The History of Sugar1 and Information about a Special "Sugar Free" Substitute

Sugar has been around for quite a long while and yet it didn’t used to be a common as it is today. It continually amazes me how the dimension of time seems to shift the value that we assign to our inanimate possessions. However, it isn’t that amazing in an economic sense. The "supply and demand" mantra seems to logically imply that it is the amount of demand that changes our perceived value of an item.

The Origin of Sugar²

If you were to guess the origin of sugar, where would you pinpoint it? I probably would have said India or some exotic country like that, but it turns out that according to my online source, sugar is thought to have originated in Polynesia. From Polynesia sugar is thought to have spread to India (I was almost right), and then--according to my online source³--it was "discovered" by a King Darius (or rather more possibly his minions) from Persia. By the way and just as a side note, I think that this would be the same King Darius who is mentioned various times in the King James version of the Bible.

The sugar story continues with additional "sugar invasions" as I like to call them. Persia which had once been the invader was now the invaded. It was invaded by the Arabs who didn’t fail to take notice of this substance called sugar. I think it is interesting that my online source also mentions that Spain and North Africa were also invaded by the Arabs. My source hints that it could have been this invasion which could have been likely to introduce the invaded to sugar whether by accident or not. I would assume that methods of growing and preparing sugar also came to these countries via the Arabs/Persians/Indians/Polynesians.

Then of course there was the dawning of the European age (do I sense a western movement?). My online source says that the Crusades (which according to another source³ was a war fought over the city of Jerusalem) which I believe took place in the Middle East and some parts of Spain and Africa) was what brought the Europeans to a knowledge of this sweet substance.

When the returning crusaders brought the sweet stuff home to Europe, it was not immediately diffused across the nations. No, instead the process was again a slow one and also an expensive one. According to http://www.sucrose.com/lhist.html, sugar in 1319 AD sugar cost "two shillings a pound," which is about the same as charging a U.S. citizen $100, just to buy a kilo of sugar. Wow! That’s a lot of money to bake a cake!

The Downside of Sugar and the Sugar Free Revolution

Over the centuries sugar became more and more available and people loved it. However, people also began to notice that sugar didn’t always have sweetly positive effects on their health and well being. Sugar began to be associated with less-than-desirable conditions or effects. For instance, according to another online source⁴ sugar can lead to the following negative outcomes:

• Can negatively impact the immune system


• Can be a contributing cause of hyperactivity


• Can be a contributing cause of anxiety


• Can make the body less able to defend itself against infection


• Can debase lipoproteins


• Can lead to a debased amount of chromium, etc.


• A sinus problem like sinusitis has been thought to be aggravated by sugar⁵

Because of these and many other reasons, people have begun the search for sugar substitutes and sugar free foods. In fact, there are a great variety of sugar free products available which include sugar free chocolate, sugar free gum, sugar free peanut butter cups, sugar free fudge, sugar free brittle, sugar free gummy bears, sugar free syrups, sugar free cookies, sugar free wafers, etc. I’m not sure what all of these sugar free products are made of, but one sugar free substance that this article can possibly introduce to you to is Xylitol.

Xylitol Information

If you have considered switching to a product that is natural and yet not sugar, Xylitol has some interesting characteristics that you might want to consider.

Xylitol is not artificial. Xylitol actually occurs naturally in your body. According to another online source our body is able to produce 15 grams (give or take). Xytlitol also occurs naturally in nature. You can find it in a variety of vegetables or fruits some of which include corn and raspberries. Xylitol has also been found to actually provide dental benefits. Xylitol does NOT promote tooth decay and even better it seems to help prevent tooth decay, although I must admit my online source does not show conclusive statistics.

About the Author: Marci Crane is a web content specialist with 10x Marketing in Orem, Utah. For more information in regards to sugar free products, please feel free to contact a Xlear representative. Also, remember that eating less sugar may be a good way to get rid of a sinus problem.

^{1, 2, 3}I found an online source (http://www.sucrose.com/lcane.html) which provided me with the information that I needed for a large amount of the facts or opinions that are portrayed in this article.

⁴ http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cru1.htm

⁵ http://rheumatic.org/sugar.htm

⁶http://www.herbnet.com/ask%20the%20herbalist/asktheherbalist_questions%20on%20sinus%20problems.htm