Is Stevia worth it? What's your favourite not-sugar sweetener?

Muzzoozal

splenda and other artificial sweeteners made me chronically sick and I will now live the rest of my life dealing with that so I use Stevia. Luckily I enjoy the taste (some do not) because being form the South I drink my tea as if it was syrup! or otherwise called Sweet Tea (roll those vowels - Sa-weet Tee)

CrabNebula

I love stevia and generally use it in the form of Truvia or Target's generic equivalent. I stopped using Splenda when I learned it actually has around 3 calories a packet.

annette_15

Ive tried getting into stevia, but splenda just tastes better imo

RoxieDawn

I use truvia and also bake with the Truvia Sugar Blend (which is half an half)..

SideSteel

spttdb wrote: »

splenda and other artificial sweeteners made me chronically sick and I will now live the rest of my life dealing with that so I use Stevia. Luckily I enjoy the taste (some do not) because being form the South I drink my tea as if it was syrup! or otherwise called Sweet Tea (roll those vowels - Sa-weet Tee)

What illness did you get from artificial sweetener?

deescrafty

I was just diagnosed with Diabetes type 2 and the nutritionist reviewed my diet and made recommendations. She told me to avoid sugar alcohols i.e. anything ending in tol as the body cannot differentiate between them and sugar. She also went over the studies regarding sugar replacements and the evidence that they can cause spikes in blood sugar. More research is being done as there is some evidence that they have actually caused diabetes in some cases
Best to be conservative and ueat fruit or flavor things with spices when able. Learn to drink unsweetened drinks, and keep your carb count low.

AndrewinNH

I would advise everyone who regularly uses sugar substitutes, and drinks diet sodas, because of the zero calories to watch the documentary "Fed Up". It can be streamed on Netflix for free or rented on many of the streaming channels. They present many of the health challenges that surround artificial sweeteners, and how the body processes them. I definitely changed my opinion on them as a safe substitute after watching.

SideSteel

AndrewinNH wrote: »

I would advise everyone who regularly uses sugar substitutes, and drinks diet sodas, because of the zero calories to watch the documentary "Fed Up". It can be streamed on Netflix for free or rented on many of the streaming channels. They present many of the health challenges that surround artificial sweeteners, and how the body processes them. I definitely changed my opinion on them as a safe substitute after watching.

What makes you assume that documentaries like this contain accurate information?

WalkingAlong

jgnatca wrote: »

I use them all. Some do better in liquids, others in baking.

There's a Splenda (sucralose) brown sugar blend that has half the sugar. This is great for baking and I am betting would be great for anything pumpkin.

I use Stevia or Splenda in my tea. The spoonable Stevia that has been fluffed out is about spoon-for-spoon the same for sugar, so can be measured out the same.

I drink Mio (acesulfame potassium and sucralose), or Crystal Lite (aspartame, acesulfame potassium, Sucralose) flavoured waters.

And I like my diet Pepsi (aspartame).

Where I live (AZ) the Diet Pepsi is now aspartame free and too sweet. So annoying. After 20+ years of a Diet Pepsi habit I'm drinking Diet Coke now and preferring it. Stupid internet rumors.

_John_

WalkingAlong wrote: »

jgnatca wrote: »

I use them all. Some do better in liquids, others in baking.

There's a Splenda (sucralose) brown sugar blend that has half the sugar. This is great for baking and I am betting would be great for anything pumpkin.

I use Stevia or Splenda in my tea. The spoonable Stevia that has been fluffed out is about spoon-for-spoon the same for sugar, so can be measured out the same.

I drink Mio (acesulfame potassium and sucralose), or Crystal Lite (aspartame, acesulfame potassium, Sucralose) flavoured waters.

And I like my diet Pepsi (aspartame).

Where I live (AZ) the Diet Pepsi is now aspartame free and too sweet. So annoying. After 20+ years of a Diet Pepsi habit I'm drinking Diet Coke now and preferring it. Stupid internet rumors.

they replaced the aspartame with sucralose...

what a difference.

mbaker566

I like stevia. I use purevia where powder is needed. I also grow stevia for teas and such. i like it. i haven't noticed any funny tastes

stevencloser

deescrafty wrote: »

I was just diagnosed with Diabetes type 2 and the nutritionist reviewed my diet and made recommendations. She told me to avoid sugar alcohols i.e. anything ending in tol as the body cannot differentiate between them and sugar. She also went over the studies regarding sugar replacements and the evidence that they can cause spikes in blood sugar. More research is being done as there is some evidence that they have actually caused diabetes in some cases
Best to be conservative and ueat fruit or flavor things with spices when able. Learn to drink unsweetened drinks, and keep your carb count low.

So, where does the sugar for the blood sugar come from?

caseylizbeth

I use Stevia. Like the above people said, it's pretty darn strong and leaves a bad aftertaste if you use too much. I really love raw organic honey in my tea, so I usually use a teaspoon at a time and limit myself to 2 or 3 teaspoons a day. After that, or if I'm having coffee, I'll use Stevia. And you really only need a dash. I find that the store brand stevia usually tastes a little better than the name brand stevia. If you just want to cut down on sugar you could use a small amount of sugar and a small amount of stevia to achieve the taste that you're used to with sugar.

Jelaan

I can't get past the after taste of Stevia, so I try to go without any additional sweetners. If I need some, I like to use xylitol, you can use it cup for cup to replace sugar, it has no after taste to me and it is good for baking/cooking.

Videogirl15

I gave up artificial sweeteners. I use raw brown sugar in my coffee in the morning.

try2again

Don't like to use a lot of artificial sweeteners, but sometimes I will go 1/2 stevia, 1/2 sugar in baked goods (and I've never encountered a non-lightened recipe for any baked good that you couldn't leave out 1/2 the sugar called for & it will taste fine). In beverages, I like sucralose best, but it gives me headaches.

Arsenal1919

You could just go cold turkey on adding sugar or sweetener if you made up your mind.
When I did, I had some headaches for about six to eight days but the long-term benefits will soon accrue.
I occasionally have cake (family birthdays or special desserts) but choose not to have it the several times per week that I used to.
I have high cocoa unsweetened chocolate bars these days. (It's an acquired taste but chocolate/cocoa has far more bodily benefits than any amount of sucrose.)
Soda drinks based on sugar are a very poor part of a diet. Nutrasweet/Stevia/Saccharine sweetened soda drinks are better for overweight people but not by much. I tend to have an average of one per day (well down from the 4-5 I used to do.)
Water (just tap water) by itself or with a slice of lemon or lime or other fruit becomes very acceptable when you see the positive changes in you.

nvmomketo

I like stevia drops but I try to err on the side of under sweetening things. I find stevia can have a bitter after taste if you add too much.

I find a cup of sugar translates to 2-3 full droppers of stevia.

I made a large crustless cheesecake last week and only used 2-3 droppers full if stevia, less than a tsp, to sweeten it. It turned out great.

melimomTARDIS

i like xylitol in gums and hard candies for oral health, and sweet n'low packets in my coffee.

mlinci

I have been disappointed every time I tried stevia - I found the taste really unpleasant. I find aspartame and sucralose more tolerable, particularly in small quantities - when they are in tablet form, I always halve to halve the tablets for my coffee.
I do like the taste of Diet Coke, and never drink regular Coke - I see it as a waste of calories.
Thinking about it, I don't particularly like the taste of white sugar either. I do however, love the taste of brown sugar, so I sometimes just take my coffee with a bit of brown sugar in - I only really need half a teaspoon or so per cup.