You might have spent some of the last month or so under a rock if you have not caught at least a glimpse of month’s REVIEW article, actually presentation. Much ado has been made of the research presented at the 2023 American Society for Nutrition conference, “Substituting refined sugars with maple syrup decreases key cardiometabolic risk factors in individuals with mild metabolic alterations, a randomized, double-blind, controlled crossover trial.” The hubbub surrounding the research has landed the work across major news outlets, morning talk shows, health blogs and podcasts, and of course, the Maple Syrup Digest.
Do some searches for Dr. Andre Marette and Dr. Marie-Claude Vohl’s recent research trial or open the latest issue of the Maple Syrup Digest, and you will have tons of information at your fingertips. Here’s the skinny on the research. You or I would recognize the study participants as normal-looking, average Americans – not fitness models, but certainly not too unhealthy either. Everybody in the trial participated in both sides of the experiment, but participants did not know when they participated in each half. The beauty of this design is that each participant serves as his or her own control for optimal comparability. In one half of the experiment, participants supplemented their daily nutrition intake with a flavored sucrose syrup, and then participants flip-flopped to consuming a couple tablespoons of the real McCoy – maple syrup.
Here are the key takeaways put as simply as possible:
1) Maple syrup helped participants manage their blood sugar levels, which has obvious implications for diabetes-related risk.
2) Maple syrup consumers had a lower blood pressure, which reduces risk for cardiovascular disease.
3) Maple syrup slowed the accumulation of android fat, a double whammy health benefit.
In short, this new research trial is some of the clearest and most irrefutable evidence for maple syrup health benefits yet! In a more wordy paragraph and excerpted from a 2022 review paper on maple syrup, here’s a great synopsis of the health benefits of maple.
Of the many natural sweeteners, maple syrup is recognized as a much superior alternative to refined sugar for not only its mineral content, but also for its high concentration of phenolic compounds with bioactivity properties, i.e., anti-mutagenic, anti-radical, antioxidant, and anti-cancer. Compared to dextrose, corn syrup and brown rice syrup, maple syrup brings about lower glucose and insulin responses, which make it a healthier substitute for refined sugars in our diet.
Memorize that block quote to recite next time a potential customer is waffling at whether or not to pony up some hard-earned cash for your delicious maple syrup.