Sugar?

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Hi all. Need some advice about sugar. We just usually buy the great value sugar from walmart, hubby uses it in coffee and I add it to some cereals and or my cream of rice or oatmeal. Even after lookin at the "organic" sugars they have the same calories and sugars. To help me lessen my sugar intake...is there anything else that yous use in your breakfast foods/coffees to help them taste better but is also better for ya?? thank in advance for your thoughts :happy:

Replies

  • TennVolsGal
    TennVolsGal Posts: 218 Member
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    Try stevia or splenda both are great
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
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    I use light brown sugar in my cereals and equal in my coffee.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
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    honey. Still sugary, but I believe better for you than granulated sugar.

    There's always the fake sweeteners too. Personally I don't like them. I even made zucchini bread once with 75% regular sugar and 25% fake sweetener to save some cals, and I could still taste it.

    Brown sugar too I think is a little better than white sugar (maybe? or maybe it's just better than corn syrup was it...) anyway, either way, i love it in my oatmeal.You can do cinnamon and nuts too maybe with some sugar free syrup. (I opt for more real syrup but just lite versions. the totally sugar free were not worth it for how much more I like a little thicker syrup).
  • sheenabe
    sheenabe Posts: 61 Member
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    I use a sugar splenda mix. It is pre mixed from splenda. It is twice as sweet as sugar alone so you use less, and there are fewer calories. It totally works for me. I love my coffee sweet and creamy and this helps me to keep that in control. Hope this helps
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Honey and agave syrup have some antioxidants and have a little less sugar, but pretty much all sugars are the same. None are really better than any other and most have just about the same sugar content.

    Artificial sweeteners are not good for you. They make your body think that you're consuming sugar, which means that insulin is released, signaling your liver and kidneys to take sugar from your blood for energy. It blocks those organs from burning fat and when there is little sugar in your blood it causes you to become hypoglycemic, making you eat or drink more to replenish your blood sugar. They are extremely counterproductive when it comes to weight loss.
  • faithisfabulous
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    I use splenda and Stevia for my sugar use. The good thing about Stevia is that it comes in different flavors...
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    honey. Still sugary, but I believe better for you than granulated sugar.

    There's always the fake sweeteners too. Personally I don't like them. I even made zucchini bread once with 75% regular sugar and 25% fake sweetener to save some cals, and I could still taste it.

    Brown sugar too I think is a little better than white sugar (maybe? or maybe it's just better than corn syrup was it...) anyway, either way, i love it in my oatmeal.You can do cinnamon and nuts too maybe with some sugar free syrup. (I opt for more real syrup but just lite versions. the totally sugar free were not worth it for how much more I like a little thicker syrup).

    Brown sugar is not better than white sugar. It's just as refined as regular white sugar, it just has molasses added. And there really is nothing wrong with corn syrup. I've done a lot of research on it. It's sucrose, just like cane sugar. They are both made up of fructose and glucose, just in slightly different amounts.
  • SkierElle
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    Stevia! also xylitol is pretty good.
  • SyreetaJayne1
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    I recently checked into a product i'd heard about...apparently from what i recently read, sugar is just like flour, pasta, rice, etc. there's the good stuff (the whole grain) and the bad stuff (refined, processed). There's a sugar product called Rapadura, it's supposed to be the unprocessed version of sugar and my Christmas present to myself is to try it out (it's expensive!!!). I decided to give it a try since I hate sweeteners and can't add honey to everything!!!
  • Jess0218
    Jess0218 Posts: 138
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    I recently checked into a product i'd heard about...apparently from what i recently read, sugar is just like flour, pasta, rice, etc. there's the good stuff (the whole grain) and the bad stuff (refined, processed). There's a sugar product called Rapadura, it's supposed to be the unprocessed version of sugar and my Christmas present to myself is to try it out (it's expensive!!!). I decided to give it a try since I hate sweeteners and can't add honey to everything!!!


    I will google this, let me know once you try it what you think? Thanks for your help!
  • Jess0218
    Jess0218 Posts: 138
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    Thanks so much to all of you. I def have tried Sun Crystals and Stevia..and EWWWW is all i have to say. haaha It had such a harsh sweet taste to me that it overpowered my oatmeal and everything i used w/ it and i even used like just a smidge of one pack. So i wont be buyin that again. But I do appreciate all the advice...i'll see what works for me :happy:
  • richiefixo
    richiefixo Posts: 104 Member
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    well we don't know your views on artificial sweeteners ... so if you don't mind them, then they will be your obvious choice cos they not only sweeten your meals but are also calorie free. the second option is to use the regular sugar or brown sugar (same thing really ) but train yourself to appreciate it in smaller quantities. Also, think about using berries to sweeten your oatmeal and puddings. not only is it healthier but you will automatically be adding an extra 20% more fibre to the meal.

    i personally don't mind the taste of artificial sweeteners cos i use them in small quantities and there is usually more flavour in my meal for me to focus on the one taste.

    good luck with your choices
    :)
  • tatiana_13
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    My advice has two parts. First, if you want to reduce your sugar intake, I really would suggest changing your palate. I got use to no sugar in coffee and tea, and now I prefer it that way. The reason I suggest that is that, in the end, sugar substitutes have to be part of a whole plan of sweetener reduction. It would be like trying to lose weight primarily by eating "diet" foods...they're great in a pinch, but I've seen two many overweight people slurping down low cal dressing and diet soda. If its the only thing you do, it won't help much.

    Sugar substitutes...I actually love splenda. I do. And because I don't ultimately think that sucrose is any worse for you than honey or agave nectar, if I really want a natural sweetener, sucrose is as natural as anything else. But when I want to go no-sugar, I think splenda performs very well. I have tried truvia...and I don't like it. it has a bitter after-taste. And I have some erithritol (which I probably spelled wrong). I'm getting use to the erythritol. It has not chemically taste and has the same bulk as sugar, which makes it good for baking. But its not very sweet and, depending on how you use it, it has a "cool" mouth feel...but that doesn't matter for things like beverages or yogurt.

    Hope that helps!
  • Jess0218
    Jess0218 Posts: 138
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    My advice has two parts. First, if you want to reduce your sugar intake, I really would suggest changing your palate. I got use to no sugar in coffee and tea, and now I prefer it that way. The reason I suggest that is that, in the end, sugar substitutes have to be part of a whole plan of sweetener reduction. It would be like trying to lose weight primarily by eating "diet" foods...they're great in a pinch, but I've seen two many overweight people slurping down low cal dressing and diet soda. If its the only thing you do, it won't help much.

    Sugar substitutes...I actually love splenda. I do. And because I don't ultimately think that sucrose is any worse for you than honey or agave nectar, if I really want a natural sweetener, sucrose is as natural as anything else. But when I want to go no-sugar, I think splenda performs very well. I have tried truvia...and I don't like it. it has a bitter after-taste. And I have some erithritol (which I probably spelled wrong). I'm getting use to the erythritol. It has not chemically taste and has the same bulk as sugar, which makes it good for baking. But its not very sweet and, depending on how you use it, it has a "cool" mouth feel...but that doesn't matter for things like beverages or yogurt.

    Hope that helps!

    thanks for the tips. I dont think i've tried splenda? I've done sun crystals and stevia and truvia. I only need a tad for my oatmeal and some cereals like cheerios but otherwise, i dont drink coffee or tea so maybe I will try the splenda packets. I think mostly my sugars come from my junk..ie. snack cakes/cookies. so if I can learn to get the healthy sugars from fruit i wouldnt care as much. But thanks for this info :)