No-Calorie Sweetener vs. Sugar/Honey?

mkalinski333
mkalinski333 Posts: 17
in Food and Nutrition
I know there is a lot of debate surrounding the health risks of "fake sugars" but regular sugar isn't good for the body either. Is it better to sweeten tea/coffee with a No-Calorie sweetener such as Splenda or Truvia or to just use real sugar (Sugar in the Raw) and/or honey as sweeteners? Is it better to cut calories or to eat things that are more natural? What does everyone else do?

Replies

  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I think you should eat what you enjoy as long as you count the calories.

    1 tsp of sugar is only 16 cals - and I'd much rather log the 16 cals than eat/drink something that tastes nasty to me.
    So, my choice is real sugar (or honey), because of the taste and because I'd rather have something closer to it's natural state where possible.
  • Hudderstub
    Hudderstub Posts: 11 Member
    Have you thought about agave syrup as an alternative?
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    1 tsp of sugar is only 16 cals - and I'd much rather log the 16 cals than eat/drink something that tastes nasty to me.

    Agreed. In my opinion, if you consume such a quantity of added sugar that you are worried about the calories, then the problem isn't the sugar, it's your diet.
  • dancingj2
    dancingj2 Posts: 4,572 Member
    I will either add no sugar or maybe put in one teaspoon of sugar or honey in my coffee or tea. I would rather use a small amount of a natural sweetener rather than an artificial sweetener.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
    I have to use sweetener, but recently have read a lot about it, and will be switching to Stevia.
  • Damiilla
    Damiilla Posts: 66
    Are you just using it in your tea/coffee or cooking-wise?

    I found with tea and coffee I could slowly wean myself off of added sugar.
  • kent4j
    kent4j Posts: 391 Member
    I think you should eat what you enjoy as long as you count the calories.

    1 tsp of sugar is only 16 cals - and I'd much rather log the 16 cals than eat/drink something that tastes nasty to me.
    So, my choice is real sugar (or honey), because of the taste and because I'd rather have something closer to it's natural state where possible.
    ^^ This!!!
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    I think you should re-evaluate your definition of what is healthy and what isn't and you should absolutely consider dosage when doing so.

    Example: Is it bad to drink 1 diet soda every day? No.

    Is it bad to drink 20 diet sodas per day? Probably.


    Another example: Is it bad to put a tsp of sugar in your coffee? No.

    Is it bad to eat 500g of sugar in 1 sitting? Probably.
  • mussmom
    mussmom Posts: 362 Member
    I have had this same struggle. I switched from Splenda to Stevia. Then I still didn't like that all the time, but love something in my coffee. I have been using almond milk and recently I tried a tiny bit of cinnamon with it. I have pretty much given up Stevia now. Something about the cinnamon just gives my coffee the right taste. Good luck!
  • WarriorReady
    WarriorReady Posts: 571 Member
    I use sugar in the raw or honey most of the time. I have started to use Stevia as well. To sweeten tea or if my plain yogurt is too much I use honey. Stevia or sugar for my coffee. I have not cooked with anything but sugar, but sometimes sub some of the sugar with natural applesauce... I used to use Splenda but hate the aftertaste it leaves, and for some odd reason, I always felt more thirsty after using it... :tongue:
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    I used to have about 4 - 6 packets of sugar in my coffee and a LOT of cream / milk. I've discovered that I can drink black coffee and have switched so I can use the extra 300 calories (seriously!) for food instead. I tried cutting back, I tried sweetener and found he taste to be horrible so I just dropped it all.

    When cooking I will not use anything but real sugar / honey. My partner has a conniption if I even buy anything that's 'low fat' - I made the mistake once. I think if he even sensed I was using anything BUT sugar/honey it wouldn't be a good thing LOL! So this being said, nothing comes in my house with anything but 'sugar' as a sweetener.

    Interestingly, Canada (where I am) does not use the same 'high-fructose corn syrup" to sweeten things as does the USA thus things here taste totally different. As an example.. a Coke from the USA is sickeningly sweet, here its just sweet ( I don't drink it, that was the observation of my boyfriend who travels a lot)
  • skyblu263
    skyblu263 Posts: 91 Member
    I'm a big Oxygen Magazine reader. And one of my favorite fitness women is Tosca Reno. They focus on women's health and have multiple articles and photos of women transforming their out of shape bodies to the fit bodies you see in the magazine....which is HUGE! The last thing I want to see is a picture of a celebrity on a fitness mag! All I care about is seeing real women losing weight and looking amazing! SO...that being said, check out Tosca article about sugar. Stay away! However, she does list great alternatives :happy:
    http://toscareno.blogspot.com/2012/01/sugar.html#.UBkkM0ReyGo

    "Agave nectar is a sugar substitute that is hotly debated right now due to its processed nature. I initially recommended it in many of my early books. Now, I am a little more cautious about its use due to its controversial nature. My concern is, that the way to get the Agave Nectar into a edible format requires so much refining that the result is a high level of highly refined fructose - similar to High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). I encourage you to do the research, share what you learn with me here on the blog, on Facebook or on Twitter and make the decision for yourself as to whether or not you will use it. I am choosing not to and will keep it out of all future recipes.
    5. Fake sugars (aspartame, acelsulfane, saccharin, sucralose, etc) work against you just as much as white sugar does. Keep it out of your mouth. There are tons of papers out there nowadays proving the sugar fakes do not help in your quest to lose weight or maintain a healthy body weight. Goodness knows what else these chemicals do to your body!"
  • mkalinski333
    mkalinski333 Posts: 17
    Thank you for all the responses!! I only use about 1 or 2 splendas in my coffee and at most have 2 coffees per day so maybe I could switch to sugar because it would only be able 50 calories and better for my health. In tea I usually only do a teaspoon of honey so I guess it's not that bad. I have been trying to eat less processed sugars in all aspects of what I'm eating so hopefully I can stick with it. Thanks again!! :)
  • sugarbone
    sugarbone Posts: 454 Member
    regular sugar is horrible for you and most sugar alcohols, in the amounts we consume (a tablespoon in your coffee, etc) are not. basing your whole diet around fake-sweet foods is a bad idea, but removing as much sugar as possible from your diet is going to make fat loss so much easier, and for some people who don't want to give up sweets, that means some sucralose or stevia in their coffee.

    remember, honey or sugar in the raw or agave or anything sold as "natural" and organic IS natural and organic... but still bad for you just like regular sugar.
  • CelestinoZ
    CelestinoZ Posts: 15
    I know there is a lot of debate surrounding the health risks of "fake sugars" but regular sugar isn't good for the body either. Is it better to sweeten tea/coffee with a No-Calorie sweetener such as Splenda or Truvia or to just use real sugar (Sugar in the Raw) and/or honey as sweeteners? Is it better to cut calories or to eat things that are more natural? What does everyone else do?

    Although sugar isn't good for the body, so aren't many other foods. They key is moderation; I would avoid sugar substitutes at all costs, because they might be deemed safe now, but we still dont know the long-term side effects of "new" sweeteners like Truvia, Stevia etc. Some of the side effects could be neurological, for example aspartame which is still used today has been know to cause seizures, blindness in one or both eyes, headaches, dizziness, memory loss, severe tremors, but we didn't know that several decades ago when it was created. You should even be cautious of natural substances like Stevia, just because something is natural doesn't mean it's good for you, Cocaine and Morphine are natural. but we know how dangerous those can be. Stevia has been shown to cause dizziness, bloating(not a terrible problem, might cause some of your clothes to not fit), and low blood pressure(can be a problem if you already have normal blood pressure). As for Splenda, it is nothing but chlorinated sugar, so I won't even bother to go into the side effects of that, because cholrine isn't something you should be ingesting anyway.
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    There is nothing wrong with sugar.
    If you get good coffee and learn how to brew it, then you should be able to enjoy it black.
    If not, artificial sweeteners are not going to kill you.

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