Preet Guilt-free Sweetener
Preet™ Guilt-free Sweetener is a premium blend of low-calorie natural sweeteners that have prebiotic and anti-oxidant properties – and it won’t raise your blood sugar. You’ve been looking for a healthy alternative to sugar, and now you found it. Use Preet as a direct one-to-one replacement for sugar in cooking, baking and everyday use. Delicious in coffee, tea, smoothies, and anywhere that you would use sugar. Preet cooks and browns just like sugar, adding color and flavor to your baking.
Ever since sugar was first refined and added to our food-stream, scientists and doctors have noticed related health problems including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. A study published in JAMA found that people who got 20% of their calories from sugar had a 38% higher risk of dying from heart disease than those with lower consumption. Dr. Frank Hu of Harvard says, “The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.”
That’s why we created Preet. We started with a list of over 500 sweeteners, and carefully winnowed it down. We rejected artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose. Then we tossed sweeteners with a high glycemic index. We did endless taste tests to eliminate sweeteners with off-flavors like stevia. We looked for sweeteners that had a planet-friendly footprint. Finally, we found a set of sweeteners that had prebiotic properties, didn’t raise blood sugar levels, and tasted terrific. We blended six of them to encourage a diverse set of gut microbes, and Preet was born.
Ingredients
All of the ingredients in Preet are plant-based and have been minimally processed. They are typically juiced, dried, and then milled to a powder, concentrating their goodness and making them easy to digest. Simple sugars are removed, so the ingredients are healthy for anyone worried about their blood sugar levels.
Fructo-Oligosaccharide (FOS)
Our FOS comes from Jerusalem artichokes. They contain a lot of inulin (a type of FOS), which is a prebiotic that microbes use to create short-chain fatty acids that nourish and aid in the continuous repair of the gut lining. In combination with other sweeteners in Preet, it leads to the growth of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species, both of which are guardians of the gut, keeping pathogens at bay. Studies have shown that dietary inulin can reduce neuroinflammation.†
Jerusalem artichokes also contain raffinose and stachyose, two oligosaccharides containing galactose, making them versions of galacto-oligosaccharide or GOS. That, in turn, raises levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which can have an anti-anxiety effect.†
Allulose
Allulose is a natural sugar that is found in figs, raisins, and maple syrup. It does not raise blood sugar levels, and in fact it can lower those levels in many people. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Allulose doesn’t affect your blood glucose or insulin, making it a viable substitution for people living with diabetes. Unlike sugar, allulose isn’t metabolized in your mouth, which can help keep cavities and other dental problems at bay.”† The downside: it’s expensive, costing five times more than sugar. That’s why there is a slight premium to Preet, but we think it’s worth it.
Tagatose
Tagatose is a natural sweetener found in milk, as well as apples, oranges, and pineapples. Originally, tagatose was purely a dairy product, but recently a process has been developed to derive tagatose from fruits and veggies. Our tagatose is purely vegan, as are all our ingredients. Recently, tagatose was found to have prebiotic effects, both in the mouth and in the gut. A small fraction of tagatose is absorbed as a carbohydrate, and that’s why there are two calories in a serving of Preet (compared to 16 calories for sugar). However, this is a great sweetener that can brown when cooked, adding that perfect color and flavor to baked goods. Preet is one of the only sweeteners on the market that can make such a claim.
Xylo-Oligosaccharide (XOS)
XOS is an oligosaccharide – a complex sugar that acts like fiber and has prebiotic properties. XOS is primarily produced from sugarcane or corn. According to researchers, XOS has “a variety of functional biological activities including anti-inflammation, antioxidative, antitumor, and antimicrobial properties. XOS has also been demonstrated to reduce the occurrence of human health-related diseases.”† XOS is also good for the oral microbiome, increasing good bacteria and decreasing bad ones.
Erythritol
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol (although it can’t get you drunk) that exists naturally in grapes, mushrooms and fermented foods like soy sauce. Even our own cells produce erythritol! Erythritol has been used for 30 years to help people who are cutting carbs or trying to maintain a low blood sugar level. According to researchers at UC Davis, erythritol is “a beneficial replacement for sugar in healthy and diabetic subjects as it exerts no effects on glucose or insulin and induces gut hormone secretions that modulate satiety to promote weight loss.”†
Monk Fruit
In Southeast Asia, Monk fruit is known as Buddha fruit. It contains a unique antioxidant called mogroside that is super-sweet. The extract is a zero-calorie sweetener made from the juice of the crushed fruit. Besides its antioxidant properties, studies show it is also anti-inflammatory. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) verifies that monk fruit is safe for all consumers, including pregnant women and children. Researchers in India have shown that “the ripe fruit extract… has anti-tumor, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidative properties.”†
† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.