Stopped diet drinks,need a natural sweetener!

crazygunchick

Hi everyone.I recently stopped drinking any drinks with aspartame or splenda,which has been hard.I decided to go one step further and start drinking homemade iced green tea for the health benefits and found a really good decaf one with blackberry and pomengranite.My problem is how to sweeten? I can't drink it plain,and right now I am adding some sugar-not a huge amount but still,I don't like adding sugar when I am trying super hard to lose weight! I like stevia,but want one that does not contain additives.Any advice,also it needs to be affordable.Thanks

zillah73

agave nectar?

crazygunchick

I was just looking into the agave nectar,some say it is like high fructose corn syrup-does nayone here use agave nectar and are losing weight?

cjv73

Xylitol is plant based and is also very good for dental hygiene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol

FredDoyle

agave nectar?

From wiki:

Agave nectar consists primarily of fructose and glucose. One source gives 92% fructose and 8% glucose; another gives 56% fructose and 20% glucose. These differences probably reflect variation from one vendor of agave nectar to another.

...or, just use sugar?
Seriously, a few 15 cal teaspoons per day in your tea or coffee isn't going to kill you if you are afraid (irrationally) of artificial sweeteners.

slkehl

Why are you avoiding aspartame and splenda? They're perfectly safe.

crazygunchick

Aspartame and splenda make me sick.Migraines,tiredness,restless leg-all of those are now going away since I stopped the diet drinks.

FredDoyle

Aspartame and splenda make me sick.Migraines,tiredness,restless leg-all of those are now going away since I stopped the diet drinks.

What I do is drink ice water. I save my caloric drinks for beer, mead, wine, and booze when I have room.
Squeeze in a lemon or lime, watermelon, or whatever makes the water palatable. Soda water is good if you want bubbles. Mix it up with whatever you like. Stuff will taste too sweet soon when you stop drinking sweet drinks and you will be able to hydrate with unsweetened ones.

slkehl

Honestly, I'd just use sugar if you don't have to put in too much. It's way less than what they put in iced tea normally. Just remember to log those calories, and you shouldn't have to worry about weight gain.