Sugar substitutes, any good choices out there?

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shawnmstout
shawnmstout Posts: 131 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
the information is all over the place. some say its great, others say to stay away when dealing with weight loss. I recently bought stevia to replace sugar in my tea and i wanted to hear from everyone what they think about it and other artificial sweeteners and if there is any good out there.
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Replies

  • jaims224
    jaims224 Posts: 62 Member
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    From what I understand, Stevia is the best sugar replacement. I try to steer clear of all of the other ones. I don't use Stevia much, but sometimes in my coffee.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    I'm all about sucralose when I'm using a substitute.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    If you have no medical conditions, artificial sweeteners are fine. I personally hate stevia- tastes gross to me.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I don't like how any of them taste. If I add a sweetener to something (which is rare) I just use sugar. I've tried just about everything and none of it tastes good IMO.
  • shawnmstout
    shawnmstout Posts: 131 Member
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    i agree, i am not fond of the taste either. i cant stand a bitter taste and i limit the amount i put in my tea, 2 tsp of sugar, or 1 tsp of stevia. i was hoping the taste may grow on me after some time.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I evaluate the claims based on evidence. The anti-artificial sweetener arguments IMO, land in the fear-mongering category. Solid double-blind peer reviewed studies consistently show that the approved artificial sweeteners are safe.

    Artificial sweeteners have not hindered my weight loss in the least. I use aspartame, sucralose, and stevia, no matter how they are packaged or hidden in foods.

    Stevia, by the way, has not been approved by the FDA as a sugar replacement, and is instead marketed as a nutritional supplement (less stringent testing required). It's popular because it is perceived to be more "natural", being a leaf extract.

    [Edited to add a trusted opinion.]
  • shawnmstout
    shawnmstout Posts: 131 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    I'm all about sucralose when I'm using a substitute.

    what is sucralose?
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    Tony Montaña got into a lot of trouble selling a leaf extract.
  • jaims224
    jaims224 Posts: 62 Member
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    shawnmstout wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    I'm all about sucralose when I'm using a substitute.

    what is sucralose?

    Splenda

  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 645 Member
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    I think it is a very individual thing. At one time I stopped using artificial sweeteners for nearly a year and that made dieting harder. I am able to stay trim much easier with them. I do like stevia. I don't think diet soft drinks are "the devil" as many would have us believe...love to get a diet fountain drink on a summer afternoon at the sip and pump.
  • shawnmstout
    shawnmstout Posts: 131 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Tony Montaña got into a lot of trouble selling a leaf extract.

    Hah!, he got jokes :wink:
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    shawnmstout wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    I'm all about sucralose when I'm using a substitute.

    what is sucralose?


    Splenda
  • shawnmstout
    shawnmstout Posts: 131 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Tony Montaña got into a lot of trouble selling a leaf extract.

    yeah that makes you loose weight as well, lol
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    shawnmstout wrote: »
    i agree, i am not fond of the taste either. i cant stand a bitter taste and i limit the amount i put in my tea, 2 tsp of sugar, or 1 tsp of stevia. i was hoping the taste may grow on me after some time.

    Probably will...I never really gave any of them much of a chance. My biggest issues were sodas...other than that, I've never really been a sugar guy...when I couldn't find a decent replacement for my regular sodas, I just pretty much gave them up...I used to drink 3-5 per day...now I might have 3-5 sodas per year.

    I do add a little sugar to my cucumber salad and I tried stevia on that once...no thanks...it's only a tsp in the whole entire salad anyway, so not a big deal I guess.
  • shawnmstout
    shawnmstout Posts: 131 Member
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    snowflakesav wrote: »
    I think it is a very individual thing. At one time I stopped using artificial sweeteners for nearly a year and that made dieting harder. I am able to stay trim much easier with them. I do like stevia. I don't think diet soft drinks are "the devil" as many would have us believe...love to get a diet fountain drink on a summer afternoon at the sip and pump.

    Agreed, i mean how many obese people do you see drinking diet soda year after year with no change? there is something to that
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    shawnmstout wrote: »
    snowflakesav wrote: »
    I think it is a very individual thing. At one time I stopped using artificial sweeteners for nearly a year and that made dieting harder. I am able to stay trim much easier with them. I do like stevia. I don't think diet soft drinks are "the devil" as many would have us believe...love to get a diet fountain drink on a summer afternoon at the sip and pump.

    Agreed, i mean how many obese people do you see drinking diet soda year after year with no change? there is something to that
    Not always the same obese people, though. It's possible people laughed at me for being the obese guy drinking a diet drink. Chances are, I'm in better shape than those people now and artificial sweeteners definitely helped with that.

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Log 2 tsp sugar in your diary

    See how many calories it is?

    Surprised?

    I know it fits in your target calories

    There's your answer
  • shawnmstout
    shawnmstout Posts: 131 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Log 2 tsp sugar in your diary

    See how many calories it is?

    Surprised?

    I know it fits in your target calories

    There's your answer

    yeah only 15 calories per packet, i also heard that the body treats artificial sweeteners like sugar anyways. have you heard of that as well? anyone heard that?
  • marthawilson04276
    marthawilson04276 Posts: 1 Member
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    I use Ideal Sugar substitute. No calories and NO aftertaste! I first got it at Wal-mart but here in Mexico, Maine, they no longer carry it. I order it from Netrition.com and have always recieved my order the next business day (without paying extra). They sell a box of 100 packets and by the 10.5 oz. bag. Hope this helps :)

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