Rare Sugar

Ingredients 
Rare Sugar Syrup (Rare Sugar Sweet®) and Oligosaccharides

Nutrition Information (per 100g)

Energy 307 kcal Total carbohydrate 76.6 g Protein 0 g Sodium 0 mg Total Fat 0 g  

This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Direction of use:

Replace 100% of sugar in your recipe with AFC Rare Sugar. Alternatively, replace 27% of the required sugar in the recipe with AFC Rare Sugar and use regular sugar/other sweeteners for the remaining 73%. Please note that 27% of sugar replacement with AFC Rare Sugar is sufficient to block the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. It is safe to consume up to 40g AFC Rare Sugar daily.

The recommended daily sugar intake by Health Promotion Board (HPB) is 40 to 55g or around 10% of your daily calorie intake. This limit includes sugar added to beverages as well as food such as cakes and candies. Total sugar intake (including AFC Rare Sugar) should not exceed the limit.

Storage:
Store in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. Avoid excessive heat and moisture.
Glucose may precipitate during storage. However, it does not affect the quality of the product.

1) What makes AFC Rare Sugar Plus Oligosaccharides so unique?

AFC Rare Sugar Plus Oligosaccharide consists of an ideal balance of four sugars – rare sugars, glucose, fructose and oligosaccharides. Rare sugars offer tremendous health benefits that are unbeatable by any sweeteners available, such as normalize blood glucose and blood pressure, reduce blood cholesterol, body fat and weight, act as a powerful antioxidant, suppresses proliferation of cancer cells, support healthy nervous system etc. In addition, the proper balance of carbohydrates in this product is critical to support our overall body health, including energy generation and good digestive system. It is of low calorie but provides good natural sweet taste. Thus, you can enjoy your meals without worrying about weight gain. Unlike other sweeteners available in market, this product does not have any known adverse effects. Most importantly, it has been granted GRAS status by FDA and thus, safe for consumption.

2) Since rare sugar (Rare Sugar Sweet^®) contains glucose and fructose in addition to rare sugars, will it increase blood glucose and weight after consumption?

No. To investigate, a team of scientists gave 3 groups of subjects plain water, water with high-fructose corn syrup and water with rare sugar syrup (RSS) containing glucose, fructose, D-psicose and other rare sugars for 10 weeks respectively. The subjects that consumed RSS-infused water had lower blood glucose and insulin levels, gained less weight and less abdominal fat compared to the high-fructose corn syrup group. The study also showed that the liver cells’ nuclei in the RSS subjects exported to the cytoplasm higher amounts of glucokinase, an enzyme that reduces blood sugar levels by helping convert glucose to its stored form, glycogen (J. Agric. Food Chem. 65 (13): 2888–2894 (2017)).

In brief, rare sugar syrup will not increase but instead decrease abnormally high blood glucose as well as weight. Thus, it is a good alternative to table sugar and other sweeteners available in the market.

3) Will the taste of food change when we use AFC Rare Sugar Plus Oligosaccharides in place of regular sugar?

No, it will not affect the taste of food. When AFC Rare Sugar Plus Oligosaccharides is used for baking or simmering, the food will taste and smell better and of higher anti-oxidative properties compared to regular sugar. In addition, it is highly soluble and it can be added and dissolved easily in cold drinks, such as iced coffee. In brief, this product can be applied widely in a vast array of food without altering the natural taste of the food.

4) Why is it important to consider the sugar content in our daily diet?

There are many calorie-free or low-calorie foods available in the market. However, it is difficult to feel satiated with low or no calorie food, eventually leading us to eat more. Sufficient amount of sugar is necessary in a healthy diet and AFC Rare Sugar has multiple scientific studies that highlight its various benefits toward health and slimming.

5) Is AFC Rare Sugar suitable to everyone in the family?

Yes! Extracted from a natural source, AFC Rare Sugar is safe and healthy for every member in the family.

Scientifically proven health benefits of rare sugars:

The following are extracted from published clinical studies, in-house studies, and/or case studies and are for reference purposes only. This does not imply that the product from Lifestream Group Pte Ltd is claimed to replicate the same results produced in the studies. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any questions about a medical condition, please consult your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. Any statements or claims made have not been evaluated by the relevant regulatory bodies and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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1) Controls blood glucose levels

Study 1: Administration of rare sugar D-psicose maintains blood glucose at low levels even after meals.

Study 2: In a human trial, researchers noticed rare sugar D-psicose lowers blood glucose levels in prediabetes and diabetes group after meal, but maintaining normal glucose levels of healthy subjects.

Rare sugar D-psicose lowers blood glucose levels in diabetic subjects but not healthy individuals

Study 3: When  subjects were  regularly  given  foods containing rare sugar D-psicose or a mixture of D-fructose and D-psicose (psico-rare sugar; fructose:psicose = 3:1) at 5%, the blood glucose level remained low throughout the day, suggesting that increases in the blood sugar level may be controlled by the addition of D-psicose or psico-rare sugar to regular meals. 

Furthermore, there was no difference in the changes of blood glucose level between D-psicose and psico-rare sugar groups, in  which  the  D-psicose intake was 1/4 that of the D-psicose group, implying that this effect was not due to a decrease in sugar intake.

Rare sugar D-psicose manages abnormally high blood glucose level (hyperglycemia)

Regulatory mechanism of D-psicose on blood glucose Suppresses breaking down of starch to glucose + Reduces glucose absorption + Stimulates glycogen synthesis/insulin secretion Suppresses abnormal increase in blood glucose levels

Comparison to table sugar (sucrose):

2) Helps prevent atherosclerosis

Study 1: Atherosclerosis is a disease in which plaque builds up inside arteries, resulting in hardening and narrowing of the blood vessels. Rare sugar D-psicose was found to suppress the secretion of Monocyte chemoattractant    peptide-1 (MCP-1), an atherosclerosis promoter factor, from vascular endothelial cells that line heart and blood vessels.

Rare sugar D-psicose suppresses secretion of atherosclerosis promoter factor MCP-1

(Research by Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine)
 

Study 2: In a human trial, rare sugar D-tagatose was taken by subjects with type 2 diabetes for 12 months. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol of the subjects progressively increased from baseline at month 12. This is favourable as HDL cholesterol (also known as “good” cholesterol) helps remove other forms of cholesterol from bloodstream and higher levels of HDL cholesterol are associated with a lower risk of heart disease.

Rare sugar D-tagatose increases HDL (good) cholesterol of diabetic subjects

3) Loses body weight and manages obesity
In a human trial, subjects were orally administered a test drink containing 30g (dry solid) of glucose syrup containing rare sugar (Rare Sugar Sweet^®) or an isocaloric control drink containing high-fructose corn syrup (Control) daily for 12 weeks. Rare Sugar Sweet^® significantly reduced both body fat and weight. Continuous consumption of this syrup could help weight management.

Rare Sugar Sweet^® significantly reduces body fat and body weight

Mechanism of action of D-psicose on lipid Suppresses lipid synthesis in the liver + Promotes cholesterol uptake from blood by liver + Promotes lipid metabolism for energy + Reduces lipid accumulation in muscles Helps prevent atherosclerosis and obesity

4) Suppresses development of hypertension

Rare sugar D-allose was found to suppress development of hypertension or an increase in blood pressure. In this study, subjects were fed a normal salt diet (Control) to induce high blood pressure. However, supplementation of D-allose to salt-fed subjects for 4 weeks showed a decrease in blood pressure, suggesting the possible application of D-allose in prevention of hypertension.

Rare sugar D-allose suppresses an increase of blood pressure

Mechanism of action of D-allose on blood pressure Suppresses generation of reactive oxygen species + Regulates redox states in cells Suppresses an increase of blood pressure

5) Supports healthy nervous system

i) Reduces neuropathic (nerve) pain
Neuropathic pain (chronic pain caused by damage of nerves due to cancer, diabetes, infection etc.) is pain triggered by stimuli that usually do not trigger pain such as light contact or temperature change. To date, there is no decisive treatment has been developed. However, rare sugars D-allose and D-psicose are effective for the control of neuropathic pain.

Rare sugar D-allose significantly reduces neuropathic pain due to nerve damage

6) Controls allergic reaction

Allergic reactions such as atopic dermatitis and nasal allergy can be controlled by suppressing abnormal T lymphocyte (immune cell) proliferation. The effect of rare sugars (D-psicose, D-allose) on proliferation activities of T-lymphocytes was evaluated using the thymidine uptake. Both rare sugars were found to suppress T-lymphocyte proliferation by inhibiting thymidine uptake and thus, producing immunosuppressive and anti-allergic effects.

Rare sugars D-psicose and D-allose control allergic reaction by suppressing T-lymphocyte proliferation

7) Antibacterial and anti-parasitic activity

Study 1: An antibacterial activity was observed when Rare Sugar Sweet^® was added to lactoperoxidase (LPO, a natural antibacterial agent). Rare sugar D-allose showed a marked decrease in bacterial proliferation compared to a control in which D-allose was not added. In  addition,  the  bacterial proliferation decreased  markedly  with  the  addition  of  D-allose compared to that added with D-psicose or D-tagatose at the same concentration.

Rare Sugar Sweet^®, particularly rare sugar D-allose suppresses bacterial proliferation

Study 2: Rare sugar D-psicose markedly inhibited growth, motility and reproductive maturity of parasites C. elegans larvae. In addition to D-psicose, tea polyphenols were found to have strong parasitic controlling effects.  Anti-parasitic effects were high when tea polyphenol compounds and D-psicose were used in combination compared with the case of polyphenol alone. In view of the observed survival rates of C. elegans, tea polyphenol/D-psicose combinations had much stronger inhibitory effects than the anthelmintic drug Thiabendazole.

Rare sugar D-psicose inhibits motility, growth and reproductive maturity of parasite larvae

Rare sugar D-psicose enhances the inhibitory effect of tea polyphenol on parasites 

8) Improves food properties
Study 1: Sponge cake was baked with one portion (20%) of its sugar replaced with D-psicose.

Rare sugar D-psicose improves antioxidant properties and colouring of sponge cake

Study 2: Rare sugar D-psicose showed higher viscoelasticity when added to pudding compared to other sugars (sucrose, D-fructose). In addition, pudding containing D-psicose also showed higher 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrozyl  (DPPH)  radical  scavenger  activity, implying excellent antioxidant properties of D-psicose compared to sucrose and D-fructose.

Rare sugar D-psicose increases antioxidative activity when added to pudding

Comparison to table sugar (sucrose):

Study 3: Good aroma and browning effect of baked foods are results of reaction between sugars and amino acids or proteins in foods.  In this study, reaction between rare sugar D-psicose and phenylalanine (amino acid) was found to produce aromatic components in larger amounts than that using D-fructose. In addition, the reaction using D-psicose was also shown to progress more efficiently, resulting in more rapid and easier browning of foods. 

Rare sugar D-psicose improves food aroma

Study 4: Surimi, a water-leached and cryo-stabilized ground fish muscle paste,  is  a  raw  material  for  making  gelled  seafood  products, such  as  kamaboko  and  imitation  shellfish. During freezing and frozen storage, surimi proteins denature, leading to significant quality deterioration of final gelled seafood products.

In this study, the quality of frozen surimi is determined by the elasticity of a gel formed by heating salted surimi paste. The breaking stress of every gel sample (w/o rare sugars) decreased after 1 and 2 months storage at -20^oC.  However, the breaking stress of the sample containing rare sugar D-psicose was significantly higher than control sample (without sugar). Thus, D-psicose was found to improve the elasticity of fish muscle proteins, suggesting the application of D-psicose as a cryoprotectant. 

Rare sugar D-pricose protects quality of frozen surimi (fish paste)

The breaking distortion also decreased with prolonged freezing. However, D-psicose remarkably restrained the decreasing rate, implying that D-psicose is able to prevent the decline in the gel-forming ability of surimi during frozen storage.

Rare sugar D-psicose reduces a decline in the quality of surimi due to cryoprotective effect

Study 5: Control of retrograding of starch is important for its processing and storage. Sucrose is known to decelerate starch retrogradation, but it can increase gelatinization temperature of starch. Furthermore, it is also tends to be avoided in modern society due to its high calories.

The temperature at the beginning of gelatinization was highest in the starch gel with sucrose, followed by the starch gel with rare sugar D-allose and the starch gel with rare sugar D-psicose.  Measurements after storage for 7 days or longer showed that the addition of D-allose or D-psicose reduces hardening of both kikyo (non-glutinous rice) and momiji (glutinous rice). Since D-psicose also has similar protective effect on starch retrogadation as sucrose, it is ideal to improve the production efficiency of starch foods.

Rare sugars D-allose and D-psicose reduce temperature at the beginning of starch gelatinization
 

AFC Rare Sugar – The more you eat, the healthier you become.  

Try out the goodness of rare sugar with our recipe to make a complete, natural solution for a healthy lifestyle without curbing your sweet tooth.  

Receipe #1 - Red bean and barley sweet soup:

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 120g red bean
• 50g barley
• 25g candied winter melon
• ¼ tangerine peel
• 1000ml water
• 50g AFC Rare Sugar (or 13.5g AFC Rare Sugar + 36.5g rock sugar)

Directions:

1. Add water (700ml) and red bean to a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Let it boil for 5 minutes, then cover and let the red bean soak in boiling water for 1 hour.
3. While waiting, wash and drain the barley until the water is clear. Soak it in cold water.
4. Drain the red bean, refresh with cold water and drain.
5. Add the red bean to a clean pot, drain barley and add to the pot, add candied winter melon, tangerine peel and water (1000ml).
6. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the red bean has softened.
7. Add sugar and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved (if rock sugar is used) and serve.