Choosing a sweetener...

… is undeniably one of our most important dietary choices. Until recently, refined sugar, corn syrup, and chemical sweeteners were the only options to satisfy a sweet tooth in need.  Today’s surging rates of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity – all preventable epidemics – are the unfortunate result.

As consumption of sweeteners void of nutrition (often GMO, manufactured from corn or wheat like allulose and erythritol, and paired with chemicals and saturated fat), were found to be undermining our health, demand grew for alternative sweeteners. The wisdom of indigenous cultures has supplied healthy sweeteners to meet this demand – agave nectar, stevia, and coconut sugar.

By examining the food habits, traditional preparations and medicines of ancient cultures, we have begun designing a healthier foodspace by incorporating their superfoods, functional foods, and medicinal herbs.

The new products routinely reaching shelves of health and gourmet food stores are widening consumers’ range of options. Though it is a a wonderful opportunity for all of us, it must also be supported by proper verification and consumer education to avoid misleading claims and false advertising.  

At Gnosis, we’ve assumed responsibility for keeping our customers informed of these advancements so they may choose wisely. It’s clear that people are increasingly aware that health is an investment made over a lifetime, and are willing to vote with their dollars for a more nutritious marketplace.

Your Gnosis SweetChoices

Coconut sugar, raw blue agave, stevia, and dates all come from indigenous cultures that have sourced multitudes of curative herbs and foods. They are minimally processed, and our sources are all organic and sustainably grown & harvested.

Unlike highly-processed sweeteners that offer no benefits to health-conscious and environmentally responsible consumers, these sweetners are grown and processed in ways that are truly healthy for us and for our planet.

Unlike unrefined sugar and high fructose corn syrup, agave and coconut sugar break down slowly during digestion, avoiding the sugar spike that contributes to the development of diabetes.

Medjool Dates glycemic index is 55, Coconut Sugar’s is 35, Agave Nectar’s is 27, and Stevia’s is 0 – all far less than most foods (honey’s glycemic index is 60 and high fructose corn syrup’s is 62).  It’s also lower than that of almost every fruit, for example: grapes (47), oranges (42), and papayas (59).

COCONUT SUGAR
our primary sweetener!

This staple of Southeast Asian culinary heritage and herbal medicine has become the most requested sweetener in global health communities as a nutritious, sustainable, satisfying sweetener. The UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization called sugar the world’s “most sustainable sweetener.”

Coconut Sugar delivers a rich storehouse of nutrients: B vitamins and minerals, including phosphorous, potassium, protein, magnesium, and calcium.

Coconut Sugar has a glycemic index of 35 (compared to honey at 55 or cane sugar at 68), and a low fructose content.

This low sugar impact is very beneficial for anyone trying to watch their blood sugar - whether a Type I or Type II diabetic, managing weight gain, or just wanting to avoid the “highs and crashes” of sugars! 

WE USE COCONUT SUGAR IN ALL OUR BARS, TRAIL MIXES, ELIXIRS & TRUFFLES!

DATES
our newest sweetener!

Gnosis has always been at the forefront of innovation in natural sweeteners. We were among the first to craft chocolate with agave, then pioneered the use of pure stevia without fillers, and were the first to launch coconut sugar sweetened chocolate to the U.S. market.

Now, we continue this legacy by offering date-sweetened chocolate. Dates, nature's most ancient sweetener, are rich in nutrients and offer a harmony - sophisticated in its simplicity - between indulgence and wellness, elevating chocolate into a source of both sensory and nutritional richness.

It’s impossible to say what this part of the world will look like in the centuries to come, or what sort of people will be bustling around at ground level, eating, quarrelling and telling each other stories. But it’s safe to say that whoever they are, somewhere nearby will be a stand of date trees, traveling gracefully through space and time without moving an inch.

STEVIA LEAF
a little goes a long, sweet way!

Stevia has a 1,500 year history of medicinal use in South America, and at 28% growth rate since 2008, it is clearly in demand.

Stevia has no calories or carbohydrates, its glycemic index is 0 (!) and nutrients found in stevia leaves such as chromium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium, zinc and niacin are known to help regulate blood sugar and blood pressure. 

We have added just a tiny pinch (leaves are 30-45 times as sweet as ordinary table sugar!) to sweeten our cacao without adding any additional glycemic load to your chocolate or waste to our majestic planet.

We have also created a stevia-sweetened bar: our Freedom Bar! This bar is also infused with functional herbs that assist in blood sugar stabilization and the metabolism of glucose.

WE USE STEVIA IN OUR FREEDOM BAR - OUR ZERO GLYCEMIC CHOCOLATE BAR!

AGAVE NECTAR
where it all began…

Traditional Mexican medicine makes use of agave for antifungal, antibacterial, blood pressure lowering and anti-inflammatory purposes. Agave nectar is extracted from the blue agave plant, a succulent that that grows chiefly in Mexico.  The nectar is rich in calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and vitamins E, C, D, and E.

1.3 times as sweet as cane sugar, agave nectar imparts only its sweetness to the flavor profile of our chocolate – thus allowing us to highlight the flavor of the chocolate alone.  This is unlike Coconut Sugar and Stevia, which gift a unique flavor to our bars!

Vanessa visited our source of Agave in Jalisco, Mexico in 2010.

Please read her entire report of the agave making process, including a rebuttal to the “agave controversy” below.

WE USE AGAVE NECTAR IN OUR SEASONAL TRUFFLE COLLECTIONS!