Alongside the likes of Omega 3 fish oil, garlic and blueberries there now sits another potential super food: maple syrup!
Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have identified 54 different compounds, including a powerhouse of antioxidants, which inhibit the oxidation and damaging of cells in the body. Many of these substances haven’t even been found in other natural sweeteners, such as honey.
Five were found to be unique to maple syrup.
Maple syrup is made by boiling the sap of the maple tree. Canada, whose national symbol is the maple leaf, produces about 80% of the world’s supply.
One intriguing possibility, thrown up by the research, is the possibility of maple syrup becoming a powerful weapon in the fight against type 2 diabetes.
Several of the syrup’s water-soluble, polyphenol, compounds seem to shut down the enzymes that convert carbohydrates to sugars, raising the prospect of a new way of managing Type 2 Diabetes.
They also found that many of the antioxidant compounds, which prevent the oxidation and ageing of the body’s cells, aren’t found in other natural sweeteners.
So it may well now be a case of going to a restaurant and ordering “A short stack, heavy on the maple syrup”.
