Thoughts on stevia?

AngelaBianco82

Just want some opinions if its good or bad for you

kiittenforever

Good, natural sweetener

kelseymallen

I've read that it's ok for you and I've also read that it's bad. It's hard to tell when there are so many differing opinions. Usually, I try to stick to sweetening with honey as I prefer the taste to other sweeteners.

PurexLover

I like splenda

beemerphile1

Good if used in its pure form. Some companies are selling highly processed versions, I don't know if the processed versions are bad or good.

questionfear

I think it's probably fine, but fwiw I saw on an allergy forum that someone with a very severe ragweed allergy had an allergic reaction to stevia since they're in the same family. But from what I read it's a very, very rare situation.

jgnatca

I trust anything cleared by the FDA. The active ingredient in stevia has been cleared for consumption by the FDA.

Whole leaf Stevia not cleared: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm214864.htm

Refined Rebaudioside is cleared:
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm214865.htm

ldrosophila

Barf...licorice in disguise

rosebarnalice

I use it in coffee, tea, and smoothues in small amounts. I also use it instead of sugar to mascerate fruit before using it in cobblers or other dishes. But I do not use it in more traditional baking applications like cakes or cookies. But then, I don't make stuff like that very often!

Eri0515

My father-in-law is a board certified health and wellness doctor and he loves stevia, uses it all the time himself. I have some in my home and do use it, but I feel it has a little bit of a weird flavor to it.

arditarose

It's fine!

I use it in some things. It's a bit unpleasant in coffee though.

2snakeswoman

My thoughts: YUCK!

andrikosDE

I don't like it. I really find the aftertaste revolting.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

I prefer xylitol

Yi5hedr3

It's the safest sweetener out there.

trisha2407

I use local honey as a sweetner most of the time

qubetha

I love it. I use it everywhere that I used to use granulated sugar and it's the best thing I ever did. I really like the taste of it too! It tastes exactly like vanilla sugar to me :-)

Jruzer

I think it tastes awful.

stealthq

I can't stand the aftertaste either. Plus, everything I've tried that's sweetened with it has been just so over-sweetened it wouldn't have mattered if it'd been cane sugar. I'd still have spit it out.

mbaker566

i like it. i have the packets and grow it in my garden

misterdale67

Jruzer wrote: »

I think it tastes awful.

+1

belimawr

It depends. It has an aftertaste, but gets hidden easily, I find, by certain beverages and foods.

moyer566 wrote: »

i like it. i have the packets and grow it in my garden

I was considering this. Where are you, may I ask, and is it easy maintenance?

BenJDarling

I love Stevia, I use it in my green tea.

sixxpoint

Tastes awful.

Not magically better for you, or a better option than something like Sucralose.

mwyvr

Never use it, and have no plans to, and haven't ever made use of artificial sweeteners either. Our sugar bowl typically is refilled once a year and it's mostly guests that use it. Baking: we use the real thing - sugar / honey / fruit / whatever.

I didn't find cutting sweets was that difficult for me once I made a concious decision to do so, and after dropping 78 pounds and getting very fit I'm no longer pre-diabetic and have completely normal function.

I used to load up my coffee with sugar (it was very bad office coffee) and recognized at some point that practice just wasn't good for me so I cut both coffee and sugar out completely and later adopted the practice of having just one good coffee in the morning. Cutting out the daily mega doses of sugary coffee had a good side effect: my desire for other sweet things dropped too.

My concern -- for me -- would be that using stevia or artificial sweeteners on a regular basis would once again stimulate increased desire for other sweet things that do contain real sugars and would again tempt me to ignore portion control.

I'm not missing out on anything. A really good cup of coffee to me tastes far better unadulterated now and now I can have sweet things in moderation without being tempted to binge as I once would have. No money spent on non-sugar sweeteners. Win-win.

SLLRunner

AngelaBianco82 wrote: »

Just want some opinions if its good or bad for you

Neither. It's just an alternative sweetener....which I love and use every single day.

However, sometimes I will use plain old sugar, agave nectar, or Splenda. It's all about mood for me.

SherryTeach

Tastes bad. It's probably no better or worse than any other artificial sweetener. I prefer granulated Spenda myself for my coffee, on grapefruit, in some recipes.

snickerscharlie

I use Stevia in The Raw and love it. I used to take my coffee with three sugars in the morning. Now I'm down to just one Stevia packet. Yes, the taste is different than sugar, but I've gotten used to it now and it's totally fine. I'd rather save the calories from regular sugar for something else in the course of my day.

It seems that Stevia is one of those love-it-or-hate it things. I wonder if it's like cilantro in that it affects people's taste buds differently. I absolutely love cilantro, but a lot of people claim it tastes like soap!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html?_r=0

snickerscharlie

And stevia - just like regular cane sugar - is a plant-based naturally-derived product. Sugar cane is naturally sweet, as it the stevia leaf.

starryphoenix

Not all brands are equal. Stevia is great, but try to get the stuff that is actually called stevia, and not that truvia nonsense.

jocooper43016

I like Stevia, but I question if "natural" really makes it safe. Has it been tested enough or 20 years from now will they discover its a carcinogen.... ?