To truly understand what makes a "guilt-free" sweetener, it helps to know the difference between naturally occurring and natural sugars—and how each one affects your body. Absorption speed and blood sugar impact play a big role.
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Naturally Occurring Sugars are found in their original state in whole foods. They are intrinsic and intact sugars, such as:
 

1. Fructose, glucose, sucrose in fruits
   Sugar in fruits come with fiber, water, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that slow down absorption and support overall health. Fiber, in particular, helps buffer the impact of sugar by slowing digestion and blunting the blood sugar response.
    

2. Lactose in milk
   Lactose in milk is naturally paired with protein and fat. This trio—carbohydrate, protein, and fat—in a single whole food is relatively rare in nature. The combination helps slow digestion, improve satiety, and provide steady energy. It’s part of why milk is considered one of the most nutritionally complete foods.
    

3. Dried fruit and dried milk
   I get questions about these all the time.
   
   They're examples of whole foods that have been dehydrated. While the sugar is still naturally occurring, removing the water concentrates the sweetness and reduces volume — making them easier to overconsume. They’re nutrient-dense, but also more calorie- and sugar-concentrated per bite. And even when fiber remains, the natural balance that slows sugar absorption becomes less effective.
   
    

Natural Sugars are derived from natural sources but are extracted and processed. They’re no longer part of a whole food and offer little nutritional benefit beyond energy.
 

1. Caloric sweeteners
   This group includes table sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, and over 70 other sugars commonly found in stores.
   
   These are concentrated sources of sugar, offering no nutritional value beyond energy. Because they’re free sugars—not part of a whole food matrix—they are rapidly absorbed, causing quick spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels.
   
   Even sweeteners with a low glycemic index can be misleading. They may spike blood sugar more slowly, but that doesn’t make them healthier. I explain why on the Meet the Sugars page.
    

2. Fruit smoothies, juices and purées
   If you’ve ever been unsure about these, you’re not alone.
   
   Blending, juicing, and puréeing fruits break down the fruit’s natural structure, making sugars more rapidly available for absorption. Even when the fiber is still present—as in smoothies and purées—it’s already broken down and less effective at slowing digestion. Juicing removes most of the fiber altogether. In all cases, sugar is absorbed more quickly, leading to a faster blood sugar spike compared to eating whole fruit.​

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The Bottom Line
 

Naturally sweet? Yes.

Guilt-free? Only when the sugar stays part of a whole food matrix—in its original, intrinsic, and intact form.