Sugars

 Comparing sugar form beets and sugar from sugar cane:

"Beet and cane sugar differ slightly in taste and may work differently in cooking and baking.

Unlike cane sugar, beet sugar is produced without bone char, which may be important for vegans or vegetarians.

Still, some may prefer cane sugar as it’s less likely to contain GMO ingredients.

However, when it comes down to it, both beet sugar and cane sugar are composed of sucrose, which can be harmful to your health when consumed in excess.

Therefore, while there may be differences between these two forms of sugar, your intake of either type should be kept in moderation as part of a healthy diet." -Healthline.com

Coconut Sugar ...

 is the dehydrated sap of the coconut palm.

Unlike regular sugar, coconut sugar retains some important nutrients even after the dehydration process. Some of those nutrients: iron, zinc, calcium and potassium; along with some short-chain fatty acids like polyphenols and antioxidants. It's not enough to replace spices and herbs, and other foods for mineral consumption, but it is an addition you won't find in regular table sugar. It's not low calorie, though.

It also contains the fiber, inulin, which may slow down the absorbtion of glucose. The Glycemic Index, or "GI" is a measurement of how fast or slow glucose enters the bloodstream. It has a lower GI than table sugar.  However, GI can vary greatly between individuals and may also differ between batches of coconut sugar. For instance, I find it doesn't cause a spike in my blood sugar, but a friend of mine is more sensative to it. Sometimes I use it to make my own low glycemic chocolates, I use it to make low glycemic desserts, etc.  It's been a game changer for me.

Agave

Agave is a desert plant (cactus) harvested to make tequila and sweet syrup. It was traditionally believed to have healing properties, but those are largely lost in processing.  Agave nectar sold today is made by treating agave sugars with heat and enzymes, which destroys all of its potentially beneficial health effects. The end product is a highly refined syrup. Agave nectar is low in glucose and therefore doesn’t spike blood sugar levels much. This gives the sweetener a low glycemic index. One study in mice showed that those given agave instead of table sugar lost weight better.  However, that is not the only factor or the most important one to consider.

While every cell in the body metabolizes glucose, only the liver processes fructose.  Because your liver gets overloaded and starts turning the fructose into fat- raising blood triglycerides, many researchers believe that some of this fat can become lodged in your liver and cause fatty liver disease. Consuming excess amounts of fructose can wreak havoc on your metabolic health and may contribute to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Agave syrup is much higher in fructose than plain sugar, it is more likely to cause adverse health effects, such as increased belly fat and fatty liver disease.

Agave and other natural sweeteners

Agave nectar is considered a natural sweetener, but it can still be processed to some degree. It’s one of the highest sources of refined fructose — more than table sugar.

Table sugar contains about 50 percent refined fructose. Refined fructose consumption is associated with:

• obesity
• fatty liver disease
• diabetes

Honey, maple syrup, and molasses are also natural sweeteners. They all contain varying amounts of refined fructose. Most of these, including honey, are very similar to sugar, including their calorie content. They are not low-glycemic or low calorie.  However, when you can get things in their least altered form, they usually have the proper combinations for healthier processing in the body. My rule of thumb is: closest to the form God created it in, because He made it for us.  We get into the most trouble when we've decided to alter it-usually with good intentions, but we aren't as smart as we often think we are. :)

Honey

My favorite insight into honey was something I learned while studying ancient Egypt.  The ancient Egyptians used honey as medicine, even using it on wounds.  Modern research verifies many of it's helath properties.  I found a lot of information on Healthline and decided to just post a link to the article. As with most things, it is better used the way God made it-raw. That is the only way to get the full benefits of it, with vital nutrients still intact.  

Top Raw Honey Benefits

I also found this article insightful in comparing Raw and pasteurized Honey.

Raw Vs. Regular Honey 

I keep A little regular sugar, a lot of raw honey, coconut sugar and stevia, xylitol, and erythritol in my food storage.  Each of them have their uses.  Some baked goods just don't turn out as well with stevia.  I've found it useful to combine different types in cooking as well.  there are a lot of recipes out there, but I've found it helpful to try some and tweak them according to our taste and texture preferences.