Dear Dr. Cutler,

I have read so much about the ill effects sugar has on a person’s health but I love a sweet taste in food and am not willing to give it up entirely. So I switched to artificial sweeteners only to find out that they might even be worse. I’ve read about natural sugar replacements that are safe to use. Are you in agreement with that? If so, would you please tell me more?

—Rae M.

Dear Rae,

I recommend you use turbinado, rapadura or sucanat to replace brown sugar, white sugar and powdered sugar. You can pick your favorite from the bulk section of a health food store and store it in an airtight container for an increased shelf life.

If you’re unfamiliar with sugar substitutes let me explain that…

• Turbinado is evaporated cane sugar juice that has been crystallized.
• Rapadura is essentially pure-dried sugarcane juice.
• Sucanat is non-refined cane sugar that has not had the molasses removed from it.

Plus, other safe and natural sweeteners and their extracts that I also recommend are stevia (an herb), xylitol (wood sugar or birch sugar), agave nectar (cactus-like plant in Mexico) and Grade B maple syrup.

All the best!
Michael Cutler, M.D.