Aspartame free sugar alternatives?

EmilyPersephone
EmilyPersephone Posts: 77
in Food and Nutrition
I tend to avoid sugar whenever possible. It does nothing good for me, and makes me feel awful, so I am not a fan. But, I love sweet oatmeal and coffee. I have been using splenda for a few years, but I am recently more educated on the negative effects of aspartame and I would like to cut that out of my diet as well.

So can anyone recommend any healthy/healthier alternative sweeteners?

Replies

  • s_pekz
    s_pekz Posts: 340 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1308408-why-aspartame-isn-t-scary?page=1

    Just going to leave that there....
  • EmilyPersephone
    EmilyPersephone Posts: 77
    Thank you very much!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I'm not worried about aspartame (or sugar), but some people like stevia. I don't add artificial sweeteners to stuff, so haven't tried it.

    Some people like honey, although I think it makes no sense to differentiate a spoonful of it from a bit of sugar. Honey is tasty, though.

    For oatmeal, I like it with just milk and berries or a banana. If you want extra sweetness, dried cherries are great, but be careful about the amount, since the calories can add up.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Well splenda isn't aspartame, so if you like it, go to town. I use stevia in the raw.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Nothing dangerous about aspartame. If you like it, use it. That being said, Splenda is sucralose, not Aspartame.
  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    splenda isnt aspartame...

    anyway i recently bought nectresse which is made from monk fruit to use in my passion tea. a little goes a long way. it is pretty decent but not by itself.

    splenda is ok but i dont digest it well.

    if the nectresse hadnt been on sale i probably wouldnt have bought it though. i like real sugar in moderation. i am kind of a... if you are going to eat it make it the best it can be kind of person. and fake sugar doesnt do that for me.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    honey, agave, stevia, monkfruit, maple syrup, molasses, or spices such as cinammon, nutmeg, vanilla. Some of these do have calories.
  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    honey, agave, stevia, monkfruit, maple syrup, molasses, or spices such as cinammon, nutmeg, vanilla. Some of these do have calories.

    i gave up on honey it has more calories than regular sugar.
  • lsgibbs83
    lsgibbs83 Posts: 254 Member
    I try to avoid artificial sweeteners. If I do need to add sugar I use a little bit of either organic raw sugar or local honey.

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  • numinousnymph
    numinousnymph Posts: 249 Member
    Stevia extract is great. Some of the powdered stevia sweeteners have other stuff added, so I go with the extract. It's 100% natural, just the stevia plant leaves soaked in a mixture of alcohol and water. Trader Joe's has a good one, it's a bottle with a little dropper, and all you need for a bowl of oatmeal or a cup of coffee is around 3 or 4 drops. It's VERY strong. I use it almost every day, have had it since the beginning of June 2014, and still have half the bottle left!
  • EmilyPersephone
    EmilyPersephone Posts: 77
    I don't know how I got the idea that Splenda is aspartame, but thank you for correcting me!

    And thank you for the recommendations!

    Oatmeal wise, I'm not a big fan of warm fruit usually so I often prefer it plain, or opt for one of the pre-flavoured packets. Hence the lack of sweetness. I sometimes prefer it without the sweetness as well though, so I suppose it just depends on the day. =]

    I will have to try Stevia and Truvia. If I recall correctly, I have heard good things about those.
  • tabicatinthehat
    tabicatinthehat Posts: 329 Member
    i like real sugar in moderation. i am kind of a... if you are going to eat it make it the best it can be kind of person. and fake sugar doesnt do that for me.

    This is so me. I don't like the fake stuff. Except Coke Zero. That's probably the only exception.
  • 30PoundsToDonate
    30PoundsToDonate Posts: 12
    Most sugar alcohols are safe, but if you're craving sugar, they aren't going to cut it. I like stevia extract or honey.

    Sources - myself (a person who is really into food science, and a chem major)

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