Thoughts on stevia?

I've read that it's ok for you and I've also read that it's bad. It's hard to tell when there are so many differing opinions. Usually, I try to stick to sweetening with honey as I prefer the taste to other sweeteners.

Good if used in its pure form. Some companies are selling highly processed versions, I don't know if the processed versions are bad or good.

I trust anything cleared by the FDA. The active ingredient in stevia has been cleared for consumption by the FDA.

Whole leaf Stevia not cleared: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm214864.htm

Refined Rebaudioside is cleared:
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm214865.htm

I use it in coffee, tea, and smoothues in small amounts. I also use it instead of sugar to mascerate fruit before using it in cobblers or other dishes. But I do not use it in more traditional baking applications like cakes or cookies. But then, I don't make stuff like that very often!

It's fine!

I use it in some things. It's a bit unpleasant in coffee though.

I don't like it. I really find the aftertaste revolting.

It's the safest sweetener out there.

I love it. I use it everywhere that I used to use granulated sugar and it's the best thing I ever did. I really like the taste of it too! It tastes exactly like vanilla sugar to me :-)

I can't stand the aftertaste either. Plus, everything I've tried that's sweetened with it has been just so over-sweetened it wouldn't have mattered if it'd been cane sugar. I'd still have spit it out.

Jruzer wrote: »

I think it tastes awful.

+1

I love Stevia, I use it in my green tea.

Never use it, and have no plans to, and haven't ever made use of artificial sweeteners either. Our sugar bowl typically is refilled once a year and it's mostly guests that use it. Baking: we use the real thing - sugar / honey / fruit / whatever.

I didn't find cutting sweets was that difficult for me once I made a concious decision to do so, and after dropping 78 pounds and getting very fit I'm no longer pre-diabetic and have completely normal function.

I used to load up my coffee with sugar (it was very bad office coffee) and recognized at some point that practice just wasn't good for me so I cut both coffee and sugar out completely and later adopted the practice of having just one good coffee in the morning. Cutting out the daily mega doses of sugary coffee had a good side effect: my desire for other sweet things dropped too.

My concern -- for me -- would be that using stevia or artificial sweeteners on a regular basis would once again stimulate increased desire for other sweet things that do contain real sugars and would again tempt me to ignore portion control.

I'm not missing out on anything. A really good cup of coffee to me tastes far better unadulterated now and now I can have sweet things in moderation without being tempted to binge as I once would have. No money spent on non-sugar sweeteners. Win-win.

Tastes bad. It's probably no better or worse than any other artificial sweetener. I prefer granulated Spenda myself for my coffee, on grapefruit, in some recipes.

And stevia - just like regular cane sugar - is a plant-based naturally-derived product. Sugar cane is naturally sweet, as it the stevia leaf.

I like Stevia, but I question if "natural" really makes it safe. Has it been tested enough or 20 years from now will they discover its a carcinogen.... ?