stevia?

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lbpw
lbpw Posts: 77
in Food and Nutrition
Hello everybody, I have a quick question. I've recently got into drinking tea about twice a day. It's always decaf but to make it sweet I add 1 stevia in the raw packet to it. I've heard it's better than splenda, and I really don't want to use regular sugar. So is using this twice a day okay for you? I'm really not sure about it nutrition wise.

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  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    According to most of the articles I've read about Stevia, there is "insufficient evidence" to conclude that it's safe.
    IMO, there's "insufficient evidence" to conclude that Splenda is safe as well.
    On the other hand, there is also "insufficient evidence" to conclude that either is harmful.

    So, I guess what I'm saying is pick your poison & enjoy your tea. :wink:

    Edit: I use Stevia, Splenda, AND sugar.
  • PureAndHealthy
    PureAndHealthy Posts: 539
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    Stevia is a natural herb which may have several health benefits, so yep! Good choice!

    Splenda is basically cholorinated sugar (molecularly-altered man-made substance) whereas God made Stevia. The ONLY POSSIBLE adverse effect that I've come across in my studies is one test several years ago that suggests stevia may inhibit conception.
  • jhodge
    jhodge Posts: 5
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    I think stevia is a much better alternative because it is more natural than splenda. Xylitol is also a good alternative
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    Stevia is a natural herb which may have several health benefits, so yep! Good choice!

    To be clear, just because something is "natural" certainly does NOT mean it's automatically safe.
  • PureAndHealthy
    PureAndHealthy Posts: 539
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    Stevia is a natural herb which may have several health benefits, so yep! Good choice!

    To be clear, just because something is "natural" certainly does NOT mean it's automatically safe.

    True. But numerous studies have proven the benefits of eating whole foods (think: fruits and vegetables which are recommended by every health group and government organization in the world), so I'd rather eat foods God put here than the chemical combinations people have come up with. :smile:
  • nicolee516
    nicolee516 Posts: 1,862 Member
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    Stevia is a natural herb which may have several health benefits, so yep! Good choice!

    To be clear, just because something is "natural" certainly does NOT mean it's automatically safe.


    No..you're right...however, I grow Stevia in my herb garden and make my own sweetener, splenda is made with chemicals. I bodies don't recognize man-made chemicals, so I would say that "Natural" is better in this case.
  • biffy107
    biffy107 Posts: 38
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    I dont know about stevia the truth seams to come out years later. I do know JILLIAN says go natural there are only 15 calories in 1 tsp. But then she came out with her line of pills?????? I dont know.
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    Splenda is basically cholorinated sugar (molecularly-altered man-made substance) whereas God made Stevia. The ONLY POSSIBLE adverse effect that I've come across in my studies is one test several years ago that suggests stevia may inhibit conception.

    Chemicals are chemicals whether they're "God/nature made" or "man made." EVERYTHING in this world IS MADE OF CHEMICALS! :laugh:
    Cocaine is "natural" so do you advocate snorting a line to put some pep in your step?


    What I'm saying here is think logically. It's could be very harmful to assume something is healthy and safe simply based on the fact that is "natural." The Stevia you buy in those little packets in the grocery store has been processed to some extent, by the way.
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    No..you're right...however, I grow Stevia in my herb garden and make my own sweetener, splenda is made with chemicals. I bodies don't recognize man-made chemicals, so I would say that "Natural" is better in this case.

    I won't go into specifics about what I grow in MY "herb" garden (:tongue: I'm totally just kidding -- but hey, it's natural!).
  • Sherryishealthyandstrong
    Sherryishealthyandstrong Posts: 35 Member
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    Here's some scary info about Splenda....

    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/08/23/splenda-part-one.aspx

    I only use Stevia and raw honey. I think all artificial sweetners are scary!
  • oAngieMaeo
    oAngieMaeo Posts: 67
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    Stevia is waaay better.. I agree! Stick with it. I actually dont like the taste of the powdered stevia but I use the truvia and its made from the stevia plant. Way better then splenda.. Plus among other reasons why I dont use splenda, it tastes funny :)
  • ccounts
    ccounts Posts: 57
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    Stevia is a natural herb which may have several health benefits, so yep! Good choice!

    To be clear, just because something is "natural" certainly does NOT mean it's automatically safe.


    No..you're right...however, I grow Stevia in my herb garden and make my own sweetener, splenda is made with chemicals. I bodies don't recognize man-made chemicals, so I would say that "Natural" is better in this case.

    I've grown stevia and just powdered the dry leaves into a jar. Is that how you do it? It's much less powerful as a sweetener than the stevia in the packets, which is a concentrate that I have no idea how they make. But the powder from the dried leaves is gently sweet.
  • ltlhmom
    ltlhmom Posts: 1,202 Member
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    I tried Stevia in the green packet tonight and I didn't like it. If left a film in my mouth and I didn't like the taste! I didn't even finish my coffee I wasted a cup of Timothy's German Choc. Cake! :sad: Back to the drawing board I guess!

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