Sweetners

[fozzie99]

I know I will be boiled in oil or at least tarred and feathered for this......but does anybody use aspartame in any shape or form? I hate Stevia,Splenda(sucralose) is almost as bad and the pink stuff when used in coffee can almost make me gag.

[LCNana]

lots of people say the have had to try several different brands of stevia before they found one they liked. I don't use it myself so can't recommend different brands but a search should bring up some alternatives for you. I use Splenda and don't mind it at all.

[fozzie99]

I use aspertame based sweeteners and have been happy with them for years.
I tried 2 brands of Stevia and they are both very similiar. Nasty.

[CarolynF]

I recently got some Stevia Glycerite and its not bad. I usually use Splenda and erythritol.

[metqa]

Hey if it works for you then use it. If you don't feel bad after using it, then that's great and you shouldn't let someone else's personal issues with it keep you from enjoying it if it's the one you like best!

I don't know in what forms you can get it for personal home use, I've only seen it in commercial products, but the packets are popular.

[fozzie99]

7 years ago I researched aspertame based products and discovered that in a 2000 count box of equal there is less than an ounce of aspertame.....there rest is starch.
I was doing low carb and wanted to ditch the starch. I located a product called twinsweet 350 times as sweet as sugar. I arranged to purchase some pure product in bullk no starch. I've really liked it. I've only got a little left and the manufacture has since gone out of the aspartame business. I've located another sweetner called neotame 8000 to 13000 times as sweet as sugar and am aranging to purchase a kilo....equal to about 17000 lbs of sugar. I'll be able to leave some to my decendants!!!

[fozzie99]

You should do a search on ebay you can find much better pricing.

[jennmc31]

All of them are bad for you except pure stevia. And Truvia and Purevia do not contain the whole Stevia plant. Sucralose is chemically closer to DDT and Agent Orange than it is to sugar.There is a website The Truth About Splenda. The other sweeteners are also chemicals and can cause so many horrible health effects...including crossing the blood brain barrier causing "white matter in the brain". None of them help you lose weight and all wreak havoc with your blood sugar. I urge you to research these products before you use them

[fozzie99]

None of the completely synthetic substitutes affect BS or insulin levels.

[metqa]

All of them are bad for you except pure stevia.

I know a few diabetics who would disagree with this statement.

[RVcook]

Originally Posted by fozzie99

None of the completely synthetic substitutes affect BS or insulin levels.

Only you can determine which sweetener works with your taste buds AND your health goals. For example, I can't really tolerate the taste of splenda (sucralose) when it is the only sweetener. It bothers me because of a 'metallic' taste it leaves behind. Think...iron flavored water...blech! And for the most part, although I use two different brands of stevia, I really don't like them alone either...they just don't taste 'right.'

Bottom line: Pick your battles.

[mia.bella]

Different things work for different people. Not supposed to have peanut butter on induction but it worked for me and I still lost with it.

[Auntie Em]

I avoid aspartame as it causes troubles for me. I use saccharin tablets. I use NectaSweet brand, which contains no added sugars, such as dextrose or malto-dextrin. The tablets are easy to crush between two spoons, and use for baking. They dissolve easily.

They come in different strength tablets. Some don't care for the taste of saccharin, as it has a slightly bitter aftertaste. I find the taste all right.

Stevia plants are easy to grow. The fresh leaves can be steeped or boiled, and the "tea" used for sweetening. This is much less expensive than buying stevia from the store, and has the advantage of not having anything added to it.

Hope you find an AS you like.

[ttatummm]

I've tried more than a dozen different brands of stevia and products containing stevia, they all taste bitter to me. Though I've grown stevia and like the fresh leaves.

I really like Erythritol, it taste good and has a glycemic index of zero. There is a product you can get in your grocery store called Truvia which is Erythritol and an extract of stevia, interestingly it does taste bitter to me.

If you're not familiar with Erythritol, it is a sugar alcohol. It's advantages are that it has the lowest glycemic index and it is much less likely to cause intestinal distress than other sugar alcohols.

[TBipp]

Another choice for you may be xylitol. I believe it is all natural and to me, it tastes like sugar. The downfall is that it is toxic to dogs like chocolate, raisins and macadamia nuts.

[Fitness_Kitty]

I mix two sweetners in my coffee, Truvia and liquid sucralose (EZ Sweetz).

Though I love Splenda, I dont want the starch carbs, plus I like my coffee super sweet, so no way do I want a 8 carb cup of coffee lol.

Plus the way the Splenda "sizzles" when I put it in my coffee is a lil SCARY!! hahaa

[metqa]

Originally Posted by Wikd_Sweet

Plus the way the Splenda "sizzles" when I put it in my coffee is a lil SCARY!! hahaa

[liteasabutterfly]

Hello All,

So should we really not use equal, I see everyone using stevia or splenda, I like truvia as well, but out of all I like equal....it is sweeter to me. I have been using that. Does that prevent my weight loss the equal? Please someone let me know why we shouldn't use equal.

[JaseT]

IMO, we are losing weight to become healthier. Why use artificial sweeteners that may cause other health issues? I have completely stopped using anything with aspartame (equal), and the only sucralose (splenda) that I ingest is in SF syrup and that is rarely. I like Truvia as my main sweetener. I also use stevia liquid and granular erythritol.

Even though artificial sweeteners are said to be safe, I can see the backtracking 20 years from now. Remember how trans-fat loaded margarine was the "healthy" choice? Bah.

[metqa]

Originally Posted by liteasabutterfly

Hello All,

So should we really not use equal, I see everyone using stevia or splenda, I like truvia as well, but out of all I like equal....it is sweeter to me. I have been using that. Does that prevent my weight loss the equal? Please someone let me know why we shouldn't use equal.

Classic Equal is aspartame. Some people are sensitive to it and get symptoms and side effects. Some don't. Aspartame cannot be cooked above a certain temperature or it breaks down and loses sweetness. It's metabolites ( byproducts of digestion or breaking down)include aspartic acid, methanol and phenylalanine. The last of the three is an amino acid that some people are allergic to or have sensitivities to and should be avoided. the first is an amino acid also. The methanol is converted to formadehyde in the process of neutralizing it's toxicity, but it's a small amount of methanol, less than can be found in common fermented foods.


Read about it. Aspartame controversy -
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I personally don't use it because I prefer the taste and ease of use of the other sweeteners made for use in bulk, since I don't drink coffee and have no need of coffee size packets. But I do use and drink products that contain it as the sole or blended sweetener, like instant puddings or fast food diet sodas, though I do choose sucralose sweetened if there is a choice.

If you like it, and you don't find that you feel bad when using it, the personally, I think you have the choice to keep using it. When something no longer fits your lifestyle. If you find it causes you problems, or discomfort then feel free to ditch it. Stevia is a great product. Most of the store brands and the plant taste awfully awful and awful to me. Doesn't matter how healthy it might be if It makes me gag.