Stevia

stephaniemarie416
stephaniemarie416 Posts: 49 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What do you all think about Stevia?

I try to eat a little artificial stuff as possible so I don't eat Splenda or any of that stuff, and am also trying to cut back a bit on the sugar I am consuming but I don't know if I am sold on Stevia.

I've read a lot of conflicting research and don't know what to think about it. I currently use Stevia in pretty severe moderation and am not planning on completely giving up sugar, but I'm debating on whether or not to substitute stevia on some things (ex. sweetening plain greek yogurt, in baking things like whole grain muffins, in tea, etc.) Thoughts?

Replies

  • corgarian
    corgarian Posts: 366 Member
    honestly, this is just me, no research or facts. I hate it. Whenever I eat something with stevia in it I immediatly get a headache and I feel dizzy.
    Many times I've eaten something, felt sick, looked at the ingredients and found stevia to be the sweetner.
    That is just me, but I dont care for the stuff.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    I try to wean myself off sweetness in general. Have used stevia and splenda in various recipes but don't sweeten plain greek yoghurt just have it with a few berries.

    How does the stuff in the green leaf of stevia become the concentrated sweet liquid in the bottle - anyone know ?
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    stevia is a natural product as opposed to the "other ones"

    I have some sitting in my cupboard that I never use - I don't normally use sugar in anything on a regular basis and use brown sugar on my oatmeal just because I like the taste - but everything in moderation right?

    I have seen some people post that stevia has an aftertaste? But I haven't used it that much - if I make a fruit salad I use a sprinkle of it rather than a sprinkle of regular sugar

    I don't think I would replace sugar in baking with it but maybe as a sweetener in small doses for other things like your yogurt or tea. Again that's just me - I have never been a fan of too much substitution in recipes - moderation is key.
  • kristinaweatherford
    kristinaweatherford Posts: 3
    I'm sticking to natural foods as much as possible. All these chemicals and artificial foods and GMO's scare me. I use real sugar.
  • Ataraxia81
    Ataraxia81 Posts: 63 Member
    I use Stevia in the Raw in my coffee every morning. I have no issues with it. My health coach told me it was a healthier alternative to regular sugar.
  • PinkMartiniPls
    PinkMartiniPls Posts: 50
    Being on a low-carb diet, I don't have the luxury of adding sugar to anything that I eat. However, I do enjoy tea and the occasional cup of coffee to which a little sweetness is nice. I use Sweet Leaf liquid stevia ($13) that I get from my local health food store and it's made with organic stevia.

    I have never had any side effects from it and because you add it in by drop, I find it is easier to control the level of sweetness (I can't tolerate very much now). I won't eat foods that require additional sweeteners anymore, mainly because I want to keep my palate as sensitive to sweets as possible.

    It's probably best to leave the sweeteners for those things that you can't live without, rather than replacing it for real sugar in everything you eat.
  • shellbatronic
    shellbatronic Posts: 193
    The tricky thing with Stevia is making sure it's not cut with other stuff. They make mixes with corn derivatives and can still legally call it "natural" but it's not what people think they are getting.
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
    honestly, this is just me, no research or facts. I hate it. Whenever I eat something with stevia in it I immediatly get a headache and I feel dizzy.
    Many times I've eaten something, felt sick, looked at the ingredients and found stevia to be the sweetner.
    That is just me, but I dont care for the stuff.

    The same thing happens to me!
  • stephaniemarie416
    stephaniemarie416 Posts: 49 Member
    honestly, this is just me, no research or facts. I hate it. Whenever I eat something with stevia in it I immediatly get a headache and I feel dizzy.
    Many times I've eaten something, felt sick, looked at the ingredients and found stevia to be the sweetner.
    That is just me, but I dont care for the stuff.

    This is the same thing that happens to me when I eat/drink things with sucralose.
  • stephaniemarie416
    stephaniemarie416 Posts: 49 Member
    stevia is a natural product as opposed to the "other ones"

    I have some sitting in my cupboard that I never use - I don't normally use sugar in anything on a regular basis and use brown sugar on my oatmeal just because I like the taste - but everything in moderation right?

    I have seen some people post that stevia has an aftertaste? But I haven't used it that much - if I make a fruit salad I use a sprinkle of it rather than a sprinkle of regular sugar

    I don't think I would replace sugar in baking with it but maybe as a sweetener in small doses for other things like your yogurt or tea. Again that's just me - I have never been a fan of too much substitution in recipes - moderation is key.

    I love brown sugar on oatmeal too! Yum! A little goes a long way I think, so it's definitely not a bad "splurge"
  • stephaniemarie416
    stephaniemarie416 Posts: 49 Member
    The tricky thing with Stevia is making sure it's not cut with other stuff. They make mixes with corn derivatives and can still legally call it "natural" but it's not what people think they are getting.

    Thanks for the info! I looks like I will have to do my research if I actually decide to buy some!
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
    Being on a low-carb diet, I don't have the luxury of adding sugar to anything that I eat. However, I do enjoy tea and the occasional cup of coffee to which a little sweetness is nice. I use Sweet Leaf liquid stevia ($13) that I get from my local health food store and it's made with organic stevia.

    I have never had any side effects from it and because you add it in by drop, I find it is easier to control the level of sweetness (I can't tolerate very much now). I won't eat foods that require additional sweeteners anymore, mainly because I want to keep my palate as sensitive to sweets as possible.

    It's probably best to leave the sweeteners for those things that you can't live without, rather than replacing it for real sugar in everything you eat.

    Have you ever tried to flavored stevia?
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    I'm sticking to natural foods as much as possible. All these chemicals and artificial foods and GMO's scare me. I use real sugar.
    Stevia comes from a plant and is no more processed than table sugar is.
  • stephaniemarie416
    stephaniemarie416 Posts: 49 Member
    I try to wean myself off sweetness in general. Have used stevia and splenda in various recipes but don't sweeten plain greek yoghurt just have it with a few berries.

    How does the stuff in the green leaf of stevia become the concentrated sweet liquid in the bottle - anyone know ?

    Agreed, I am working on cutting back on my sugar intake to hopefully curb my cravings for sweets so they are less frequent. Did you feel like the recipes with stevia were close in taste to something with sugar in it?
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
    I love stevia extract. I like the liquids because it's carb free unlike the powders but I use both.
  • littlelaura
    littlelaura Posts: 1,028 Member
    I've used stevia in coffee and oatmeal for years. I recently gave up coffee. I think with anything moderation is key.
    I have no issues using stevia yet my Mom thinks it gives her headaches and gas. I don't know if that's true. I cant touch Splenda it gives me a burning sensation on my tongue, lips and mouth as if I scalded myself something too hot when I have had none.
  • kristendeyell
    kristendeyell Posts: 80 Member
    I love Stevia!

    "Stevia is a green leaf plant. If you are buying a "white" powder, you are not buying a completely natural unaltered Stevia plant powder. White powder Stevia has none of the health benefits of green leaf Stevia powder, only the sweetness. White powder is extremely concentrated and has been chemically processed with chemicals like Hexane, Chloroform, and Aqueous Ethanol therefore most often the white powder products contain "fillers"."

    You just need to be careful with which type you are purchasing, but that's really true of anything you buy! I use mine with my tea in the morning and I also use it to sweeten my plain greek yogurt. I tried using fruit to sweeten my greek yogurt, but found that because I have a fruit smoothie almost every morning for breakfast, I was eating too much fruit so I switched to Stevia. I also use it for my protein pancakes and in coleslaw recipes and dressings!

    You could also grow your own Stevia plant and dry the leaves yourself!

    http://www.steviacanada.com/faq.html
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
    I use stevia. It is from a plant, just like sugar.
    Sugar is processed too, from cane or beets, and has more calories than stevia. Sugar and it's derivatives are in many, many things. Read labels. Sodium and it's derivatives too. Everything is processed in one way or another, even if you grow it and butcher it yourself.

    The small amount I use I do not notice an after taste from at all.
  • SephiraRose
    SephiraRose Posts: 766 Member
    I use stevia and don't mind it. Even switched the hubby over too.
  • stephaniemarie416
    stephaniemarie416 Posts: 49 Member
    Thanks for your advice/information everyone! :)
  • PinkMartiniPls
    PinkMartiniPls Posts: 50
    Being on a low-carb diet, I don't have the luxury of adding sugar to anything that I eat. However, I do enjoy tea and the occasional cup of coffee to which a little sweetness is nice. I use Sweet Leaf liquid stevia ($13) that I get from my local health food store and it's made with organic stevia.

    I have never had any side effects from it and because you add it in by drop, I find it is easier to control the level of sweetness (I can't tolerate very much now). I won't eat foods that require additional sweeteners anymore, mainly because I want to keep my palate as sensitive to sweets as possible.

    It's probably best to leave the sweeteners for those things that you can't live without, rather than replacing it for real sugar in everything you eat.

    Have you ever tried to flavored stevia?

    No, not yet - but I did see those. I wanted to see if I could get used to the stevia flavor itself. I am really trying to work on eliminating the need for any sweetness. I just can't handle it in moderation (it's like crack to me) and I find I do really well when I just don't indulge. In the beginning of my transition to low-carb I was drinking many cups of tea and now I usually only have one in the morning, which is the only "sweet" thing that I eat all day.
  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
    I try to wean myself off sweetness in general. Have used stevia and splenda in various recipes but don't sweeten plain greek yoghurt just have it with a few berries.

    How does the stuff in the green leaf of stevia become the concentrated sweet liquid in the bottle - anyone know ?

    It's very simple, you can do it yourself: Boil out the leaves in water, and you'll end up with a liquid stevia, though not completely pure, and not very concentrated, but can still be used in your cooking or what ever. To get a stronger concentration, you need to destil it, which is also fairly easy to do, I've done it.

    The industry loves Stevia since it's so powerfull in it's sweetness, if you get it on powder form (through spray drying), you only need to transport a gram to have enough stevia for several litres. It's insanly sweet. I had some extremely pure stevia (my father is a food chemist/engineer, specialty in spray drying of food, so he had experimented with how pure he could get it), and it was so sweet we had to dilute it to use for anything - as soon as you took enough on your spoon to even be able to see it, it would make my bowl of youghurt way too sweet!
  • yvie63
    yvie63 Posts: 193 Member
    I've not tried it and to be honest am not really tempted to try it. I still have sugar but have managed to reduce my intake, I just budget for it in my calories. I'd sooner have something I enjoy and have it a bit less. I've tried sweeteners of all types in the past and I've always found they have some sort of disgusting aftertaste. At least I know what sugar is doing to me - who knows what the effects of this will be. Stick with what you know, that my motto!
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    I use coconut sugar. yes, it has 15 calories in a tsp. It's worth it to me though because it's minimally processed and tastes delicious.
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  • fittoday14
    fittoday14 Posts: 128
    honestly, this is just me, no research or facts. I hate it. Whenever I eat something with stevia in it I immediatly get a headache and I feel dizzy.
    Many times I've eaten something, felt sick, looked at the ingredients and found stevia to be the sweetner.
    That is just me, but I dont care for the stuff.

    That happens to me as well. I try to avoid it as much as possible. If I do touch artificial sugar it's normally Equal.
  • Honeycat89
    Honeycat89 Posts: 149
    I hate Stevia, I changed my sugar in tea to stevia and found it unpalatable so just went sugar free! took a while but I prefer it now :)
  • raevyn07
    raevyn07 Posts: 8
    I use SweetLeaf liquid stevia, in vanilla cream flavor to sweeten my chai tea (iced). It's helped tremendously with my Dr Pepper craving (although I do still have one Imperial Sugar Dr P most mornings). It's tricky getting the correct amount, especially since I make a 32 oz bottle of tea about every other day, and it seems to me that it continues to get a little sweeter the longer it sits, so by the time I'm having the last serving out of the bottle, it's almost too sweet.
    I'm not ready to quit baking with real sugar, because, frankly, I'd rather use pure sugar than an adulterated version of stevia or any of the chemical sweeteners available. I've had most of my success in the past few months by limiting processed foods, and incorporating more natural, whole or at least whole until I threw them into the blender for a smoothie, foods.
  • BrandNewAmy
    BrandNewAmy Posts: 38 Member
    honestly, this is just me, no research or facts. I hate it. Whenever I eat something with stevia in it I immediatly get a headache and I feel dizzy.
    Many times I've eaten something, felt sick, looked at the ingredients and found stevia to be the sweetner.
    That is just me, but I dont care for the stuff.

    I tried a protein shake at Whole Foods one day and shortly after sampling it, my throat felt funny (really scratchy and itchy) and I started to feel sick to my stomach. Didn't think anything of it that day. Later in the week I tried another drink that made me feel the same way and I realized that one had Stevia in it. Did some research on the protein shake and discovered that it had Stevia in it too. Long story short...I found this out: "Stevia might cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to the Asteraceae/Compositae family of plants. This family includes ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, daisies, and many other plants." {From: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-682-STEVIA.aspx?activeIngredientId=682&activeIngredientName=STEVIA}

    Is the internet perfect? No, but it seems that a lot of sites agree that if you have a ragweed allergy, be careful with Stevia. I'm just going to stay away from it.
  • kristinaweatherford
    kristinaweatherford Posts: 3
    I only use real sugar, real butter, etc. I don't like all the chemicals and GMO's in the foods today. I'm not perfect, but I'm doing the best I can.

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