Maple syrup comes from Canada, where the maple leaf appears on the national banner. Maple syrup is extracted from the tree itself. It is the lifeblood of a tree. We could do something similar in Europe with birch syrup; that can be harvested from the tree in the same way. Maple syrup can provide healing properties for a number of conditions. NB! This article is written from the personal view of the author and may contain information that is not scientifically substantiated and/or in line with the general view.
This is how maple syrup is harvested. / Source: Oven Fresh, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Contents:
- Naming maple syrup
- Maple syrup or maple syrup
- Maple syrup interacts with antibiotics
- Antioxidants
- Polyphenols
- Maple syrup good for the liver
- Maple syrup against diabetes
Naming maple syrup
The trees from which maple syrup is harvested are mainly the Acer saccharum Marsh. and Acer rubrum L. These trees are native to North America and are mainly seen in Quebec, Canada. In the Netherlands it is called maple syrup because it comes from the maple tree. Maple is another and more commonly used name for this tree; hence the name maple syrup.
Maple syrup or maple syrup
Maple syrup is harvested in late winter and early spring. During that time, the tree produces a lot of life fluids to grow leaves again. Of course, not too much is harvested otherwise the tree would not survive. There is a lot of sucrose in maple syrup. It also contains minerals, oligosaccharides, amino acids, organic acids and polyphenols. Sugar contains almost only sucrose. The phytonutrients in maple syrup make this natural product of a completely different nature than granulated sugar.
Maple syrup interacts with antibiotics
Canadian research from 2015 shows that there are many polyphenols in maple syrup. These have antibacterial activity. These polyphenols have a synenergetic effect with antibiotics. This means that maple syrup antibiotic food or medicine helps fight pathogenic bacteria. Catechol is appointed as the active substance. The research aims to be a starting point for mapping the synenergetic effect of maple syrup. Since the third millennium, scientists have increasingly started investigating how substances work together. In the previous 150 years of scientific development, only the effectiveness of one substance in the body was investigated. That is why in 2015 in medicine there is always only one active substance in a pill.
Antioxidants
In 2009, American researchers completed a study into the antioxidant effect of sugar alternatives. It was seen that white sugar or granulated sugar together with agave syrup and glucose-fructose syrup have virtually no antioxidants. Honey, brown sugar in the form of cane sugar and maple syrup provide a small amount of antioxidants. The healthiest sugar substitutes are raw cane sugar (extremely sweet) and especially the molasses that are left behind when sugar is refined. Maple syrup does reasonably well in this list; it is comparable to honey in terms of health. Honey and maple syrup are the healthiest unprocessed natural products because molasses is a leftover from the sugar industry. It is often used to make alcohol for rum, for example, which means that many vitamins and minerals are still lost. That is why rum is brewed in countries where a lot of sugar cane is grown, such as Cuba and Suriname. By the way, molasses can be purchased in some stores.
Polyphenols
In 2011, the American published a study announcing the discovery of no fewer than 30 new polyphenols. Polyphenols are substances in plants that have all kinds of healthy effects, just like vitamins and minerals, but scientists are not yet aware of which types of polyphenols there are. There are thousands of different types of polyphenols. The substances discovered in maple syrup mainly concerned three lignans. Scientists may discover many more polyphenols in maple syrup in the future. The American researchers also saw that there are substances in maple syrup that eliminate free radicals just as well as vitamin C and eliminate free radicals better than BHT, a commercial, synthetic antioxidant. A similar study had already taken place in 2010 and the two studies are consistent with each other.
Maple syrup good for the liver
Although the medicinal properties of maple syrup have not yet been fully researched, you can already say that this substance has enormous medicinal potential. Japanese research on rats from 2011 shows that it is good for the liver.
Maple syrup against diabetes
Another research team saw that maple syrup works well for fatty liver disease. This disease is common among people with metabolic syndrome, which can eventually progress to type 2 diabetes. In addition, there is significant evidence that maple syrup levels blood sugar levels. The researchers see their research as a stepping stone to new knowledge about how food can work synergistically with diabetes medications. Syn energy means: mutually reinforcing. The anti-inflammatory polyphenols in maple syrup may help slow down or even stop the degenerative development of type 2 diabetes. A Japanese study from 2013 echoes this by concluding that maple syrup has a much lower GI index than pure sucrose, which, according to scientists, can help it as a preventive measure against diabetes, provided it is used as a substitute for sugar.
