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The winter holidays expose us to more sugar than at any time of the year. Here is the scoop on all the sugars commonly on the market today.

Rapadura is evaporated cane juice - it's also known as Sucanat. It is the least refined cane sugar available. It is just the juice extracted from the cane in a press, which has then been evaporated to dry it into granules. It has not been heated and spun to change it into crystals.

Because Rapadura is not heated, the vitamins and minerals have been retained. It also still has the natural balance of sucrose, glucose, and fructose, and contains components essential for its' digestion. It is metabolized more slowly than white sugar, and therefore will not affect your blood sugar levels very much at all.

Rapadura can be ground in the Vitamix (or a powerful blender) to a fine powder to help it dissolve better and replace powdered sugar in any recipe. Rapadura can be used cup for cup as an alternative to sugar in all your baking and cooking.

Refined, crystallised sugars will raise blood sugar levels, and the more refined the sugar, the more it raises your blood sugar.

Muscavado, Turbinado, Demarara and even 'organic raw sugar' are all refined, though not as much as white sugar. They are the product of heating the cane juice until crystals form, then spinning it in a centrifuge so the crystals are separated from the syrupy juice, but still have some juice coating them. The syrupy 'juice' (molasses) contains vitamins and minerals, and is recommended for a healthy diet, but the crystals themselves are pretty much 'empty carbs.'

Once sugar cane juice has been heated and spun, the resulting sugar (Muscavado, Turbinado, Demarara, raw) is not as healthy a product as the evaporated versions. 'Raw' sugar is not really raw - it has been cooked, and a lot of the minerals and vitamins are gone. Still, it's better than refined sugar because it has a little of the molasses still clinging to it.

White sugar is refined much further... the raw sugar is centrifuged again, then the crystals are dissolved, boiled, and crystallized again into white sugar, and any lingering goodness has completely dissapeared! All other sugars--confectioner's (also called powdered or icing sugar), castor, superfine, etc--are all refined sugar of different sizes. Granulated refined sugars are pure sucrose and contain no nutrients beyond calories. They are a "pure" industrial product, and can hardly be considered a food. Some would say they are closer to a drug, which affects our bodies adversely and is very addictive. Not only do they not give anything beneficial to our bodies, they actually take away from the vitamins and minerals in what we are eating. People who get headaches from eating refined sugars usually find they have no problem with Rapadura.

Brown sugar is just white sugar mixed with molasses.

Some sugar is sold as 'organic' raw sugar. Do not be fooled into thinking this means it's unrefined. It's grown with organic agricultural methods, then refined as usual... the juice (molasses) has been removed, and there's not really any goodness in it.

When possible, use more natural sweeteners.

Dates: A California special, you can use dates whole, blended, chopped or made into a paste.

Honey: not vegan but certainly natural, raw, local and unrefined. Has therapeutic benefits that keep me feeling great. Its the only sweetener that has this effect.

Stevia: comes in a powder (buy the green powder it is the least refined) or a liquid (I like the liquid the best) Stevia is extremely powerful, a few drops will do. If you don't like the taste, use a little bit with another type of sweetener.

Yacon syrup: A root from South America, it is better tasting then molasses and low-glycemic. Available at Whole Foods and other locations

Fruit juice: Apple and orange juice are wonderfully sweet.

Agave nectar: the most common natural alternative to sugar. It is very sweet, so you don't need much. It is raw, but I believe it is highly processed and should be used sparingly. It seems to be to be the "high fructose corn syrup" of the raw food world. I use it in recipes when I need a "tasteless" sweetener to directly replace a white sugar.

Maple syrup: Not raw, but it does have healthful properties. I prefer it over agave nectar when possible.

Palm sugar: Made from date or coconut palms, it is delicious and can be used 1 for 1 in any recipes. You will often find it in Asian or Indian cuisine. If buying it for home use, know that it usually comes in cakes or paddies, so it isn't always easy to work with. If you can find it in granule form that should be great, although not much is known about if it has been further processed to get it so small.

Date sugar: Fairly new on the market, date sugar is simply made from dates. It is very minimally processed, but I don't know what temperature it has gone to in order to dry the dates and grind them. It is delicious and can be used 1 for 1 in any raw recipes (although because it is so sweet, some people prefer 2/3 date sugar to 1 cup regular sugar). It can clump and doesn't melt, making it an impractical substitute in most baked goods and beverages, but it is great for us raw foodies!

You can learn more about these sweeteners and how to use them at my upcoming Divine Desserts class this Monday. Click here for details.