Created on 01, November, 2006

An article in a health magazine states that evaporated cane juice is healthier than regular sugar, and recommends a fruit-flavored candy product because it is sweetened with cane juice, which, it is implied, will not cause “insulin spikes.” 

 Evaporated cane juice is still sugar. It has insignificant amounts of minerals (which are processed out during production of granulated sugar), leaving it with just calories in terms of nutrition – no different than granulated cane or beet sugar. In addition, the candy product recommended in the article has no fat, but gets all its calories from sugar, with no fiber or protein to slow/reduce the body’s glycemic response (i.e., “insulin spike”). A better fruit-based snack would be something like a dried fruit bar (e.g., www.bearfruitbar.com), where whole dried fruit (rather than just concentrate/flavoring) is used and no additional sugar is needed. Dried fruit contains fiber, which helps slow the glycemic response.