Coffee sweetener

twins2x2
twins2x2 Posts: 30
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
I'm a coffee junkie. I follow a low carb and no sugar diet so I use Splenda in my coffee. It takes better than other stuff but recently had a few people go crazy on me about how terrible it is. I can't drink coffee without sweetness and I don't like using stevia. Would straight sugar be best?
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Replies

  • Kalici
    Kalici Posts: 685 Member
    How is it terrible? I mean, I hate the taste of Splenda and think it is terrible that way, but I've never tried to talk anyone into not eating it.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    If I *had* to sweeten my coffee, I would just use sugar. The other day I did because it was takeout coffee and extremely bitter.
    99% of the time I drink it black.
    I don't think there's anything wrong with splenda, or any other artificial sweetener, they just aren't my thing.
    If you like it, use it.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    Nothing terrible about Splenda, or any other artificial sweetener, for that matter. Just fearmongering and uneducated people latching on to that information and spreading it around because they like to have some sort of drama in their lives.

    If you haven't had a bad reaction to it (some people could possibly have allergies to it, I suppose), then enjoy your Splenda to your heart's content. It will not hurt you. Just smile and say thanks for the tip when someone tells you how bad it is for you.
  • mjaygtoo
    mjaygtoo Posts: 8 Member
    I have used Splenda as it is natural. Don't use it often but going to look into alternatives. In moderation, sure it is fine as long as you track it.
  • cat_lady77
    cat_lady77 Posts: 203 Member
    Stevia is plant-based (except for Truvia which is modified), Splenda is artificial. I stick with Stevia if I can help it. It might cost more but at least it's more natural. Do some research, see how you feel!
    http://www.naturalnews.com/047639_stevia_splenda_artificial_sweeteners.html
  • mizzlarabee
    mizzlarabee Posts: 134 Member
    karla24687 wrote: »
    Stevia is plant-based (except for Truvia which is modified), Splenda is artificial. I stick with Stevia if I can help it. It might cost more but at least it's more natural. Do some research, see how you feel!
    http://www.naturalnews.com/047639_stevia_splenda_artificial_sweeteners.html

    I'm a big fan of stevia drops! I get sweet leaf off of Amazon in all sorts of flavours - so good :)
  • kmsoucy457
    kmsoucy457 Posts: 237 Member
    Use what you like!
    If it's 'refined' sugar you're worried about try honey, maple or agave. I love honey in my coffee but it is, of course, still sugar.
    In the Raw brand also has a sugar refined from monkfruit... has anyone tried this/know the deal?
  • greenfield292
    greenfield292 Posts: 8 Member
    I use truvia
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
    i got stevia for my coffee but it changes the taste too much, i prefer black or half a sugar and some cream. There is nothing wrong with real food.
  • chandramiller68
    chandramiller68 Posts: 189 Member
    I use raw honey as my sweetner; however, it contains several grams of sugar but it's natural. Since I switched from Splenda to honey, I cannot stand the taste of Splenda. :p
  • bluecheesesticks
    bluecheesesticks Posts: 16 Member
    I enjoy using Monk Fruit In The Raw individual packets in my coffee. :)
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    Nothing terrible about Splenda, or any other artificial sweetener, for that matter. Just fearmongering and uneducated people latching on to that information and spreading it around because they like to have some sort of drama in their lives.

    If you haven't had a bad reaction to it (some people could possibly have allergies to it, I suppose), then enjoy your Splenda to your heart's content. It will not hurt you. Just smile and say thanks for the tip when someone tells you how bad it is for you.
    ^This
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited May 2015
    Three of my closest friends are organic chemists. None of them is concerned about Splenda or other artificial sweeteners. I figure if the people who really know the science behind how the stuff is made are not worried I don't need to be either. Use what you like.
  • Nnaska
    Nnaska Posts: 6 Member
    karla24687 wrote: »
    Stevia is plant-based (except for Truvia which is modified), Splenda is artificial. I stick with Stevia if I can help it. It might cost more but at least it's more natural. Do some research, see how you feel!
    http://www.naturalnews.com/047639_stevia_splenda_artificial_sweeteners.html

    True. Splenda is chemicals. Stevia is natural. I use Sweet Leaf brand. I really like it. No bitter aftertaste.
  • Nnaska
    Nnaska Posts: 6 Member
    Before calling people fear-mongerers do your own research. I have. I choose not to put chemicals in my body if I can help it. Let people decide for themselves. There are haters and lovers of every product out there.
  • 93gemmac
    93gemmac Posts: 8 Member
    Personally I find that sweeteners lead to me craving more sweet things so I avoid them, but its a personal choice
  • irisrivera2015
    irisrivera2015 Posts: 4 Member
    I love my morning coffee it's been 3 years now that I don't put any sugar and I don't miss it and taste the same to me
  • Harmonynichole
    Harmonynichole Posts: 4 Member
    I have terrible reactions to aspartame, but splenda is okay in moderation. It's also easier to find than Monk fruit packets and stevia without the after taste. I have a liquid stevia that is awesome in coffee, but have tried some really bad ones to get there.
  • sreggieb
    sreggieb Posts: 1 Member
    I heard Monkfruit is great! I need to try it!
  • wanttobefit300
    wanttobefit300 Posts: 157 Member
    Splenda can raise your bad cholesterol to unbelievable levels if you are sensitive to it. And you wouldn't know it without blood tests. They never tested it for such a thing, but it is now showing up more and more. And Splenda is manufactured using chlorine gas! Aspertame can cause nerve damage.
  • briteyes
    briteyes Posts: 435 Member
    bringing this back up again... i did a search and found this thread...

    I have to say, I'm really really missing my morning coffee! I've been having it, but I love it only one way - sweetened with cane sugar. I've tried stevia & Xylitol, and neither one of them cut it and it's just ruining my morning coffee!!! I've tried no sweetener at all, but the aftertaste reminds me of the taste of bile :(

    So I'm torn - do I cut out the carbs/sugar and go with Equal or Splenda - those flavors are manageable, or do I allow myself one guilty pleasure and put the sugar back in my coffee? I know what I want to do, and I probably will go ahead and do it, and just manage the rest of my diet accordingly... (hey, I'm human and I NEED my morning coffee!) but would love to find out if there's anything else I can try before throwing in the towel.

    and please, don't scold me for being a slave to my coffee... it's still a choice, and it's a choice i gladly accept. If it became a major issue I'd let it go completely, as no coffee is better than a bile taste in my mouth.
  • gaelicstorm26
    gaelicstorm26 Posts: 589 Member
    Nnaska wrote: »
    Before calling people fear-mongerers do your own research. I have. I choose not to put chemicals in my body if I can help it. Let people decide for themselves. There are haters and lovers of every product out there.

    But everything is made of chemicals...
  • briteyes
    briteyes Posts: 435 Member
    Tinabob777 wrote: »
    I hate stevia with the fire of 1000 suns!

    ME TOO!!!!!!! There is no acquiring a taste for that nasty stuff! I can't tell you how many times it has ruined a dessert or coffee! Blech!
  • Kalici
    Kalici Posts: 685 Member
    briteyes wrote: »
    bringing this back up again... i did a search and found this thread...

    I have to say, I'm really really missing my morning coffee! I've been having it, but I love it only one way - sweetened with cane sugar.

    Cane sugar only has 15 calories per teaspoon full. Are you actually pouring enough in there that it makes a massive difference to your calorie allotment for the day? If you're using enough that it is making a big difference you could try using a mixture of half sugar and half equal or something similar.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Nnaska wrote: »
    Before calling people fear-mongerers do your own research. I have. I choose not to put chemicals in my body if I can help it. Let people decide for themselves. There are haters and lovers of every product out there.

    You can't live without putting chemicals into your body though . . .
  • briteyes
    briteyes Posts: 435 Member
    Kalici wrote: »
    briteyes wrote: »
    bringing this back up again... i did a search and found this thread...

    I have to say, I'm really really missing my morning coffee! I've been having it, but I love it only one way - sweetened with cane sugar.

    Cane sugar only has 15 calories per teaspoon full. Are you actually pouring enough in there that it makes a massive difference to your calorie allotment for the day? If you're using enough that it is making a big difference you could try using a mixture of half sugar and half equal or something similar.

    I usually have 2 tsps. total, which in the grand scheme of things is low in calorie when that is the only "sugar" i have for the day; however I am a low carb/high fat dieter (20-30 quality carbs from veggies/fruit), so I actually count carbs, not cals... so it would come out to 8 carbs - again, not a HUGE deal, i've currently cut out sugar from my coffee and it's pure torture, so I'm just trying to decide if I should just add it back in and deal w/ those extra 8 carbs some way
  • Kalici
    Kalici Posts: 685 Member
    briteyes wrote: »
    Kalici wrote: »
    briteyes wrote: »
    bringing this back up again... i did a search and found this thread...

    I have to say, I'm really really missing my morning coffee! I've been having it, but I love it only one way - sweetened with cane sugar.

    Cane sugar only has 15 calories per teaspoon full. Are you actually pouring enough in there that it makes a massive difference to your calorie allotment for the day? If you're using enough that it is making a big difference you could try using a mixture of half sugar and half equal or something similar.

    I usually have 2 tsps. total, which in the grand scheme of things is low in calorie when that is the only "sugar" i have for the day; however I am a low carb/high fat dieter (20-30 quality carbs from veggies/fruit), so I actually count carbs, not cals... so it would come out to 8 carbs - again, not a HUGE deal, i've currently cut out sugar from my coffee and it's pure torture, so I'm just trying to decide if I should just add it back in and deal w/ those extra 8 carbs some way

    If going without makes you that miserable I think it would probably be better for you if you added it back in and took the carbs out elsewhere. If it were me I don't think I'd want to let something that small (that makes me that happy) be the thing that breaks my will to continue with my diet.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    briteyes wrote: »
    Tinabob777 wrote: »
    I hate stevia with the fire of 1000 suns!

    ME TOO!!!!!!! There is no acquiring a taste for that nasty stuff! I can't tell you how many times it has ruined a dessert or coffee! Blech!

    When I first bought stevia, I used too much...it's extremely easy to use too much because you only need a tiny little bit. It gave my coffee a bitter unpleasant aftertaste. However, since I had already bought the container, I kept experimenting with it. I soon realized that if I just use less, it sweetens as well as sugar and I can't taste any difference.

    So it is quite possible you just don't like it (a lot of people say that, so I don't discount it...we all have different taste preferences), but it could possibly just be a case of using too much like I did. I think one of the problems is there is pure stevia powder, which is extremely sweet and you only need a pin head sized amount of to sweeten a beverage. And then there is stevia cut with other things, which means you need to use more. So you have to really know exactly what you are dealing with.

    You may very well just not like stevia under any circumstances, but hopefully this could help somebody else who is thinking about trying it.
  • starwhisperer6
    starwhisperer6 Posts: 402 Member
    Most of the information out about sweeteners that I have seen is from lab studies done with mice. If I ate my weight daily in sweetener I am sure it would have a terrible effect. Then again if I ate my weight daily in broccoli I have no doubt that too would have an adverse effect.
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
    I actually prefer coffee black and unsweetened these days. I don't know about artificial sweeteners. I don't use them because they are regulated by the FDA and safe limits are set. That gives me pause. I saw something on disruption of healthy belly microbiome. On weekends I add steaming skim milk to my coffee as a treat.
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