Switch to sweetener or cut out sugar?

davidmcgowan1987
davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
in Food and Nutrition
Ok so i like my tea sweet, sometimes to the point of 4 sachets of sugar, but as someone on here pointed out, 2 tsp of sugar per cup, times 6 cups per day times 300 days = 15.9lbs of calories (read fat)

so heres the thing, people bemoan sweetener as some kind of devil food, cancerous and whatnot, others claim it fools your body into looking for sugar that isnt there and causes insulin issues

others think its perfectly fine

and each can cite studies to back themselves up so...

what do y'all think about sweetener, should i use it or just tell myself to learn to drink unsweetened tea

Replies

  • maybethistime70
    maybethistime70 Posts: 65
    i'm with you...like sweet tea. i refuse to use artificial sweetners though...i'm of the cause cancer persuasion. i say cut sugar out all together if you can. that's what i've been trying to do...sometimes not so successfully. or just cut yourself back to one packet of sugar per tea...do the best you can! :)
  • ls_66
    ls_66 Posts: 395 Member
    I can only tell you what I've done, all my coffee, espresso and other drinks are now sweetened with either agave, honey or raw sugar, it took me couple months to get used to it but now I feel like I'm not missing anything and still getting some sort of sweetness in my drink.... by the way I use them also when cooking...
  • davidmcgowan1987
    davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
    ive got some unbleached hand picked tea bags to try today to see if its nicer than the dusty stuff they provide at work lol... should be ok unsweetened... but no milk, ew... no sugar... then no milk lol
  • AndreaaMD
    AndreaaMD Posts: 3
    Decrease your sugar packets by the week until you get down to one or none. You can say good-bye without it being abrupt. Good luck!
  • Katy285
    Katy285 Posts: 18
    ooh that's a tough one and am interested to read what everybody's views is on this issue...
    Just like you love your sweet tea, I love my coffee with hazelnut cream and I know that has alot of sugar.
    Anyway my personal view on this is, everything on moderation :)
    Oh, and one more thing, have you tried stevia? its made from stevia leaf, it has 0 calories and its not harmful like those other diet sweetners (equal, etc.)
  • EatingHealthy4life
    EatingHealthy4life Posts: 2 Member
    I like Stevia - specifically the Nu Natural liquid version. I am sure that somewhere there is a study that bemoans it as well. Guess it comes down to what you're willing to put in your body.
  • jlmoses91
    jlmoses91 Posts: 87 Member
    Same here I love sweet tea! I actually use a mix of a little sugar and stevia in the raw, the stevia does have a little sugar in it Nd it's made from 2 ingredients: stevia extract and maltodextrin, it does not work as well as other chemical sweeteners but is healthier substitute! If you don't feel comfortable using it try taking out one spoonful of sugar when you drink it, then when you get comfortable with the way it tastes take out another. It does take a while but it helped me out a lot.
  • davidmcgowan1987
    davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
    well the higher quality tea certainly makes a difference....

    katy285 have you tried coffee beans infused with the hazelnut flavour? they might fit your desire without the sugar
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    I personally try to avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible. Yes, I have them very occasionally in a Diet Coke or Snapple, but I don't make a habit of it. I know people who use artificially sweetened products or sweetener on everything and I don't think it's helping.

    As you like tea very sweet, I strongly suggest you try Harney & Son's Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea. It's so sweet I can't imagine that anyone would want to add sugar to it and it's naturally sweet from cinnamon and clove. They say it has no calories. I asked on this forum if this was true and if there might still be a glycemic effect and was told no.

    Here's a link to the company's site, but I believe it's available thorough Amazon.

    http://www.harney.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=3833&category=0&secondary=930



    I drink coffee without sugar, but can only drink decent coffee with fresh skim milk. Sugar masks less than great taste. That's why it's such a popular ingredient to add.
  • rochellena
    rochellena Posts: 49 Member
    HI! New around these parts. I'm curious what the most current opinions of Splenda are. It's my main go-to sweetener for my tea/coffee, but I haven't really kept up on research pertaining to it.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    ooh that's a tough one and am interested to read what everybody's views is on this issue...
    Just like you love your sweet tea, I love my coffee with hazelnut cream and I know that has alot of sugar.
    Anyway my personal view on this is, everything on moderation :)
    Oh, and one more thing, have you tried stevia? its made from stevia leaf, it has 0 calories and its not harmful like those other diet sweetners (equal, etc.)

    Harney & Sons, the tea place I mentioned, has a Hazelnut-flavored tea called "Florence" that you might want to try. I bought a sample there and it was pretty good. Hazelnut is not my favorite flavor.

    If you live near a Harney & Sons store you can go and sample up to three teas for free, five on the weekend.
  • sjschewlakow
    sjschewlakow Posts: 120 Member
    I use Splenda. I like it and it makes my tea and coffee sweet :D
  • rebrcca3434
    rebrcca3434 Posts: 67
    I use Splenda but generally trying to cut back unhealthy sugar. I'm not worried about cancer because the amount you would have to consume is much higher than a normal daily intake. The thing with Splenda is it creates these artificial taste sensations which at least for me interfere with your natural appetite. Personally I'm gradually cutting back sugar (and salt). I think either is fine in moderation but while I diet I use Splenda (2 w/ coffee) to cut calories but will go back to natural sugar later because I think that the artificial stuff sort of messes with your perceptions of how much your eating/ taste expectations and so forth.

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