You can get it sugar free, but we eat a small amount of real maple syrup. It has manganese and zinc. Not the fake syrups. We just use a small amount. Just like honey and coconut palm sugar, they have antioxidents etc. so they are good in small amounts. I use natural sugars, I like things my body can use. The sugar alcohols like Xylitol make me SO ill. I put real maple syrup in my oatmeal with apples, cinnamon and pecans. A little bit is all you need for a wonderul flavor.