Maple syrup is full of antioxidants that help cells to absorb glucose quickly, giving this local product a low glycemic index. Maple syrup is richer in polyphenols than corn syrup, rice syrup or white sugar. Only molasses and agave syrup have more or less equivalent quantities. Note that polyphenols are powerful antioxidants with the ability to reduce oxidative stress which is at the origin of pro-inflammatory diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.
According to scientists at the Laval Institute, maple syrup stands out from all other sugars because it contains abscisic acid and phaseic acid, which are produced by maple trees to combat stress caused by the environment. Researchers have discovered that these two antioxidant molecules encourage greater absorption of glucose by muscle cells, all without inducing a significant secretion of insulin. "In type 2 diabetes, this is one of the problems: the muscle cells do not capture glucose well and this is why blood glucose levels rise in patients' blood." So these molecules would have protective effects on the metabolic syndrome.
According to André Marette, scientific director of INAF, maple syrup has another major advantage over all other sweetening agents: it is essentially composed of sucrose and does not contain pure fructose, which has a bad reputation because it is captured very quickly by the liver.
However, maple syrup does contain some fructose, because when its sucrose is metabolized, it splits into one molecule of fructose and one molecule of glucose, but this is very little compared to agave syrup which contains 84% pure fructose, molasses 22% and honey with 50%.