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I need help with the maze of artificial sweeteners!

By January 23, 2009 - 10:33am
 
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Sweet and Low. Nutrasweet. Equal. Splenda. And now there's Truvia. (So many brands that the little packets-container on the restaurant tables are taking on the look of a rainbow!)

Who can make sense of them all? We all know that we need to cut back on sugar, but at least it's a more natural substance. It seems nearly impossible to avoid the use of some artificial sweeteners today, and they all (of course) want us to think that they are better than the others.

Is there any easy way to understand the differences between them, and therefore to make a decision about which might be better (or at least not as bad) for me?

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The American Botanical Council, the most reputable organization that monitors research and consumption of herbs around the world, has several research papers on Stevia and other herbs. Stevia is not only natural but offers high nutritional benefit over any other product in today's market. I am attending a medical conference this week where Stevia was discussed and the research presented to hundreds of physicians and other medical professionals. Many beverage companies including Pepsi and Coca Cola have announced a new line of drinks using Stevia.

I would not hesitate to recommend Stevia over any of the artificial sweeteners currently in the market! When purchasing products that claim to be stevia, please read the labels to ensure purity of product or what is added (there should not be anything added to enhance the natural sweetness of the plant.

http://abc.herbalgram.org/site/PageServer?pagename=News

January 24, 2009 - 11:06pm

I use Stevia regularly and it really doesn't taste sweeter than cane sugar. It's also marketed as "Purevia." It has come a long way from years ago when Stevia had a wierd taste.

Aspartame is was the ingredient that sparked a CDC investigation back in the 1980's, and again in following years, attempting to verify suggested links between the substance and conditions from chronic fatigue syndrome to brain cancer.

Splenda is a sugar substitute based on cane sugar and that I find a more concentrated sweet flavor than granulated sugar.

I rarely ever use white granulated sugar, opting for turbinado or brown sugar instead, if I need to use granulated in baking.

As Susan suggested, you can satisfy a sweet tooth with foods like raisins, apples and even carrots. Honey, pure maple sugar or molasses are good for sweetening fruit and beverages, except coffee (IMHO). Stevia is just fine in coffee and on grapefruit. I even drop a Hershey's dark chocolate kiss in my coffee, yum!

Because it ranks so high on the Glycemic Index, if you're concerned about your sugar intake, finding a good substitute for cane sugar is a good thing. Refined anything isn't really that healthy and can cause spikes in your insulin level.

Here's the Consumer Report on artificial sweeteners.

January 23, 2009 - 6:06pm
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