Thoughts on stevia?

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  • cindytw
    cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
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    I use Sweet Leaf brand and like it. I feel it is natural and acceptable to me, even thought I avoid artificial sweeteners like the plague.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    I feel fine with it in terms of safety.

    Most of my stevia experience is with Truvia. To me, it takes like coconut. Not a bad thing, but it messes up the taste of my teas and tisanes. It's also a LOT more expensive than Splenda.
  • HeySwoleSister
    HeySwoleSister Posts: 1,938 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Hausisse1 wrote: »
    I generally don't trust non-caloric sweeteners and wondered how others felt about stevia in particular. I found this blog post http://empoweredsustenance.com/is-stevia-bad-for-you/ but it seems like it's deemed as being "safe" by other places. How do you guys feel?

    Stevia is a natural sweetener, it's not a substitute. I use it and love it.

    I also use regular sugar and agave nectar.

    No.

    As I said earlier, stevia drops and powder are no more "natural" than other substitutes.

    Choose what tastes best to you. But don't kid yourself into thinking that stevia is somehow more "pure" than other artificial sweeteners. It's not. Unless, of course, you are using the actual stevia plant. But, that, of course, cannot be sold in the US as it has not been tested and approved as a safe ingredient for food by the FDA. The chemical that they synthesize from the plant (like sucralose is synthesized from sugar cane and aspartame is sythesized from fruit peels) has been approved, however. But, it's no more "natural" than other substitutes.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    I feel fine with it in terms of safety.

    Most of my stevia experience is with Truvia. To me, it takes like coconut. Not a bad thing, but it messes up the taste of my teas and tisanes. It's also a LOT more expensive than Splenda.

    Truvia is not Stevia though.

    I used Truvia and it was nasty. I don't mind splenda, but I'd rather just use sugar.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I switched from Splenda to Truvia. The gardeners of my buiding's roof garden grow stevia and I've used the leaves on occasion. I don't notice any difference in taste, but I like that it comes from an actual plant to start with.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    I don't like the flavor. If I want something sweet and don't want the calories of sugar (or any other natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, etc) I will use Splenda.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    HeySwoleSister wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Hausisse1 wrote: »
    I generally don't trust non-caloric sweeteners and wondered how others felt about stevia in particular. I found this blog post http://empoweredsustenance.com/is-stevia-bad-for-you/ but it seems like it's deemed as being "safe" by other places. How do you guys feel?

    Stevia is a natural sweetener, it's not a substitute. I use it and love it.

    I also use regular sugar and agave nectar.

    No.

    As I said earlier, stevia drops and powder are no more "natural" than other substitutes.

    Choose what tastes best to you. But don't kid yourself into thinking that stevia is somehow more "pure" than other artificial sweeteners. It's not. Unless, of course, you are using the actual stevia plant. But, that, of course, cannot be sold in the US as it has not been tested and approved as a safe ingredient for food by the FDA. The chemical that they synthesize from the plant (like sucralose is synthesized from sugar cane and aspartame is sythesized from fruit peels) has been approved, however. But, it's no more "natural" than other substitutes.

    First of all, just to be clear, I use stevia in the raw, sugar, agave nectar, and splenda. I don't use equal because I don't much like the taste. I have nothing against any alternative sweetener, including sugar, and I believe in moderation.

    That said, Stevia comes directly from a plant, just as honey comes from the beehive and sugar comes from the sugar cane plant. Sure they all have been processed some, but look at the ingredient lists of stevia and artificial sweeteners:

    splendnutritionfacts.jpg

    Equal-NVI-100ct-PINK-Nutrition-Facts-Panel-01.jpg

    SteviaIntheRaw1.jpg



  • kiittenforever
    kiittenforever Posts: 479 Member
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    Stevia is great. I have it in my coffee daily.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    I switched from Splenda to Truvia. The gardeners of my buiding's roof garden grow stevia and I've used the leaves on occasion. I don't notice any difference in taste, but I like that it comes from an actual plant to start with.

    I have not tried stevia from the actual plant.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    I feel fine with it in terms of safety.

    Most of my stevia experience is with Truvia. To me, it takes like coconut. Not a bad thing, but it messes up the taste of my teas and tisanes. It's also a LOT more expensive than Splenda.

    Truvia is not Stevia though.

    I used Truvia and it was nasty. I don't mind splenda, but I'd rather just use sugar.

    Truvia indeed does have a different taste than Stevia. I choose a sweetener based on my mood.
  • HeySwoleSister
    HeySwoleSister Posts: 1,938 Member
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    "Stevia Leaf extract" is a compound called rebaudioside, which is chemically extracted and synthesized in the lab. It is no closer to the stevia plant than sucralose is to sugar cane or aspartame to fruit peels.

    I don't really care about the Chemikillz, but people who do are kidding themselves if they think any form of stevia except for the plant leaf itself (which tastes rather like black jellybeans) is actually "natural."

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