Sugar is the most demonised nutritional substance in the world right now, and for good reason. The average American now wolfs down an astonishing 3 pounds of sugar per week, making for 200 grams a day of totally empty calories.
It’s not just tooth decay, as sugar messes you up in all sorts of obscure ways, such as inhibiting Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor, a critical substance for the formation of new neurons. Sugar directly activates a “fat switch” that causes your metabolism to pack on pounds instead of burning them.
As for acne, sugar can send pro-inflammatory chemicals surging by over 100%, while also leading to high insulin levels and oily skin…
…but that said, eliminating sugar entirely is impossible. The most nutritious, antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables all contain natural sugars.
50 grams of sugar per day is perfectly skin-friendly. You can easily sprinkle small amounts into coffee, tea and homemade recipes, and still enjoy a few sweet treats without exploding with acne.
That’s why today, we will discuss the endless alternative sweeteners currently springing onto the market:
What you need for acne
For all of the pleasure and none of the acne, your sweetener must fulfil three broad criteria.
ONE – less fructose, more glucose. These are the two main sugars in nature, which appear in varying ratios in all plant foods.
While both trigger inflammation when eaten in excess, fructose has the double danger of overloading the liver, turning to fat, and impairing the liver’s functioning.
The result is insulin resistance, and higher insulin in your bloodstream. A fructose to glucose ratio higher than 60:40 is always a fast approaching acne minefield.
TWO – a lower glycaemic index. The post meal (post-prandial) blood sugar spike is less important for acne than you might have read, as the real key is long term blood sugar (and insulin).
But that said, a sweetener that rapidly digests into floods of glucose will still give you oilier skin for several hours, while increasing inflammatory free radicals called AGEs. The lower the GI, the better a sweetener for acne.
THREE – free from other contaminants. An unskippable feature. You don’t want your sweetener to be laced with pesticides, herbicides, flow agents, moisture absorbers, or chemical solvents used in the industrial extraction. The ideal acne sweetener will have bonus natural compounds such as antioxidants and trace nutrients.
Onto the sweeteners:
White sugar
What is it? It’s a frenemy you know and love: the refined table sugar found in kitchens everywhere. White sugar is extracted from either the sugar beet grown widely in Europe, or the sugar cane plant of Jamaica and the Caribbean. The plant is crushed, and the juice is extracted, which is heated to remove crystals, before being spun in a centrifuge to remove the dark molasses and yield pure white sugar crystals.
Is it safe for acne? Definitely not, except in small doses. White sugar, AKA table sugar or sucrose, is a very poor sweetener. At 50:50, the fructose to glucose ratio is perfectly safe, but every last atom of fiber is stripped away by the refinement process. The digestion is almost instantaneous, and consequently, white sugar has a GI of 60. That’s why a sugary chocolate bar makes your skin oily almost instantly.
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It’s double the trouble, because this refinement strips away any antioxidants, leaving nothing to counteract the AGE free radicals created by higher blood sugar.
Nearly all sugar cane is genetically modified in the US, and the goal is for the crop to withstand higher amounts of the herbicide glyphosate. This agrochemical is a nightmare for your friendly gut bacteria strains.
The verdict? White sugar represents the acne dangers of sugar in their purest form.
Brown sugar
What is it? It’s the cheap, brown version of table sugar available at all grocery stores. Decades ago, brown sugar was simply raw sugar crystals without the molasses being removed by a centrifuge. Nowadays, most brown sugar is white sugar with the molasses added back in.
The darker the brown sugar, the more molasses it contains. Light brown contains 3.5%, while dark brown reaches 6.5%. The molasses also affect the taste subtly.
Is it safe for acne? It’s not harmless, but it’s superior to white sugar. The fructose/glucose ratio is identical, but the molasses reintroduce some much needed antioxidants, which will slightly counteract the AGE free radicals caused by the blood sugar spike.
This study found that despite its modest antioxidants, brown sugar still had “interesting free radical scavenging properties”. This study compared several sweeteners, and found intermediate antioxidant capacity in brown sugar, which matched even honey, which is far more complex. The blood sugar spike is also mellowed slightly by the small amounts of fiber.
Brown sugar is touted as having trace minerals like vitamin B3, vitamin B6, B9, potassium, and magnesium, but the amounts are miniscule. The dangers of glyphosate remain, since it still comes from the sugar cane plant.
That said, brown sugar is slightly more acne-friendly than white sugar, if you lack the coin for more fancy sweeteners.
Agave nectar
What is it? A supposedly natural sweetener, which is now surging in popularity as a health product. Claimed to spike blood sugar less and be healthier for diabetics. Other claims include being “bursting with vitamins and minerals” and “rich in antioxidants”. Sourced from the agave plant of Mexico, used by Native Americans for cleansing wounds for hundreds of years.
Is it safe for acne? Definitely not! Agave nectar is arguably the biggest health fraud of the last 10 years. Almost every claim you’ll read is a lie.
Agave nectar does have a relatively low glycaemic index, but for all the wrong reasons. The jars on grocery store shelves contain 85% fructose and 15% glucose. That’s an abominable ratio for acne.
It’s far worse than the feared high fructose corn scrip, at roughly 60:40. The scientific name does all the explaining: “hydrolysed high fructose inulin syrup”.
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Agave nectar isn’t sap squeezed straight from a desert plant as the adverts suggest. Instead, it undergoes extensive factory processing. In scorching heat, its predominant inulin fibers break down into colossal quantities of fructose molecules.
The real Mexican version is miel de agave, which is rare, but found in certain Whole Foods shops.
Raw honey
What is it? A natural sweetener manufactured by bees, using nectar from flowers.
Is it safe for acne? Raw honey is the greatest sweetener for an acne patient ever. It’s still a sugary syrup, but it’s accompanied by tons of healthy compound like bee-defensin 1, antioxidants and methylgyloxal.
Despite being over 80% sugar, honey can actually improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation. Raw honey is linked to sharper immune system functioning; stories speak of a common cold melting away into nothingness after a single blob. This and this study noticed higher bloodstream antioxidants after eating buckwheat honey.
The fructose is slightly above 50% of total sugars (good), and according to this study, raw honey is blood sugar neutral. My own experiences back this up, as compared to a sugary chocolate bar, the classic post-carb energy crash always seems to be smaller with raw honey.
Buying your honey raw is critical, because the health-giving antioxidants and enzymes are very delicate in the face of heat. Raw honey was the predominant sweetener of the European Middle ages, before the sugar cane industry exploded in the newly colonised Caribbean.
Raw honey is your number one recommended sweetener for acne and health. My recommended jar is the 22oz Y.S. Eco Bee Farms Raw Honey (amazon link).
Stevia
What is it? Stevia is a zero calorie sweetener derived from the stevia rebaudiana plant. It’s beloved by paleo and primal communities, and increasingly by the general public, for providing the sweet taste of sugar without actually containing sugar.
Stevia contains glycosides like rebaudiosides and steviosides, rare plant compounds which bind to your tongue’s sweet receptors just like sugar. Rebaudiosides and steviosides are 350 and 250 times sweetener than sugar respectively. In 2015, stevia sales increased by 14%. The best selling product is Truvia, sold by Cargill and the Coca Cola Company.
Is it safe for acne? Stevia is safe for occasional usage, but over the long term, the signs are grim.
The sweet receptors on our tongues have a purpose, as they signal our body to expect a surge in blood sugar. To prepare, they release the hormone insulin, but with stevia, the expected surge of sugar never arrives…
..so instead, the insulin lowers our blood sugar dramatically for no reason. To compensate, your body releases cortisol to summon fresh glucose out of your energy stores. The problem is that cortisol is also the main stress hormone. Stevia causes a large spike in this acne villain, and all the weaker skin associated with it.
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A secondary problem is that once your body realises that stevia doesn’t contain real sugar, it will decouple sweet flavours from the insulin response. This will then affect any sweet food you eat. Whether it’s a healthy apple or a bowl of yogurt, your ability to secrete insulin and deal with the blood sugar spike will be severely impaired. The next consequence will be acne and oily skin.
For those reasons, I strongly recommend against eating stevia regularly. Occasional usage is safe, unless you suffer from chronic stress and cannot withstand an extra cortisol spike.
Erythritol
What is it? Another zero calorie sweetener, this time a sugar alcohol. Erythritol is closely related to kitchen staples like sorbitol, xylitol and maltitol. Erythritol is popular for one reason: having only 0.24 calories per gram. It possesses 6% of the calories of sugar, but 70% of the sweetness. The most popular stevia brand, Truvia, actually contains erythritol as its main sweetener.
Is it safe for acne? Erythritol is identical to stevia – it’s safe occasionally, but can decouple your sugar responses if you make it a habit.
Otherwise, erythritol is very safe. Many humans can’t digest sugar alcohols properly, but this study noticed very few side effects from erythritol. Only massive doses cause harm, according to this study where 50 grams of erythritol triggered nausea and stomach rumbling in some patients. This study found that “the repeated ingestion of erythritol at daily doses of 1 g/kg body weight was well tolerated by humans“.
While erythritol lacks the bonus nutritional compounds of raw honey, it’s safe for acne when used occasionally.
Coconut sugar
What is it? A sweetener made from the circulating sap of the coconut plant. This raw juice is evaporated to leave behind brown-coloured sugar crystals.
Is it safe for acne? Coconut sugar is undoubtedly a pure marketing gimmick, launched to take advantage of the explosive popularity of coconut products (like coconut oil and coconut flour). Nevertheless, it’s leagues beyond agave nectar for acne safety.
Coconut sugar contains small amounts of fiber and minerals which delay its digestion, giving it a lower glycaemic index than white cane sugar (study). In fact, coconut sugar’s fiber is a particularly healthy type called inulin. One study found a GI of 35 for coconut sugar versus 60 for white table sugar. Coconut sugar also has a superior sugar ratio, as only 40% is estimated to be fructose (study).
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Despite all things coconut being advertised as superfoods, coconut sugar lacks the more fascinating nutritional compounds of honey. That said, there are nice traces of zinc, calcium, and potassium, along with short chain fatty acids, polyphenols, and antioxidants. Compared to white sugar, coconut sugar contains less contaminants such as glyphosate as well.
High fructose corn syrup
What is it? A sugar-based sweetener which burst into life due to pure economics. Farmers receiving corn subsidies once had so much lying around in piles that they invented a factory process to extract sugar from them.
HFCS consumption skyrocketed during the 1970s, and rose more gradually until the year 2000. Because of its cheapness, HFCS pops up everywhere, from hot dogs to protein shakes, to cookies and milk chocolate.
Is it safe for acne? No! HFCS is second only to agave nectar in the ranks of acne-causing nightmares. The name reveals the truth – a poor glucose to fructose ratio of approximately 45:55. The raw corn starch is actually mostly glucose, but intense factory processes convert some of the molecules to fructose to make the syrup sweetener. One brand available, called HFCS 90, contains 90% fructose.
Even worse is the heavy glyphosate contamination. Like sugar cane, corn is genetically modified to withstand higher amounts of pesticides, but humans haven’t been afforded the same benefit. There’s no nutrition in HFCS either, with any remaining fiber obliterated in the factory. Consequently, there’s nothing to slow down the rapid digestion and blood sugar spike.
Fortunately, dodging HFCS is simple. You just need to avoid processed foods, and that’s what I recommend to all acne patients anyway (except for cheat days).
Aspartame
What is it? A highly controversial sweetener, often denoted as E951. While stevia is naturally derived, aspartame is purely unnatural. Aspartame was approved for food in the 1980s, and was originally sold under the brand name NutraSweet. Like stevia, aspartame stimulates sweet receptors on the taste buds without actually containing any sugar. Top sources include soft drinks, such as Coca Cola, energy drinks and fruit squash.
Is it safe for acne? The same rules apply as with stevia and erythritol – regular aspartame usage will decouple your normal digestive responses and make any food containing sugar harder to digest. That’s why zero calorie sweeteners are consistently linked to obesity and diabetes.
Furthermore, aspartame is an excitotoxin. These villains overstimulate your nerve cells to the point of breaking down and dying. Studies on excitotoxins like the notorious MSG have noticed nausea and abdominal pain, the kind of digestive problems widely linked to acne outbreaks.
Aspartame is linked to a variety of ailments, including vertigo, seizures, autism, Alzheimer’s, mental retardation, hearing loss, numbness, muscle spasms, heart palpitations and anxiety.
The verdict: avoid aspartame and rely on natural sweeteners like honey instead. Like HFCS, aspartame mostly lives in processed foods, especially soft drinks and sports energy drinks.
Conclusion
Raw honey rules for acne-friendly sweeteners with ease, while coconut sugar finishes up at second. Agave nectar is a walking nightmare and the most overrated superfood of all time.
No matter how acne-friendly a sweetener is, it can still unleash pimples when eaten in excess. Honey and coconut sugar are still nearly 100% sugar. They’ll still massively increase inflammation if you go nuts and stuff your face with them, under the impression that they’re totally safe…
…but if you’re looking to push your homemade treats to the maximum of acne nutrition, use the guide above. For example, I occasionally make homemade dark chocolate using a special acne-friendly recipe, and the sweetener is always raw honey.
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Thanks for reading!