Sweeteners Vs Sugar

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  • verysmallrocks
    verysmallrocks Posts: 9
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    I think there's just some things that haven't crossed the pond....like syrup and pancakes on the same plate as bacon and eggs??!!?? MADNESS! Can't mix sweet with savoury, it's just wrong! haha.

    LOL, Clearly you've never experienced the euphoria that is bacon or sausage dipped in maple syrup. (I'm with you on the syrup / eggs, though... blech.)

    haha no i havent! although I'm vegetarian so probably never will...........would veggie sausages work?! haha.

    it just seems a very odd concept to us Brits........maple syrup on meat?!

    Suppose I can't knock it 'til I've tried it!!!

    Yes, you can... lol.

    My mom actually got some pretty crazy kidney problems from eating a lot of artificial sweeteners and ended up having surgery. I have since been paranoid about not overdoing it on the artificial sweeteners although I do enjoy a diet soda here and there... in my coffee I just do a little hazelnut creamer (cardinal sin, I know) and call it even. In the grand scheme of the day, it's really not that many calories.

    I'd say go with the sugar. A little sugar never hurt anyone. :)

    Out of curiosity, what does England know about Stevia that we don't? I haven't tried it but I'm interested in the debate. :)
  • Sallerina84
    Sallerina84 Posts: 138 Member
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    Out of curiosity, what does England know about Stevia that we don't? I haven't tried it but I'm interested in the debate. :)

    I'd never heard of Stevia before this thread! Although someone said it's illegal here?! :-S
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
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    Stevia is banned throughout most of Europe, I did hear somewhere that a licence is once again pending or something like that, think it was on a diabetic forum but really can't remember where.

    If you are only having 2 teaspoons of sugar a day in your tea I'd carry on enjoying the real stuff. Its 42 calories...and i'm sure you can find other things to cut sugar in. And don't worry too much about going over your sugar levels if most are coming from fruits AND if youre not diabetic.
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
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    Out of curiosity, what does England know about Stevia that we don't? I haven't tried it but I'm interested in the debate. :)

    not read it but this is the fsa report on stevia

    http://archive.food.gov.uk/pdf_files/stevia.pdf
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    I don't think half a spoon of sugar in your tea is the worst thing in the world, but if you really want to cut down, try a natural sugar replacement like agave nectar, which you only need a drop of, and is low GI.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    A quick google search shows up that Stevia is banned in the EU because it has an adverse affect on male fertility.
  • peacehawk
    peacehawk Posts: 421 Member
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    My partner had siezures from aspartame, so we don't keep it in the house at all. Splenda is made from sugar, but the way they make it is by taking out one type of molecule and replacing it withb a chlorine molecule and my partner is allergic to chlorine. (I have also heard it may cause liver damage, but I haven't seen the studies so I can't verify that.) Stevia does come from a plant of the same name, and you can grow it yourself, but I don't like the aftertaste. Xyletol has zero calories and tastes just like sugar. It is what is used in most sugarless gum. Some studies show that it actuallb helps to promote healthy teeth. The prob lem with it is that, like malotol, it can cause diarehha. If you choose to use xyletol, you should start with miniscule amounts and increase it as your body gets used to it in order to prevent the runs. I like xyletol, but rarely use it anymore since one of my friends put it in her coffe while at my house, not realizing it wasn't sugar, and felt the effects of it in the loo. Agave nectar is currently my sweetner of choice. It is made from a cactus and has no after taste. It has a similar taste to honey, but is much milder and not so sweet. It is supposed to have a lower glycemic index value than sugar, but my doctor recently told me that newer studies show that our bodies treat it the same. My partner and I are both diabetic, and we use real sweeteners~ sugar, agave, juice, maple syrup (the real stuff), honey, etc. We try to avoid high fructose corn syrup because our human bodies have not evolved to be able to assimilate that intense concentration of fructose (fructose occurs naturally in fruit, but with fiber and other stuff to modulate its uptake into our systems). By using these sweeteners in moderation, bot of us have done fine with our blood sugars. Hers has gone down since switching to soda that uses natural cane sugar rather than HFCS. That may or may not contribute to the cause of her levels evening out. Sorry this was so long, hope it helps. PS my doctor says to absolutely stay away from artificial sweeteners because the long tern effects are not known and recent research points to it actuallly contributing to weight gain and elevated blood sugars.
  • CarliBez
    CarliBez Posts: 19
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    And honey goes on my toast not in my tea!!

    Have you tried it in your yogurt? :wink: Yummy!

    Soooo goood. And have you actually tried it in tea? It's the only way I can drink it black. Honey tastes sweeter than sugar so you have more sweetness for less calories. I think two cups of tea a day with half a teaspoon of sugar is fine, by the way. If it's too gross without sugar, don't drink it without sugar, especially such a small amount. And I've only heard bad things about sweeteners, so I figure rather don't go there.

    Granola/Meusli cereals are sweet, just look for the healthy brands (no added sugar, etc).
  • rc630
    rc630 Posts: 310 Member
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    While that calorie content may be correct, Splenda is MUCH lighter than sugar. If you've ever baked with it, you'll notice how much lighter a cup of the stuff is than regular sugar. Using X grams of sugar is much easier than using that amount of Splenda; you'll end up with something sickly sweet if you substitute it gram for gram.
  • verysmallrocks
    verysmallrocks Posts: 9
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    My partner had siezures from aspartame, so we don't keep it in the house at all. Splenda is made from sugar, but the way they make it is by taking out one type of molecule and replacing it withb a chlorine molecule and my partner is allergic to chlorine. (I have also heard it may cause liver damage, but I haven't seen the studies so I can't verify that.) Stevia does come from a plant of the same name, and you can grow it yourself, but I don't like the aftertaste. Xyletol has zero calories and tastes just like sugar. It is what is used in most sugarless gum. Some studies show that it actuallb helps to promote healthy teeth. The prob lem with it is that, like malotol, it can cause diarehha. If you choose to use xyletol, you should start with miniscule amounts and increase it as your body gets used to it in order to prevent the runs. I like xyletol, but rarely use it anymore since one of my friends put it in her coffe while at my house, not realizing it wasn't sugar, and felt the effects of it in the loo. Agave nectar is currently my sweetner of choice. It is made from a cactus and has no after taste. It has a similar taste to honey, but is much milder and not so sweet. It is supposed to have a lower glycemic index value than sugar, but my doctor recently told me that newer studies show that our bodies treat it the same. My partner and I are both diabetic, and we use real sweeteners~ sugar, agave, juice, maple syrup (the real stuff), honey, etc. We try to avoid high fructose corn syrup because our human bodies have not evolved to be able to assimilate that intense concentration of fructose (fructose occurs naturally in fruit, but with fiber and other stuff to modulate its uptake into our systems). By using these sweeteners in moderation, bot of us have done fine with our blood sugars. Hers has gone down since switching to soda that uses natural cane sugar rather than HFCS. That may or may not contribute to the cause of her levels evening out. Sorry this was so long, hope it helps. PS my doctor says to absolutely stay away from artificial sweeteners because the long tern effects are not known and recent research points to it actuallly contributing to weight gain and elevated blood sugars.

    If anyone does choose to use xylitol, be super careful if you have pets -- even one piece of gum can be toxic. I work at a vet and we have had a few sad, sad cases of xylitol poisoning... mostly fatal. :brokenheart: A lot of people don't know, so just FYI!
  • loriefolk
    loriefolk Posts: 352
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    Stevia is definitely what you would want :)

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