Stevia
lynn1982
Posts: 1,439 Member
Apologies in advance if this has already been discussed. What is the consensus regarding stevia? I know it's derived from the stevia plant, yet it's obviously processed when bought in the store. The reason I am asking is because there is a spin instructor at my gym who touts clean eating constantly. She has a blog with many baking recipes that all use stevia. I rarely use sweetners and when I do, it's always pure maple syrup or raw honey. Is stevia considered clean and safe to be using?
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If you are concerned about safety you could choose a sweetener that has been studied more closely such as aspartame
Are you comparing Stevia to Aspartame? I'm unaware of the Aspartame plant... From what I have read, stevia is better when used in liquid form.0 -
I'm interested in the answer to this. I don't buy stevia, with the exception of one drink that I buy on occassion that it is in. I also rarely use sweetners. In my house I have raw honey, pure maple syrup, organic agave, and organic cane sugar. The only one I regularly use is honey, and that is only because I drink apple cider vinegar and hot water sometimes, and I use it to sweeten it.
Ironically, I am planning on making homemade ice cream tonight and had to make sure I had the sugar...which I do. For the few times a year I need a sweetner, sugar doesn't bother me.
Now aspartame is a different story. Wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole...well, maybe just to push it out of my house.
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If you are concerned about safety you could choose a sweetener that has been studied more closely such as aspartame
Are you comparing Stevia to Aspartame? I'm unaware of the Aspartame plant... From what I have read, stevia is better when used in liquid form.
She was asking for something safe, not plant based. There are plenty of plants that are not safe to eat0 -
If you are concerned about safety you could choose a sweetener that has been studied more closely such as aspartame
Are you comparing Stevia to Aspartame? I'm unaware of the Aspartame plant... From what I have read, stevia is better when used in liquid form.
She was asking for something safe, not plant based. There are plenty of plants that are not safe to eat
Actually, she was asking for the opposite of that. She asked if it was processed. She was preferring a natural plant based, and wanted to make sure it was natural and not processed. She also asked if it was considered clean. Aspartame is none of those things. Also, she wasn't asking for a sweetner substitute as she flat out said she already has her basic sweetners she uses. She only wanted other clean eaters opinion of stevia.
Something in my gut tells me you already knew all of that though and I didn't really need to explain it. :-/0 -
Green powdered stevia is just dried ground leaves. The white powder is processed and often has maltodextrin in it. They taste different as well, the green is a lil bitter .0
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I thought clean varied person to person? She did ask clean and safe.
I don't know why you are all attacking me when I'm trying to help0 -
I thought clean varied person to person? She did ask clean and safe.
.... I'm trying to help
Sir, if you really thought this, thank you for your input.
Now let's get back to the topic. Has anyone done research on stevia and do you use it? If so, in what form?0 -
I go back and forth on the stevia thing. Sometimes I use it when I really need something sweet but don't want the calories, ( mostly to sweeten iced coffee or greek yogurt) but I don't think of it as "clean" since it has been processed. I think of it as the lesser of the evils as far as no calorie sweeteners though.0
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If you are concerned about safety you could choose a sweetener that has been studied more closely such as aspartame
Are you comparing Stevia to Aspartame? I'm unaware of the Aspartame plant... From what I have read, stevia is better when used in liquid form.
She was asking for something safe, not plant based. There are plenty of plants that are not safe to eat
Aspartame is a neurotoxin. There are documented cases of Aspartame poisoning.
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/jan03/012203/02p-0317_emc-000199.txt0 -
Now, as to stevia, I use it. You can get the Truvia at the local market (not optimal, most processed, most additives) or you can get it at health food stores or online (in liquid form, or in powder with inulin and not maltodextrin).
Whole9/30 is emphatic that any artificial sweetener is NOT clean. But they also don't expect you to live 100% clean unless you are doing the 30 day program.
Personally, I use it in my single daily iced coffee and in my occasional "dessert smoothies," that I have at night to hit calorie goals for the day. Since I use no other form of sugar, this is acceptable to me.
Agave, for the record, even if it IS organic, is processed the same way HFCS is.0 -
Agave, for the record, even if it IS organic, is processed the same way HFCS is.
Can you tell me more about that, if you don't mind. I'm interested.
I do have one bottle of agave (apparently haven't used it in years cause I just pulled it out to write this post and it says 'sell by 4/1/11'...lol....so now I have no agave). In any case, I purchased it from Le Pain de Quotidien. And I do trust their store/restaurant in general. On the bottle it says 'organic agave syrup' under ingredients. On the front it says 'pure, unprocessed, vegan sweetner, premium raw agave...'
I have heard mixed things on agave, but thought it was dependent on where it came from. Is this not the case?
Thank you!0 -
Agave, for the record, even if it IS organic, is processed the same way HFCS is.
Can you tell me more about that, if you don't mind. I'm interested.
I do have one bottle of agave (apparently haven't used it in years cause I just pulled it out to write this post and it says 'sell by 4/1/11'...lol....so now I have no agave). In any case, I purchased it from Le Pain de Quotidien. And I do trust their store/restaurant in general. On the bottle it says 'organic agave syrup' under ingredients. On the front it says 'pure, unprocessed, vegan sweetner, premium raw agave...'
I have heard mixed things on agave, but thought it was dependent on where it came from. Is this not the case?
Thank you!
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-agave?page=10 -
Agave, for the record, even if it IS organic, is processed the same way HFCS is.
Can you tell me more about that, if you don't mind. I'm interested.
I do have one bottle of agave (apparently haven't used it in years cause I just pulled it out to write this post and it says 'sell by 4/1/11'...lol....so now I have no agave). In any case, I purchased it from Le Pain de Quotidien. And I do trust their store/restaurant in general. On the bottle it says 'organic agave syrup' under ingredients. On the front it says 'pure, unprocessed, vegan sweetner, premium raw agave...'
I have heard mixed things on agave, but thought it was dependent on where it came from. Is this not the case?
Thank you!
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-agave?page=1
Thank you. I will read that.0 -
I use stevia that is grown organically. Suede Hills Farms. I use it in recipes.0
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Stevia, in it's natural plant form is a wonderful sweetener! But there are patented processes out there that turn this natural goodness into just another over processed sweetner!
Here is a great explanation from the Food Babe ( whom I know). Enjoy!
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/04/25/stevia-food-babe-investigates/0 -
I have a Stevia plant. I cut the leaves, add them to salads, or let them dry and use them as sweetener. You can't get any cleaner than that!0
