Sugar vs. Sweeteners

Amberh82
Amberh82 Posts: 468 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Is it better to just suck it up and spend the calories on a real sugar like sugar or honey versus artificial sweeteners (with 0 calories) such as splenda or truvia? why?

Replies

  • cheesy_blasters
    cheesy_blasters Posts: 283 Member
    In my opinion, it depends on how you want to eat and what your focus is (losing weight or improving your diet or both) and if you have any other health issues going on.

    I personally want to try to stick to whole foods (and cut out processed stuff) as much as possible so if I do treat myself to something with added sugar, I'll have go with fair trade sugar and try to get out for a long walk or something to help balance it. Some people are just focused on calories in/calories out so in their case, the 0 calorie sweetener might be preferred.

    Have you tried stevia? It might be a good middle ground between the two.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    Personal choice. I stick to real sugar. It helps me self-limit my treats and I've certainly noticed a decrease in cravings for sweet things. Artificial sweeteners are a headache trigger for me, so my choice was easy!
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    In my opinion, if a person eats so much added sugar in a day that they need to find zero calorie alternatives, then that person is just ingesting WAY too much sugar and should take a good hard look at their overall diet. A teaspoon of real sugar has only 15 calories.
  • DianneOfTheMoon
    DianneOfTheMoon Posts: 209 Member
    Can you get Stevia at local grocery stores or do you have to order it online? I live in a rural area.
  • andymf85
    andymf85 Posts: 18 Member
    I prefer sugar, because it forces me to confront my dietary habits. However, if I'm at a barbecue or get-together, I'll stick to the Coke Zero. That's probably my most regular "cheat"... and I don't even get to enjoy calories out of it!

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