Sugar substitutes-Stevia Experiences?

I don't like stevia it has a strange bitter flavor to it. If you like it then use it.

I just used stevia for the 1st time a few days ago and it gave me a sour stomach

soapsandropes wrote: »

I don't like stevia it has a strange bitter flavor to it. If you like it then use it.

I agree completely with this!

I use only the stevia drops, which are incredibly sweet. To sweeten a large coffee it just takes 1 drop. I made pumpkin coconut flour muffins this morning and only added 3 droppers full for 20 muffins.

I find the best thing to do with stevia is to err on the side of undersweetening foods. When too much stevia is added it can sometimes get that funny, bitter aftertaste.

I've never had any side effects, like I would with sugar alcohols.

I prefer the drops because there is no starchy, or sugar filler added, such as maltodextrin. There aren't many recipes that require a bulk filler (off sugar crystals or maltodextrin powder) that I can't alter to fit stevia drops.

I think sweeteners of all kinds are an acquired taste. I've been using artificial sweeteners for so long it's no big deal any more. I find Stevia tickles my tastebuds very much like cinnamon, so it can linger. I like it. I like them all.

I find my Chai tea much more enjoyable with a sweetener packet, and perhaps the cinnamon masks the sweetener aftertaste a bit.

Now, peppermint, that can be overdone.

I can't stand any of the artificial sweeteners. The nasty aftertaste and the weird smell....yes I smell them in my coffee. I just cannot take them. It's less that they taste bad to me, and more that the flavor feels like it's coating every square inch of the inside of my mouth and throat. I don't want to have to chase my coffee with water to avoid that. On the up-side, using sugar means I'm that much more motivated to get off my butt and work out (high calorie count in sugar). So, if soda isn't a trigger for you, and you can manage to have one once or twice a week or whatever without going way overboard, then consider planning them into your count by planning a work out. If you don't mind the stevia/splenda/equal whatever, that's cool too, I'm sure it makes it easier to come in under count:)

Natural versus artificial isn't really a health issue. And the use of "natural" in foods is mostly a marketing term that plays upon people's misunderstanding of basic chemistry.

I don't add sugar to very much (e.g. I mostly drink water, not soda, and I take my coffee with milk only), so no, I don't really use packets of sweetener. Of course, some foods I eat are sweetened with Stevia or similar, such as yogurts or whatnot. That's fine by me. If I'm baking a cake, though, I'll use regular sugar.

There are a lot of conflicting studies out there. But the evidence seems to conclude that artificial sweeteners do help with weight loss if you're using them to replace higher-calorie sugary foods like sodas. But the main reason isn't any net benefit from the sweeteners in particular; it's simply CICO -- if you cut calories, you'll lose weight faster. If, on the other hand, you fool yourself into thinking that this means you can replace those calories with others (the compensatory effect), then you'll probably see little to no effect.

Bottom line: Sure, eat them if you want. IIFYM and all.

I like stevia better than all the other non-sugar sweeteners (obviously, sugar is tastiest!) but for some reason, my digestive system doesn't like it, at least not the liquid stevia drops. I haven't tried Truvia or anything like that.

I just use sucralose for when I don't want sugar. It's cheap-ish and good enough.

Gave them all up. I use sugar VERY sparingly. I'd rather use honey to sweeten things now if I need to.

Truvia is nasty. I use stevia in the raw and I like that one (I don't put a lot).

I didn't mind splenda when I tried it, but all the products that use it use SO MUCH OF IT that it's sickeningly sweet to me so I avoid it...

Stevia is best. Use liquid form to prevent any bitter taste

I use pure Stevia everyday. It is important that it not be 'cut' with anything though. Not only because of the taste but because of health concerns as well. I like the taste of Organika pure Stevia powder and Herbal Selects pure Stevia powder or liquid. However the Herbal Select's Stevia in individual packets do cut it with Maltodextrin so I most definitely do not use those.

'Stevia in the Raw' and many other companies uses maltodextrin as the primary ingredient in their baking products. Maltodextrin, derived from corn, spikes blood sugar even worse than refined glucose sugars and is used in thousands of products manufactured in the US and elsewhere because since it has about 3.75 calories/gram, and thus can be labelled as having “zero calories” (in the US if it is under 5 calories/serving it can legally be labeled calorie free).

Maltodextrin has a high glycemic index, digests quickly and thus both spikes blood sugar, sometimes worse than refined glucose or white bread, and can increase insulin problems and promote fat gain.

I think Maltodextrin is not a good choice when one is trying to go “sugar free” or avoid products that spike blood sugar and insulin.

Not only that, but maltodextrin is made from corn - which usually means a GMO product - if that is a concern for anyone.

NothingsGoing2StopMe wrote: »

Might google Stevia dangers

1% of the product contains Truvia/Stevia. The benefits outweigh drinking 40 plus teaspoons of sugar. So I could careless. Your comments was worthless.

We could sit here all day and talk about the dangers of most any consumer good. Pffft