Is Maple Syrup Healthy? Surprising Benefits You Need to Know

Note: This transcript is abridged. For the complete episode, click "play" on the podcast link above.

Dr. Mike: Hey, Dr. Mike here. So, you want to live forever…ish? Well, then you [have to] know what's in and what's not. Stay tuned to find out.

Live Foreverish Introduction: You're listening to Live Foreverish, a show dedicated to helping you live just a little longer. Here [are] your hosts, Dr. Mike and Dr. Crystal Gossard.

Dr. Mike: All right. Welcome to Live Foreverish.

The ins and outs of living forever…ish. And it's going to help you achieve our new tagline. Dr. Crystal, would you like to let them know what our tagline is?

Dr. Crystal: Sure. Living a little bit longer and a whole lot stronger.

Dr. Mike: Yeah! Of course, stronger can mean a lot of different things—functional things as you get older.

Dr. Crystal: Strong mentally, strong physically.

Dr. Mike: I like it.

Dr. Crystal: Strong spiritually.

Dr. Mike: It covers it all. That's really good.

So, the ins and out. Three things you want to do and then one thing you don't want to do or avoid.

What Are the Health Benefits of Maple Syrup? 00:00:54

Dr. Mike: Let's start with the first in. It's kind of surprising right [from] the get-go: maple syrup. Let's talk about maple syrup.

Dr. Crystal: Well, compared to high fructose corn syrup.

Dr. Mike: Yeah. We're talking about real maple syrup. You put that thing in the tree and it drips.

Dr. Crystal: Tap the tree. Oh, yes.

Dr. Mike: All right, tell us about this crossover trial.

Can Maple Syrup Help Reduce Blood Sugar Levels? 00:01:18

Dr. Crystal: We like maple syrup.

In this research—[which] was published in October 2024 as a randomized, double-blind, controlled crossover trial—the objectives the researchers were hoping to identify or to determine [were] whether replacing refined sugars with an equivalent quantity of maple syrup could decrease key cardiometabolic risk factors in individuals with mild metabolic alterations.

Dr. Mike: I love this setup…this is a great question to add. These are the things we need to start asking.

If we're telling people to avoid refined sugars—we like sweet things—what are other things we can do? I love this.

Dr. Crystal: We've done this and we've talked about this before. Our sugar substitute show.

Dr. Mike: Yeah. It’s good.

Dr. Crystal: We talked about all of the different options that you have available to try to decrease your overall refined sugar consumption because we know it is out of control.

Dr. Mike: So, participants were instructed to substitute 5 percent of their total caloric intake provided by added sugars with either maple syrup [or] an artificially flavored sucrose syrup.

This was a [two-period], eight-week intervention. This is what we call crossover: they were on maple syrup and then they crossed over.

Dr. Crystal: They had a four-week washout period with nothing, and then they crossed over to the other.

Dr. Mike: Four-week washout and then they crossed over to the next one. [This is a] great type of study design: you become your own little control. And these were 42 overweight people in both these phases.

What did we find?

Does Maple Syrup Impact Weight and Fat Loss? 00:03:10

Dr. Crystal: We found a significant reduction in overall glucose level—we call that the glucose area under the curve. Over time, the glucose levels were lower. This was during the glucose tolerance test.

And that's with substituting the refined sugars. And also, [it] significantly reduced fat mass and systolic blood pressure. Those are great outcomes.

There were also changes in cardiometabolic risk factors. And they relate those changes to a shift in the composition of the beneficial gut microbes.

How Does Maple Syrup Support Gut Health? 00:04:02

Dr. Mike: See, a lot of it always comes back to the gut microbes, doesn't it?

Dr. Crystal: Well, yes. And so, the question is, what makes maple syrup so different?

Dr. Mike: Yeah. I would have to assume you must have more polyphenols [and] more micronutrients, right? It must just be…

What Nutrients Are Found in Maple Syrup? 00:04:19

Dr. Crystal: Yes. All of the above. It's unrefined, so you're getting more micronutrients, polyphenols [and] organic acids.

And that has to be it because the sugar [you find in maple syrup] is primarily sucrose. But you're getting some of those other beneficial components. And we've always known—and that’s what prompted the researchers to conduct this research—[that] there's a growing body of scientific evidence [showing] that not all sugars have the same metabolic effects.

So, some people will say sugar is sugar is sugar. But I beg to differ. I like to see this study.

All we buy is maple syrup. And it's good. It's a little pricey, but that's all we have. I make my special pumpkin bread for my husband with maple syrup only.

Dr. Mike: Ooo. That sounds so good.

Dr. Crystal: It's really good. Now [it’s] good and good for you.

Dr. Mike: I agree with that. Again, this is substituting it. Don’t start increasing it; you're substituting it. And that's where I think the benefit comes from.

Interesting. It says here—I don't know if a lot of people know this—they literally tap the trees. They put a tap in the tree.

Dr. Crystal: Like, how they collect it?

Dr. Mike: Yes. Have you ever seen that?

Dr. Crystal: Oh, sure!

Dr. Mike: And it drops slowly into these buckets. Have you ever seen that? It's really cool!

Dr. Crystal: I've seen it.

Dr. Mike: Apparently, as it sits in the bucket, it starts to evaporate and [creates] some newer compounds out of that. These are really beneficial for you. One is called—let me see if I can get this right—quebecol.

Dr. Crystal: Q-U-E-B-E-C-O-L.

Dr. Mike: Apparently, it's a new compound, and it's good for you.

Also, you’ve got your inulin, which we know is a prebiotic fiber. This is fantastic. Love it.

Dr. Crystal: A nice little health hack.

Dr. Mike: How come you haven't brought me a piece of your pumpkin bread?

Dr. Crystal: Oh, because it doesn't last long.

Dr. Mike: You've known me for how many holiday seasons?

Dr. Crystal: I didn’t know you [liked] pumpkin bread.

Dr. Mike: Are you kidding me?

Dr. Crystal: Oh! Now I know.

Dr. Mike: It’s one of my favorites because I can't eat banana bread.

Dr. Crystal: Oh, okay. I make a good pumpkin bread. Maybe we'll do a live show and I'll [do a] demo. It's whole wheat flour—100 percent whole wheat flour.

I use maple syrup. It has lots of healthy substitutes. It is really good. And I don't eat pumpkin bread…I make it for my family.

Dr. Mike: I'm [going to] put butter on it.

Dr. Crystal: Well, as long as it's grass-fed butter in moderation.

Dr. Mike: I’m going to add some butter. All right. Anyway, I would love to try it.