Sweeteners, "natural", artificial...?

just2liveagain · February 2012

Was doing some reading on sugars, I had truvia once before and I loved it, it didn't taste like splenda or a generic artificial sweetener I had before, it simply made my food taste sweet like sugar. I was thinking of buying it again, but I've been seeing recipes using agave, honey and stevia, so I did some research on them, and it's ridiculous! There's always two different opinions to everything, how is a girl supposed to make a decision! Truvia states it's all natural, but then some people write and say it's actually NOT all natural. I already know just by seeing pictures and prices of stevia that I do not have the money to spend so much on so little, never tried honey, never really seen or heard of agave before now., so....

What do you all use in terms of sweeteners, and what are your views, opinions, and experiences with any of the above?

_Shelley_ · February 2012

I have seen a lot of articles lately on agave and honey as well. When I do use sweeteners, which isn't often, I try and use natural sweeteners...particularly raw honey. I stay away from processed white sugars and artificial sweeteners. When I bake, I try and use fruits as my sweetners. Like, if I make a loaf of banana bread I make sure the bananas are wicked ripe so that I don't need much, if any, sweetener. But always go with unprocessed, natural sources!

lizard053 · February 2012

Absolutely go natural. Most of the artificial sweeteners are literally toxic to your body. For instance, Splenda is sucrose modified with chlorine. We use chlorine to disinfect stuff, and it's also known as mustard gas! Nasty!

My variety of sweeteners are: local raw honey, stevia (I prefer sweetleaf, as it's just ground stevia leaf, no treatment) and agave nectar. Truvia is crystallized stevia leaf, it's okay, but not as good as the straight ground leaf.

Aspartame is linked to colon cancer. I've heard splenda horror stories from my friends. Saccharin tastes awful. Most of these are also pretty toxic to your system. And a lot of research is starting to show that artificial sweeteners are actually causing weight gain!

sallyaj · February 2012

I use Stevia. It is all natural, extracted from a leaf of a plant that grows in south america. It is supposed to be 300x sweeter than suger.

For years, Stevia was not allowed to be sold in the U.S. because lobbyists for the chemical sweeteners fought it and the FDA caved.

But now those same companies that own sweet & low and equal have manufactured their own brands of Stevia-- as Truvia and others -- so it is now FDA approved and being widely sold in grocery stores.

I like to get mine from the health food store because i resent giving money to those companies that for years fought the natural sweetener being allowed in the US, but when I have to use one of their brands I prefer Stevia in the Raw.

You can use stevia in hot and cold foods. It bakes well. And it is 100% natural.

The only thing I will say is that some brands have a bitter aftertaste. I find it nice in coffee and tea when I feel like a sweetener.

lauristewart · February 2012

I love artificial sweeteners! I eat fat free yogurt, sugar free everything, walden farm products are zero calorie condiments which are made with Splenda. It really helps me still enjoy food and eat and still keep my weight down. I drink diet sodas, crystal lite....anything that has nutra sweet or splenda I am there! You will hear all sorts of anti artificial sweetener talk but guess what? I don't have diabetes, high blood pressure or any other health issues. I exercise 6 days a week. If I can enjoy food with artificial sweeteners and stay healthy, I am there!! Go ahead....flame me! I wear size 4's and 6's and I love it!! :-)

just2liveagain · February 2012

Thanks so much for your thoughts you guys! I know it just comes down to your own personal preference, I just wanted some opinions from people actually finding a healthier lifestyle, not just opinions from who knows who on google searches, ya know? I think I'm gonna go ahead and get truvia again, as I said stevia might be a bit too much in terms of cost, and the artificial sweeteners in the packets I can't handle. I'm also gonna get honey or agave. I tried walden farms ranch dressing and I didn't notice a difference, my SO did, but I liked it, I could live with it, and I didn't know until recently that they make syrup and chocolate syrup! I thought they only made salad dressing type stuff. Now I'm gonna have to check it out! Thanks again!

sn0wd0gg · February 2012

Be wary of what you read about sweeteners. There is a TON of disinformation out there. For example, you'll hear that certain sweeteners are made out of chlorine or that they are one molecule away from being plastic - things along that line. The whole "chlorine" debate is because there is a chlorine in the molecular structure.

Consider this paragraph from another fitness site:
"When most people think of chlorine, they think of bleach, or the stuff they pour in their pools. The truth is that chlorine is just another element on the periodic table, and it is naturally present in many foods that you eat. On a molecular level, salt is made of sodium and chlorine, with the chemical name sodium chloride. If you eat meat, vegetables, bread, pasta, ice cream or various snack foods, you already eat chlorine."

So don't let some of these web sites that talk the "truth" about sweeteners throw a lot of bogus information at you. Do some digging around, do your research, and figure out what YOU are comfortable with.

sandyesposito · February 2012

I work as an X-ray Tech at a hospital and I can tell you that a physician I know, who is all about holistic healing and wouldn't put anything into her body that wasn't good, uses "Splenda" as her sweetener. She told me that it was the ONLY sugar substitute that she would consume. So, I feel that it's OK. I've heard alot of positive comments on "Truvia" also.

Pandorian · February 2012

I like Stevia... I live in Canada and it grows in my garden just fine.
I got my seeds from McKenzie seeds, they have a website

Honey IF I can get get natural raw honey not the pasturized stuff in the grocery store.

I've got a growing season just inside the window for sugar beets and have grown other beets successfully so I might try it in the garden this year... Might be a "fun' project as the pulp would make good animal feed, love when the garden feeds me and the livestock.

tigersword · February 2012

Absolutely go natural. Most of the artificial sweeteners are literally toxic to your body. For instance, Splenda is sucrose modified with chlorine. We use chlorine to disinfect stuff, and it's also known as mustard gas! Nasty!

My variety of sweeteners are: local raw honey, stevia (I prefer sweetleaf, as it's just ground stevia leaf, no treatment) and agave nectar. Truvia is crystallized stevia leaf, it's okay, but not as good as the straight ground leaf.

Aspartame is linked to colon cancer. I've heard splenda horror stories from my friends. Saccharin tastes awful. Most of these are also pretty toxic to your system. And a lot of research is starting to show that artificial sweeteners are actually causing weight gain!

Ugh, no. You do know that chlorine is actually an essential chemical for human life, right? You'd die without it. You also get it from salt, and most vegetables. Please do some research before you start spouting bad, inflammatory misinformation. Artificial sweeteners are certainly not toxic to the body, as they are all compounds that are naturally consumed, created, and metabolized by the human body in other forms on a constant basis.

As for sweeteners I use, I cook with honey, white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, and molasses. It depends what I'm making, they are al;l metabolized exactly the same by the human body, so it's really personal preference.

Sweeteners, "natural", artificial...?

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