I discovered Coconut Palm Sugar back in 2013 in my local Wholefoods shop in Hastings and thought I would try it out. It has a very distinctive flavour, and is quite caramely and so works well in chocolate cakes or other cakes which go well with a caramel-like flavour. It is also excellent in raw chocolate fudge as the intensity of the chocolate flavour is complemented by this special sugar. Having experimented using it in other cake preparations, I find it clashes with anything citrus, so avoid that combination! Coconut Palm Sugar, therefore appears in many of my Goodie Two-Shoes and Goodie Two-Shoes Extraordinaire recipes in Volume 1 of the Alchemist’s Cookbook Series, as well as in The Blood Sugar-Stabilising Pancakes in Volume 2 of the Alchemist’s Cookbook Series -  Breakfasts-Light Bites-Breads & Soups.

Coconut Palm Sugar is part of the “sweet” category of foods and is thus helpful to bring balance to the spleen and stomach.  Here are some more health facts about it:-

• Coconut Palm Sugar is made from the sap of cut flower buds from the coconut palm
  
  
• It has been used as a traditional sweetener for thousands of years in South and South-East Asia
• Coconut Palm Sugar has a low Glycemic Index level, being just 30. The glycemic index (GI) is the rate at how fast blood sugar levels rise after eating a particular type of food. A high GI means that the food is rapidly absorbed by the body, spiking the blood sugar causing the pancreas to release large amounts of insulin. A low GI indicates a food that is more slowly absorbed, thereby preventing that health damaging insulin spike. We can reduce the glycemic index of a food by eating healthy fats alongside the sweetener of choice, so, for example butter used in the making of cakes lowers the GI of the sugar used in the baking process
• Due to its low GI value, it is suitable for diabetics because the sugar has little impact on blood sugar levels, making it suitable for diabetics; pre-diabetics and anyone else who wants to avoid blood sugar spikes
• It is also rich in amino acids due to its unprocessed state. It thus contains the same 16 amino acids as the sap from which is was extracted. 100 grams of coconut sugar provides us with 34.2 milligrams of glutamic acid (an essential neurotransmitter needed for proper brain function); 11.2 milligrams of aspartic acid (promotes metabolism function and is used to treat depression); 15.4 milligrams of threonine (maintains protein balance in the body) and 8.2 milligrams of serine (aids brain and nervous system function), as well as lower amounts of other essential and non-essential amino acids. Amino acids, being components of proteins, are needed for cell growth and repair; metabolism function and the production of hormones and enzymes
• Coconut sap is also rich in vitamins, including 12 of the essential B vitamins, and due to the lack of processing, coconut sugar inherits this benefit. Of all the B vitamins, coconut sugar is highest in inositol (vitamin B8). This is required for the formation of healthy cells and has also been used to treat anxiety and sadness. Coconut sugar is also high in thiamin; riboflavin; folic acid; choline; pyridoxal; para-aminobezoic acid; pantothenic acid and nicotinic acid. It even contains trace amounts of vitamin B12, which is seldom found in plants. All of these B vitamins aid cellular metabolism and provide us with energy
• Coconut Palm Sugar also contains high levels of trace minerals. One teaspoon of coconut sugar contains numerous trace minerals that are not found in refined sugar. These minerals include phosphorous (important for bone growth and kidney function); potassium (reduces hypertension and lowers blood sugar levels); nitrogen (treats cardiovascular diseases); magnesium (regulates the metabolism and stimulates the brain); manganese (an important antioxidant) and copper (helps release energy and aids melanin production in the skin) as well as lower amounts of zinc; iron; calcium; boron; sulphur; sodium and chlorine

The above nutritional information was taken from:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/042968_coconut_sugar_low_glycemic_B_vitamins.html#ixzz4FcemCapg