Granulated sugar alternative for hot tea?

diet8486
diet8486 Posts: 12 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I love sweet tea. However, I have gained all my weight because granulated white sugar is the only thing I can find that makes my tea sweet enough. Honey doesn't even cut it, and I don't want to replace sugar with artificial sweeteners.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
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Replies

  • skyekeeper
    skyekeeper Posts: 286 Member
    You might try organic blue agave nectar. I use it in my coffee and like it. I buy the C&H brand at Wal-Mart.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    You might try organic blue agave nectar. I use it in my coffee and like it. I buy the C&H brand at Wal-Mart.
    that's just another source of fructose, isn't it ? Out of the frying pan and into the fire......
  • SMarie10
    SMarie10 Posts: 956 Member
    Have you tried stevia?
  • adamalle
    adamalle Posts: 88 Member
    I don't want to replace sugar with artificial sweeteners.

    Why?
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    Have you tried stevia?

    My stomach does not agree with stevia at all. I get so much abdominal pain. I work better with splenda
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    A sugar packet has like...10 calories. Sorry to tell you, but that is unlikely why you gained all of your weight.
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    Calorie surplus=weight gain
    That must be some extremely sweet tea or you need to cut down on the calories somewhere else.
  • allycolli
    allycolli Posts: 28 Member
    I use stevia drops.
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
    I used to love tea with 2 teaspoons of sugar, I just tried drinking it without the sugar and now I love it. Can't touch a cup of tea with sugar or sweetner in it, tastes soooo much better, you appreciate the flavour of tea way more.

    You'll find the more sugar you cut out the less you will eat or add to things. I barely eat any now and get bad headaches when I eat anything that does have masses of sugar in!
  • AndiGirl70
    AndiGirl70 Posts: 542 Member
    I'd just keep the teaspoon of sugar. Enjoy it and look to reduce your food calories instead. I love my coffee and I use 1T light cream in it. Its 29 calories I thoroughly enjoy each morning and refuse to give up. For a sugar alternative I like stevia myself.
  • diet8486
    diet8486 Posts: 12 Member
    Yes, it is extreme. One cup of my tea and sugar takes away all of my sugar allowance.
    I have a java cup for my tea and put about 3-5 tablespoons of sugar in it, to get it very sweet.
    I drink tea all day long and have been doing this for about a year. I didn't realize how bad it was for me until I joined this site.
  • almostperfect1on
    almostperfect1on Posts: 24
    I use Stevia, it's a natural alternative to splenda, and it has 0 calories :)
  • diet8486
    diet8486 Posts: 12 Member
    Calorie surplus=weight gain
    That must be some extremely sweet tea or you need to cut down on the calories somewhere else.
    Yes, it is extreme. One cup of my tea and sugar takes away all of my sugar allowance.
    I have a java cup for my tea and put about 3-5 tablespoons of sugar in it, to get it very sweet.
    I drink tea all day long and have been doing this for about a year. I didn't realize how bad it was for me until I joined this site.
    [/quote]
  • diet8486
    diet8486 Posts: 12 Member
    A sugar packet has like...10 calories. Sorry to tell you, but that is unlikely why you gained all of your weight.

    In one cup of tea I put in about 3-5 tabelspoons of sugar, and have been doing this for about a year.
    It might be a mix between the weight I gained from my pregnancy and my sugar intake.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    A sugar packet has like...10 calories. Sorry to tell you, but that is unlikely why you gained all of your weight.

    In one cup of tea I put in about 3-5 tabelspoons of sugar, and have been doing this for about a year.
    It might be a mix between the weight I gained from my pregnancy and my sugar intake.

    So 30-50 calories multiplied by the number of glasses you drink.
  • aliciap412
    aliciap412 Posts: 170 Member
    you can buy organic sugar that is unpolluted and not bleached. it usually has the same amount of calories though so if you intend to swap it for the purpose of weight loss rather than health, it probably would not help you much

    you can try adding pure vanilla or cinnamon and/or squeeze some lemon in there, but again, you wouldn't be shaving many calories off this way.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    you can buy organic sugar that is unpolluted and not bleached. it usually has the same amount of calories though so if you intend to swap it for the purpose of weight loss rather than health, it probably would not help you much

    you can try adding pure vanilla or cinnamon and/or squeeze some lemon in there, but again, you wouldn't be shaving many calories off this way.

    Organic sugar can also contain impurities that white sugar does not. The "bleaching" process isn't actually bleaching at all, by the way. It is just the removal of the molasses from the sugar crystal.
  • aliciap412
    aliciap412 Posts: 170 Member
    you can buy organic sugar that is unpolluted and not bleached. it usually has the same amount of calories though so if you intend to swap it for the purpose of weight loss rather than health, it probably would not help you much

    you can try adding pure vanilla or cinnamon and/or squeeze some lemon in there, but again, you wouldn't be shaving many calories off this way.

    Organic sugar can also contain impurities that white sugar does not. The "bleaching" process isn't actually bleaching at all, by the way. It is just the removal of the molasses from the sugar crystal.

    you're right, its technically decolorized by filtration, but I put it in laymens terms. more processing means more pollution. sure, there is still some pollution in organic sugar, but there is *usually* much less depending on the quality of the particular plant and machinery used for its cultivation
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    you can buy organic sugar that is unpolluted and not bleached. it usually has the same amount of calories though so if you intend to swap it for the purpose of weight loss rather than health, it probably would not help you much

    you can try adding pure vanilla or cinnamon and/or squeeze some lemon in there, but again, you wouldn't be shaving many calories off this way.

    Organic sugar can also contain impurities that white sugar does not. The "bleaching" process isn't actually bleaching at all, by the way. It is just the removal of the molasses from the sugar crystal.

    you're right, its technically decolorized by filtration, but I put it in laymens terms. more processing means more pollution. sure, there is still some pollution in organic sugar, but there is *usually* much less depending on the quality of the particular plant and machinery used for its cultivation

    Define polution? The refining process is there to take OUT impurities, not put them in. You can actually check the level of purity in sugar by finding it's ICUMSA number.
  • aliciap412
    aliciap412 Posts: 170 Member
    the production of raw sugar uses less chemicals. raw sugar is pressed, and the juice is mixed with lime to remove impurities. less chemicals are used on it and added to it. not to mention the pesticide usage during the growth of sugar cane and sugar beets, which is strictly controlled for organic sugar.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    White sugar is pure sucrose. There is nothing added to it.
  • aliciap412
    aliciap412 Posts: 170 Member
    You can actually check the level of purity in REFINED sugar by finding it's ICUMSA number.

    fixed that for you
  • aliciap412
    aliciap412 Posts: 170 Member
    White sugar is pure sucrose. There is nothing added to it.

    LOL that is far from true. let me explain

    Refined sugar (white sugar) will undergo the refining process. It is bleached with sulphuric acid then spun through a centrifuge to remove the outer coating. Then it has phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide added to it which is absorbed and traps the impurities. Then it is put through a carbon filter to remove impurities, then crystallised by a vacuum and dried.

    I spent a good bit of time studying this and discussed it in depth with a nutritionist. Also, all of this info is just a google search away.
  • mojohowitz
    mojohowitz Posts: 900 Member
    How about no sweet tea at all? I don't understand why the south has this obsession with sweet tea and boiled peanuts and fireworks.
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
    45 calories per tablespoon of sugar x 3 to 5 tablespoons = 135 to 225 calories per drink and you have several per day...that is a problem. You could conceivably be drinking your BMR in sugar water every day.

    It's probably the sugar that you're craving, so don't be surprised if you find that a sweetener substitute doesn't do it for you. It might be better to just wean yourself off the sugar by gradually adding less to each drink and limiting the number you have per day.
  • Morn66
    Morn66 Posts: 96
    White sugar is pure sucrose. There is nothing added to it.

    LOL that is far from true. let me explain

    Refined sugar (white sugar) will undergo the refining process. It is bleached with sulphuric acid then spun through a centrifuge to remove the outer coating. Then it has phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide added to it which is absorbed and traps the impurities. Then it is put through a carbon filter to remove impurities, then crystallised by a vacuum and dried.

    I spent a good bit of time studying this and discussed it in depth with a nutritionist. Also, all of this info is just a google search away.

    Yep, all those things are added...and then removed. That's the "filter" part. All that's left is the sucrose. Which isn't bad for you unless you have blood sugar issues. Your body just breaks it down into glucose, like any other sugar you eat, whether it's the high fructose corn syrup kind or the sugar in a tomato. People see things like "sulfuric acid" and "calcium hydroxide" and freak out, but I promise you, all that evil stuff done to sugar is NOTHING compared to the seething cauldron of chemicals that is your stomach acid.

    That said...At the OP: Unfortunately, sugar is sugar unless you're willing to go the evil artificial route (which also isn't bad for you). You can put in granulated sugar. You can put in agave nectar. You can put in honey. You can put in molasses. Whatever. The calorie content is about the same. If you want your very sweet tea with less calories, you're going to have to go the artificial route or something like stevia. Won't taste the same, though. IMO, nothing replaces good ol' table sugar when I want that table sugar taste. I say make it like you always have. Just cut down on the number of cups you drink per day.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    White sugar is pure sucrose. There is nothing added to it.

    LOL that is far from true. let me explain

    Refined sugar (white sugar) will undergo the refining process. It is bleached with sulphuric acid then spun through a centrifuge to remove the outer coating. Then it has phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide added to it which is absorbed and traps the impurities. Then it is put through a carbon filter to remove impurities, then crystallised by a vacuum and dried.

    I spent a good bit of time studying this and discussed it in depth with a nutritionist. Also, all of this info is just a google search away.

    I suggest that you Google and "study" harder then. Because those things are added and then removed, leaving only pure sucrose. You know...the filtering process you just described.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    45 calories per tablespoon of sugar x 3 to 5 tablespoons = 135 to 225 calories per drink and you have several per day...that is a problem. You could conceivably be drinking your BMR in sugar water every day.

    It's probably the sugar that you're craving, so don't be surprised if you find that a sweetener substitute doesn't do it for you. It might be better to just wean yourself off the sugar by gradually adding less to each drink and limiting the number you have per day.

    You're right, I was thinking in terms of a packet of sugar.
  • aliciap412
    aliciap412 Posts: 170 Member
    White sugar is pure sucrose. There is nothing added to it.

    LOL that is far from true. let me explain

    Refined sugar (white sugar) will undergo the refining process. It is bleached with sulphuric acid then spun through a centrifuge to remove the outer coating. Then it has phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide added to it which is absorbed and traps the impurities. Then it is put through a carbon filter to remove impurities, then crystallised by a vacuum and dried.

    I spent a good bit of time studying this and discussed it in depth with a nutritionist. Also, all of this info is just a google search away.

    I suggest that you Google and "study" harder then. Because those things are added and then removed, leaving only pure sucrose. You know...the filtering process you just described.

    my point was that more processing = more potential for pollution and chemicals, not that those chemicals remain after the process is complete although that has happened and is not always caught or recalled.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    White sugar is pure sucrose. There is nothing added to it.

    LOL that is far from true. let me explain

    Refined sugar (white sugar) will undergo the refining process. It is bleached with sulphuric acid then spun through a centrifuge to remove the outer coating. Then it has phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide added to it which is absorbed and traps the impurities. Then it is put through a carbon filter to remove impurities, then crystallised by a vacuum and dried.

    I spent a good bit of time studying this and discussed it in depth with a nutritionist. Also, all of this info is just a google search away.

    I suggest that you Google and "study" harder then. Because those things are added and then removed, leaving only pure sucrose. You know...the filtering process you just described.

    my point was that more processing = more potential for pollution and chemicals, not that those chemicals remain after the process is complete although that has happened and is not always caught or recalled.

    And not processing in this case means more potential for other types of pollutants. :huh:

    And just for fun, sugar from sugar beets isn't even refined, yet white.

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