Sweeteners Vs Sugar

myofibril

If you are choosing an artificial sweetner such as Splenda over normal sugar because of calorie content then you may want to consider the following:

100g of Splenda amounts to 331 calories or thereabouts
100g of granulated sugar amounts to 387 calories of thereabouts

Not a huge amount of difference right? If you prefer the taste of normal sugar then have that as calorifically there's only a cigarette paper's worth of difference.

"Zero" calorie sweeteners manipulate the food labelling regulations by using low serving sizes (less than 5g if I recall correctly) to market themselves as having no calories when in fact that is not true.

jemmur

Yeh no sugar in tea is gross, I just found myself not drinking it at all, and I enjoy a cuppa in the morning!!!!!!!!!

maybe a silly question but have you tried nice, loose teas (or the fancy bagged versions of them)? i totally understand how folk can find some supermarket tea undrinkable without milk and/or sugar - the flavour can have all the depth and subtlety of a brick through a window!

writtenINthestars

Unless it's unavailable (or I'm using a flavored creamer) I choose natural sugar over sweetener any day. I have tried Truvia and Stevia but there is a certain after taste that I just don't care for. So generally speaking, I'm better of with a tsp of sugar than a few tsp's of anything else.

Sallerina84

I think there's just some things that haven't crossed the pond....like syrup and pancakes on the same plate as bacon and eggs??!!?? MADNESS! Can't mix sweet with savoury, it's just wrong! haha.

LOL, Clearly you've never experienced the euphoria that is bacon or sausage dipped in maple syrup. (I'm with you on the syrup / eggs, though... blech.)

haha no i havent! although I'm vegetarian so probably never will...........would veggie sausages work?! haha.

it just seems a very odd concept to us Brits........maple syrup on meat?!

Suppose I can't knock it 'til I've tried it!!!

phinners

Sorry to disappoint but local honey does nowt for hayfever. I and several other consultant doctors worked on this several years and the claim is a myth but can act as a placebo which is why it is propagated around so much.

phinners

I think there's just some things that haven't crossed the pond....like syrup and pancakes on the same plate as bacon and eggs??!!?? MADNESS! Can't mix sweet with savoury, it's just wrong! haha.

LOL, Clearly you've never experienced the euphoria that is bacon or sausage dipped in maple syrup. (I'm with you on the syrup / eggs, though... blech.)

I was on holiday in Canada very recently and maple syrup with ANYTHING is pure sexiness! Indeed with bacon too! omg!

bettyboop573

Why not trying drinking it with no sugar? Ween yourself off of it slowly, just go down be a teaspoon every couple of days and get adjusted to the taste. I haven't used any sweetener in tea, hot or cold in years. I actually prefer it more now, and actually get more flavor from the tea. **That's coming from down South where we are known for our Sweet Tea**

Agreed! It's a matter of habit. Once you get used to it, you enjoy the flavor and need no more sugar.

Honey is more natural and yummy.
Try a few drops of lemon - not in the very hot tea, as that destroys the vitamin C.
Also, brown sugar is the unrefined version of sugar, afaik.

Brown sugar is really just white sugar with molasses added to it

summalovaable

I recently posted a similar comment about aspartame. I wrote an entire esssay on the chemical structure of aspartame. Within this research essay I included a short extended summary as to why the us government has not made aspartame illegal. It's highly reactive and its benzene ring is a fairly baffling structure. It's alternating bonds have characteristics unlike many normal chemicals. What do you get when you have a chemical that is highly reactive but nearly impossible to break down? Oh right, the impending threat of cancer, diabetes and the potential for methanol poisoning. So if its obviously dangerous long term why is nothing being done? Because everyone has an obsession with being skinny. So if it doesn't make me fat now....who cares if it kills me later right? Completely your choice..I'm telling you scientific fact you get to decide if you agree I suppose

Noctuary

I recently posted a similar comment about aspartame. I wrote an entire esssay on the chemical structure of aspartame. Within this research essay I included a short extended summary as to why the us government has not made aspartame illegal. It's highly reactive and its benzene ring is a fairly baffling structure. It's alternating bonds have characteristics unlike many normal chemicals. What do you get when you have a chemical that is highly reactive but nearly impossible to break down? Oh right, the impending threat of cancer, diabetes and the potential for methanol poisoning. So if its obviously dangerous long term why is nothing being done? Because everyone has an obsession with being skinny. So if it doesn't make me fat now....who cares if it kills me later right? Completely your choice..I'm telling you scientific fact you get to decide if you agree I suppose

Maybe because if I keep on eating my sugar I'll die way before Aspartame will get to me. I had a heart attack at age 37 due to Diabetes complications. I'd be blessed if I could hang on longer enough for 'later'

lilmissy2

Artificial sweeteners available in the UK have been shown to be generally safe when consumed in a 'normal amount' (ie it has not been tested as though you were have 2x 2 litre bottles of diet coke per day). Stevia is banned because it has been shown to be dangerous - not just in the 80s, also in recent studies

The jury is still out on sweeteners and cravings. The research that has been done isn't very high quality but it is interesting none the less and really just leads to more questions because it isn't an area that has been properly researched.

Personally, I find that my sweet cup of tea helps keep my cravings for sweet things in general at bay.

verysmallrocks

I think there's just some things that haven't crossed the pond....like syrup and pancakes on the same plate as bacon and eggs??!!?? MADNESS! Can't mix sweet with savoury, it's just wrong! haha.

LOL, Clearly you've never experienced the euphoria that is bacon or sausage dipped in maple syrup. (I'm with you on the syrup / eggs, though... blech.)

haha no i havent! although I'm vegetarian so probably never will...........would veggie sausages work?! haha.

it just seems a very odd concept to us Brits........maple syrup on meat?!

Suppose I can't knock it 'til I've tried it!!!

Yes, you can... lol.

My mom actually got some pretty crazy kidney problems from eating a lot of artificial sweeteners and ended up having surgery. I have since been paranoid about not overdoing it on the artificial sweeteners although I do enjoy a diet soda here and there... in my coffee I just do a little hazelnut creamer (cardinal sin, I know) and call it even. In the grand scheme of the day, it's really not that many calories.

I'd say go with the sugar. A little sugar never hurt anyone.

Out of curiosity, what does England know about Stevia that we don't? I haven't tried it but I'm interested in the debate.

Sallerina84

Out of curiosity, what does England know about Stevia that we don't? I haven't tried it but I'm interested in the debate.

I'd never heard of Stevia before this thread! Although someone said it's illegal here?! :-S

catcrazy

Stevia is banned throughout most of Europe, I did hear somewhere that a licence is once again pending or something like that, think it was on a diabetic forum but really can't remember where.

If you are only having 2 teaspoons of sugar a day in your tea I'd carry on enjoying the real stuff. Its 42 calories...and i'm sure you can find other things to cut sugar in. And don't worry too much about going over your sugar levels if most are coming from fruits AND if youre not diabetic.

catcrazy

Out of curiosity, what does England know about Stevia that we don't? I haven't tried it but I'm interested in the debate.

not read it but this is the fsa report on stevia

http://archive.food.gov.uk/pdf_files/stevia.pdf

fteale

I don't think half a spoon of sugar in your tea is the worst thing in the world, but if you really want to cut down, try a natural sugar replacement like agave nectar, which you only need a drop of, and is low GI.

fteale

A quick google search shows up that Stevia is banned in the EU because it has an adverse affect on male fertility.

peacehawk

My partner had siezures from aspartame, so we don't keep it in the house at all. Splenda is made from sugar, but the way they make it is by taking out one type of molecule and replacing it withb a chlorine molecule and my partner is allergic to chlorine. (I have also heard it may cause liver damage, but I haven't seen the studies so I can't verify that.) Stevia does come from a plant of the same name, and you can grow it yourself, but I don't like the aftertaste. Xyletol has zero calories and tastes just like sugar. It is what is used in most sugarless gum. Some studies show that it actuallb helps to promote healthy teeth. The prob lem with it is that, like malotol, it can cause diarehha. If you choose to use xyletol, you should start with miniscule amounts and increase it as your body gets used to it in order to prevent the runs. I like xyletol, but rarely use it anymore since one of my friends put it in her coffe while at my house, not realizing it wasn't sugar, and felt the effects of it in the loo. Agave nectar is currently my sweetner of choice. It is made from a cactus and has no after taste. It has a similar taste to honey, but is much milder and not so sweet. It is supposed to have a lower glycemic index value than sugar, but my doctor recently told me that newer studies show that our bodies treat it the same. My partner and I are both diabetic, and we use real sweeteners~ sugar, agave, juice, maple syrup (the real stuff), honey, etc. We try to avoid high fructose corn syrup because our human bodies have not evolved to be able to assimilate that intense concentration of fructose (fructose occurs naturally in fruit, but with fiber and other stuff to modulate its uptake into our systems). By using these sweeteners in moderation, bot of us have done fine with our blood sugars. Hers has gone down since switching to soda that uses natural cane sugar rather than HFCS. That may or may not contribute to the cause of her levels evening out. Sorry this was so long, hope it helps. PS my doctor says to absolutely stay away from artificial sweeteners because the long tern effects are not known and recent research points to it actuallly contributing to weight gain and elevated blood sugars.

CarliBez

And honey goes on my toast not in my tea!!

Have you tried it in your yogurt? Yummy!

Soooo goood. And have you actually tried it in tea? It's the only way I can drink it black. Honey tastes sweeter than sugar so you have more sweetness for less calories. I think two cups of tea a day with half a teaspoon of sugar is fine, by the way. If it's too gross without sugar, don't drink it without sugar, especially such a small amount. And I've only heard bad things about sweeteners, so I figure rather don't go there.

Granola/Meusli cereals are sweet, just look for the healthy brands (no added sugar, etc).

rc630

While that calorie content may be correct, Splenda is MUCH lighter than sugar. If you've ever baked with it, you'll notice how much lighter a cup of the stuff is than regular sugar. Using X grams of sugar is much easier than using that amount of Splenda; you'll end up with something sickly sweet if you substitute it gram for gram.

verysmallrocks

My partner had siezures from aspartame, so we don't keep it in the house at all. Splenda is made from sugar, but the way they make it is by taking out one type of molecule and replacing it withb a chlorine molecule and my partner is allergic to chlorine. (I have also heard it may cause liver damage, but I haven't seen the studies so I can't verify that.) Stevia does come from a plant of the same name, and you can grow it yourself, but I don't like the aftertaste. Xyletol has zero calories and tastes just like sugar. It is what is used in most sugarless gum. Some studies show that it actuallb helps to promote healthy teeth. The prob lem with it is that, like malotol, it can cause diarehha. If you choose to use xyletol, you should start with miniscule amounts and increase it as your body gets used to it in order to prevent the runs. I like xyletol, but rarely use it anymore since one of my friends put it in her coffe while at my house, not realizing it wasn't sugar, and felt the effects of it in the loo. Agave nectar is currently my sweetner of choice. It is made from a cactus and has no after taste. It has a similar taste to honey, but is much milder and not so sweet. It is supposed to have a lower glycemic index value than sugar, but my doctor recently told me that newer studies show that our bodies treat it the same. My partner and I are both diabetic, and we use real sweeteners~ sugar, agave, juice, maple syrup (the real stuff), honey, etc. We try to avoid high fructose corn syrup because our human bodies have not evolved to be able to assimilate that intense concentration of fructose (fructose occurs naturally in fruit, but with fiber and other stuff to modulate its uptake into our systems). By using these sweeteners in moderation, bot of us have done fine with our blood sugars. Hers has gone down since switching to soda that uses natural cane sugar rather than HFCS. That may or may not contribute to the cause of her levels evening out. Sorry this was so long, hope it helps. PS my doctor says to absolutely stay away from artificial sweeteners because the long tern effects are not known and recent research points to it actuallly contributing to weight gain and elevated blood sugars.

If anyone does choose to use xylitol, be super careful if you have pets -- even one piece of gum can be toxic. I work at a vet and we have had a few sad, sad cases of xylitol poisoning... mostly fatal. :brokenheart: A lot of people don't know, so just FYI!

loriefolk

Stevia is definitely what you would want