Everyone loves good old fashion Italian sodas and flavored drinks. In the last few decades, as part of global growing health trends, colorful and sugary syrups are being pushed aside. This is due to the presence of artificial additives like colors, flavors and preservatives to name a few, and also due to their high sucrose content which has been linked to obesity. Although these factors have contributed to a lower demand for artificial syrups, they did not affect the high demand for great tasting flavored beverages. As a result, a variety of natural syrups have emerged in the marketplace. Each brands offers different claims ranging from natural flavors, colors, sweeteners and fruit content, all of which determine the quality of the product, and there are indeed dramatic differences worth knowing. 

What is syrup?

Simply put a syrup is a solution with a high concentration of dissolved sugar. It may be entirely natural like real maple syrup or may be man-made. The type of sugar, flavor, color, or fruit content is all subject to the manufacturers specifications.

What’s worth noticing when buying syrups?

The Sweetener:

Sweeteners are usually the first or second ingredients you’ll find listed on every syrup. Prefer syrups that are made with agave (lower glycemic) or cane sugar over ones that are made of high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup. The body simply metabolizes them differently. If you are looking for low calorie syrups, prefer natural sweeteners like stevia or erythritol over sucralose, aspartame and acesulfame sweeteners. 

Brands like Smartfruit for example take natural syrups to the next level. Their products contain the same sweetness intensity as other syrups, but instead of using the common sweeteners mentioned above to sweeten their product, they use Non-GMO 100% real fruit (fructose) with no added sugar, preservatives, artificial colors or flavors. Hence, allowing you to flavor your beverage with just the fruit and without the sugars and additives.

Fruit Content:

Some syrups contain fruit puree or fruit juice while others don’t. As a rule of thumb, the more fruit present in the product the more vitamins and flavor you’ll get. 

Flavor:

Some brands are using N&A (natural and artificial) flavors to boost the aroma of their product while some use only natural fruit essence or natural flavors. Needless to say that when it reads "artificial” it tastes artificial.

Color:

Syrups will often contain artificial food colors whereas all natural syrups will only contain colors that were derived from fruits and vegetables. Go natural!

Preservatives:

"Less is more” applies here as well. You’d be better off purchasing natural syrup that doesn’t contain sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate or potassium benzoate. That’s because these compounds are used because of their ability to kill agents that cause spoilage of the product they are contained in. Do you really want to eat that?

NON-GMO and Organic

These two claims are always positive and should be taken under account. Non-Gmo is particularly important when considering purchasing syrups that contain high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup. A certified organic label assures that the product doesn’t contain artificial colors, flavors sweeteners or preservatives and that most of the ingredients were certified as organic.

Go Natural

With so many potential pitfalls when trying to buy a healthy syrup for your family, reading labels is definitely imperative. Luckily, there are companies out there that specialize in natural syrups  that you can buy and take home to mix your own flavored beverages whenever you want, without the guilt associated with artificial ingredients. With these natural syrups and mixes at hand, you can be sure of exactly what it is that you’re drinking when you pour your next glass of juice, and take the time and guesswork out of staying healthy.