Types of sugar substitute

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KendraHall2
KendraHall2 Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm sorry if this has been asked before.. Anyone use stevia, erythritol, or truvia? What are your thoughts (favorites, likes, dislikes). Looking for a sugar substitute that is natural, doesn't raise blood sugar if possible, and is low in or has no carbs. I have tried stevia (liquid) and it tastes like chemicals to me. Thanks for your feedback!

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  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    In my cupboard I have vanilla flavoured Stevia drops, Crystal Light sweetened with Sucralose, Diet Pepsi sweetened with Aspartame, and Saccharine packets.

    All are very low calorie sweeteners. Stevia is considered more natural but it does have a “tingle” aftertaste that I associate with cinnamon. When I cook with Stevia I include cinnamon to mask this.

    Very low calorie sweeteners are by definition low carb and do not raise blood sugar.

    I have used artificial sweeteners for so long I think they taste “normal”.

    If all natural is important to you then learn to eat very small amounts. If you want to slow down the blood sugar response eat with fiber and a little cheese or nuts. But this won’t be low calorie.

    Example, raisins and a few cashews.

    Walnut and laughing cow chees stuffed dates.

    Baked apple dusted with cinnamon and filled with nuts and raisins.

    Apple with a slice of cheese.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I tend to use stevia. I find it tastes better if you undersweeten with it. If you add too much, it gets that odd aftertaste.

    I use 2-3 drops of liquid stevia for a teaspoon of sugar. A 1/4-1/3 cup of sugar would be a stopper full of stevia. Roughly.

    Try it with less stevia. It could work.

    I believe truvia is stevia but it has starches as a bulking agent (often ends in "extrin") which are very quickly changed to glucose in the body.

    I do use some xylitol and erythritol but it has a laxative effect so I don't use it often, or much of it.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    Stevia feels like it’s burning my mouth, so I use Splenda. It’s tastes the closest to sugar IMO. But no, it’s not natural.
  • KendraHall2
    KendraHall2 Posts: 6 Member
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    Nvmomketo: I think that's what I've been doing wrong! It says on the package to use one "squirt" for a tsp of sugar but it is disgusting. I'll try WAY less next time... nowine4me: I've tried using Splenda in the past but I think I'm just really sensitive to the artificial taste. Not sure what changed because it never bothered me before. :/
  • alteredsteve175
    alteredsteve175 Posts: 2,716 Member
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    Which sweetener do you prefer for low carb candy? I made some peanut butter cups recently and used Swerve (erythritol). Left a slightly gritty texture in the chocolate. Did not bother me, (because chocolate and peanut butter!), but my wife commented on it.
  • KendraHall2
    KendraHall2 Posts: 6 Member
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    I'll have to try swerve. So no weird taste or anything? Just weird texture? I might be able to live with that if it tastes good. I just discovered alter Eco dark blackout organic chocolate (85% cocoa and only eight net carbs for a whole bar-- I really only need one section, less than 1 net carb) and coconut butter so I could always make a dessert with that or even add in some peanut butter for an extra tasty treat. I love to bake so anything that I can make from scratch, the better. Just trying to check out my sugar options that taste decent and fit within with my keto guidelines. I have only tried stevia so I wanted some insight before I go out and buy something different.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    I use sucralose & my mom likes to use Swerve. I've eaten some of her desserts and, while Swerve doesn't taste like sugar to me, it's still a good substitute, and I don't find it has an aftertaste.

    Stevia is a no for me - just leaves a bad taste in my mouth!!

    ~Lyssa
  • alteredsteve175
    alteredsteve175 Posts: 2,716 Member
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    KendraHall2 wrote: »
    I'll have to try swerve. So no weird taste or anything?

    I don't notice anything. I have used it for a fruit cobbler and the peanut butter cups. Just experimenting with the Swerve myself. I've also used Splenda and I am ok with that too.


    KendraHall2 wrote: »
    I just discovered alter Eco dark blackout organic chocolate (85% cocoa and only eight net carbs for a whole bar-- I really only need one section, less than 1 net carb) and coconut butter so I could always make a dessert with that or even add in some peanut butter for an extra tasty treat. I love to bake so anything that I can make from scratch, the better.

    Here is the peanut butter cup recipe. I used a bar of unsweetened baking chocolate. I keep some Lindt 90% around to nibble on, but it's substantially more expensive, so I don't use it for baking.

    https://ditchthecarbs.com/salted-low-carb-peanut-butter-cups/

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I almost never use sugar substitutes as I only use sugar when making dessert and do that when I am up for the calories and would rather have something special. That said, during my keto experiment I bought Swerve and tried it for a couple of keto desserts (I made dessert more when keto-ing than normally, which is hilarious), and I thought it tasted fine. I haven't ever liked stevia, and I don't mind aspertame in diet soda but don't really care for it otherwise.
  • alteredsteve175
    alteredsteve175 Posts: 2,716 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I almost never use sugar substitutes as I only use sugar when making dessert and do that when I am up for the calories and would rather have something special.

    That's a good point. I could probably live with the real sugar carbs. I'd be eating too much dessert/treats, anyway, if the amount of sugar carbs is a problem

  • mlinci
    mlinci Posts: 403 Member
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    I tried vanilla flavoured stevia drops and found them really disgusting! I threw most of the bottle away.
    I used to use Splenda in my coffee, or other artificial sweeteners, and I always found the taste just about acceptable, but not delicious. Since I've lost weight and gone into maintenance, all through calorie counting, I actually for the first time have the confidence to use sugar. I find white sugar tasting as "meh" as artificial sweeteners, but I love the taste of brown sugar. Nowadays, I mostly drink coffee unsweetened, but every now and then I'll add a bit of brown sugar to my coffee and enjoy the flavour.
  • rebcam1327
    rebcam1327 Posts: 5 Member
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    I USE NATURAL SUGARS SUCH AS BANANA :)
  • rebcam1327
    rebcam1327 Posts: 5 Member
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    mlinci wrote: »
    rebcam1327 wrote: »
    I USE NATURAL SUGARS SUCH AS BANANA :)

    In oatmeal, absolutely. But I’m not going to sweeten my coffee with a banana!

    PS no need to shout.

    stevia/brown sugar :) sorry had the caps lock hahah :) good day!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    They all taste like chemicals to me unfortunately. I think Splenda was the 'least worst' of the lot for me.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    palanceh wrote: »
    @KendraHall2 do your homework on this topic. Don’t solely pick based on taste. If I know something is a more healthy option than another, I’ll make the adjustment behaviorally. I realize most folks won’t do the latter. My two cents is stay away from chemical sweeteners like Aspartame, Saccharine, Sucrolose, Splenda etc. most are linked to cancers, killing brain neurotransmitters... wild stuff. If you have to ween yourself from sugar, then try your Blends first, like Truvia/Cane Sugar or Truvia/Brown Sugar Blends. Then eventually, try to get to natural sweeteners like Stevia and Truvia.

    If you did your homework rather than just believing clickbait articles, you'd know that these claims are not true.

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