Sugar?Splenda?Stevia?

ScatteredThoughts

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210183902.htm

People ASSUME, incorrectly, that the weight gain is due to people grabbing a candy bar since their soda was only 1 calorie. Not true. Read the entire article.

I read it. Old study done with rats; and they only used one particular artificial sweetener - saccharine. Recent studies done with humans do not show those same results for sucralose and aspartame.

rm830

"how eating less than 6 times a day will cause your metabolism to start punching you in the kidneys".

:laugh: :laugh:

Mvanx009

Anything that starts with "artificial" doesn't sound appealing to me. I stick with agave nectar or raw sugar. I barely use any of them anyhow, but I worry about the impact of something that's not natural going into my body.

TheDreadedJynx

Honestly, if you've ever smelled formaldehyde, just the thought of that possibility would make you sick to your stomach. That smell is burned into my brain. Eck.

Kinda like my aunt telling me all hot dogs were cased in intestines. It was years till I ate one again, and then only skinless and charred on the grill.

ScatteredThoughts

Go to most European countries, and you won't be able to find most artificial sweeteners. Why? Because they've done studies that show most artificial sweeteners pickle your stomach with formaldehyde, which IS a poison.

Umm. Wrong. Your insides won't get pickled from artificial sweeteners. Small amounts of methanol and formaldehyde are produced in the process of digesting many things, including fruits.

hamncheese67

But seriously sweeteners of any kind should be such a small part of your daily diet anyway that it matters very little if its pure sugar, sucralose, or crystal meth.

Ok, maybe that last one would matter a bit. Go with what you like and keep the amounts sane.

Never had or will try crystal meth but didn't realize it was sweet.

redraidergirl2009

splenda and sweetnlow are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar and trick your brain which leaves some people to feel hungier. It has that affect on me. It's really better to use sugar or stevia. I use stevia in smoothies if I think they need sweetening. Not sure how it'd work in baking, it's too expensive for me to use it that way right now but I guess honestly I don't bake anything.

DataBased

Look into IDEAL NO CALORIE SWEETENER. It is made from Xylitol. It has absolutely no aftertaste. It is cheaper than Truvia and Sweet & Low. It measures the same as sugar. It is NOT and artificial sweetener.

Am I reading correctly that this product contains sucralose? If so, isn't that Splenda?

I'm just learning,so please don't flame me.

hamncheese67

I'll use sugar minimally, because of the empty calories, but I'm not going to abstain from using it. Some things just taste better with sugar.

I have a bottle of stevia extract that I use often to sweeten tea or seltzer water with lemon or lime juice. Bought it at Whole Foods for $20 and has lasted me 10 months and counting. Just 4-5 drops for a cup of tea, says that there is over 1800 servings in a bottle. Just for the convenience, I like it but not exactly sweet like sugar. Also use a few drops when I want sweeten up spaghetti sauce or a curry.

I've got honey, agave nectar, and maple syrup around the house for cooking and things like pancakes. Those I use as a flavor preference. When I drink "diet" drinks I look for those with Stevia or Sucralose because they taste better than those sweetened by aspartame or saccharine. I haven't had Xylitol or the other sugar alcohols so can't comment on those.

firesoforion

I hate the taste of splenda and I always feel like it's a "too good to be true" thing, in that it sounds great to have a sweetener with no calories, but it's still going in your body, you just don't know what all it does. So I just use sugar (or maple syrup), but less of it. I'm more comfortable with that and it tastes better anyway.

Zumbaqueenbev

I use the organic sugar and i really like it didn't like stevia at all was using splenda but like i see most on here saying that it's poison but really love the organic but itz ur choice honey whatever u use and use it sensibly i think it is ok good luck to ya

Nos150

who do you trust more?

A chemist

or

a plant doing its natural thing?

There area a lot of plants I don't trust. Like poison ivy :P

but who would you rather get poison ivy from? the plant or the chemist?

snookeroo

Look into IDEAL NO CALORIE SWEETENER. It is made from Xylitol. It has absolutely no aftertaste. It is cheaper than Truvia and Sweet & Low. It measures the same as sugar. It is NOT and artificial sweetener.

Am I reading correctly that this product contains sucralose? If so, isn't that Splenda?

I'm just learning,so please don't flame me.

From Ideals FAQ page:
Ideal® contains a very small amount of the well-known sweetener sucralose, which is not natural. However, Ideal® is more than 99% natural by volume. Ideal's® main ingredient, xylitol, has the same sweetness as sugar. Sucralose is added to boost the sweetness of Ideal®. Since it's a concentrated sweetener, a tiny amount provides significant sweetness.

I don't know the percentage of Sucralose is in Splenda.

DataBased

From Ideals FAQ page:
Ideal® contains a very small amount of the well-known sweetener sucralose, which is not natural. However, Ideal® is more than 99% natural by volume. Ideal's® main ingredient, xylitol, has the same sweetness as sugar. Sucralose is added to boost the sweetness of Ideal®. Since it's a concentrated sweetener, a tiny amount provides significant sweetness.

I don't know the percentage of Sucralose is in Splenda.

Thanks! That's extremely helpful!

tllstaco

I like Xylitol, and it sounds like a chemical but it is natural and has 40% fewer calories than sugar yet tastes exactly like sugar, no weird aftertaste like Stevia, Slenda, etc. I use it in coffee and to bake with, but I use it in small amounts.

No disrespect, but it sounds like a chemical because it is a chemical. Just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it is not a chemical. If it was not for hundreds or thousands of minute chemical reactions our bodies would not function. The human body is the most complex chemical reactor ever made.

Dahavol

But seriously sweeteners of any kind should be such a small part of your daily diet anyway that it matters very little if its pure sugar, sucralose, or crystal meth.

Ok, maybe that last one would matter a bit. Go with what you like and keep the amounts sane.

Never had or will try crystal meth but didn't realize it was sweet.

Not really sure myself but one some of the street names are sugar and rock candy. I was using to make the absurd point. However, based on some of the responses to this post I think I might get actual argument as to which of the three is worse for you....

islandjumper

Truvia. Tastes better than stevia because it's stevia made from the better part of the plant, not the stalks and seeds!

Actually truvia is stevia with a little something extra added so the coca-cola corporation can patent it

NeonNikki

I occasionally use xylitol, too but PET OWNERS BEWARE --- even a small amount is lethal to dogs! For that reason, I rotate between others --- liquid Stevia (Now brand has a newer formula that isn't as bitter as others), raw sugar, honey. Agave acts like pure HFCS in your body --- not good!

I heard agave was awful for you as well. ...I wish I could give up all sugars...trying...but not quite there (love honey:)

Fit_Canuck

stevia is not available in Canada.

Is splendia equivalant?

Stevia is more definitely available in Canada, I buy mine as Superstore

sazzet

Honey