Non Sugar Sweeteners

I've tried stevia but I still prefer Splenda. I only use it in my tea however.

For what it is worth...I would stop drinking soda all together if I were you. Even 4 oz is too much IMHO. Also, my girls are 17 and 12. I don't believe they have ever tried koolaid. If they have, I didn't make it for them. I don't buy juice for them either. We drink water, tea, or milk.
Unless I am drinking alcohol, I don't like to drink my calories.

I am against anything artificial ... my body is not a toxic waste dump.

From what I understand Stevia comes from a plant but I don't now enough about it to offer any advice.

Stevia is an herb. In your climate you may even be able to grow it in your back yard. The leaves are sweet, and the processed version is available as a sugar substitute. I can't vouch for what is done to it to make it into a commercially viable product, but I can tell you that the herb itself is simply a non-toxic plant and can be used as a beverage sweetener in leaf form. Personally, I do not like it. It does have a bitter aftertaste to some people, and I am one of those people. It also cannot be used as a sugar substitute in baking because it has no browning properties.

And a note about Kool-Aid - Please wean the kids off of it. Teach them to drink herbal tea, or juice and sparkling water, or better yet, just plain water. I use Kool-Aid to dye wool. Anything that can produce those lovely, vibrant, not-known-to-nature colors and has enough acid in it that I don't need to use a mordant to set the dye is something that nobody should be putting on the inside of their bodies, ever.

I've used Stevie for years. It is made from a plant. Stevia is as natural as sugar. I don't know why Stevia has no calories. I do know it has no chemical or artificial ingredients.

I have allergies to some raw fruits and vegetables. I have no reaction to these foods when cooked. Thank you, J.B. for the explanation of why this happens. I was also told by my doctors that my allergy is to the protein in these foods. Initially, I was surprised about proteins. Up until then, I didn't realize that all foods contain some protein. This is the reason vegetarians can be healthy on a diet without meat.

When I was young, I nearly always had the itchy throat and ears. Sometimes, tho rarely, I had hives on my outside skin. The itchy symptoms are caused by internal hives.

I'm now 72 and able to eat most raw fruits and vegetables comfortably because over time my system has accepted the protein. Gradually, by eating a small amount of raw fruits and vegetables my body has been able to accept the protein.

My granddaughter has many environmental allergies. She is also allergic to peanuts. She participated in a study to find out if gradually adding miniscule amounts of peanuts would allow people to eat peanuts. My granddaughter was able to eat some peanuts but she dropped out of the study when she continued to hate the flavor of peanuts. :-)

Because the Stevia is processed, I suggested you would be OK to try Stevia. I looked, in a grocery stire, at the ingredients in several forms of Stevia. I found that major brands seem to have artificial ingredients. I purchase Stevia in the health food section of Fred Meyer.

Try raw, local honey. Just a tiny amount to see how your body responds. You can sometimes buy just a straw full of honey at your farmers market. If that doesn't work for you, I would just use raw sugar or coconut sugar and slowly start weaning yourself off when putting in things like coffee and tea. You don't have to eliminate it completely. With sweet treats use dates, figs, and apples for sweetener. I have a very serious sugar addiction and have spent A LOT of time researching and making sweet treats that are healthy but actually taste like a treat so feel free to message me for recipes. Oh, and for soda, you can wean yourself off that too buy adding club soda to it. Works great! Start with 3 parts dr. Pepper, 1 part soda water and go from there.

Have you tried agave syrup?

ETA: Agave nectar/syrup is another plant-based sugar, a bit like maple syrup. It is a sugar and contains lots of fructose like other plant-based sweeteners. However, it has a lower glycemic index and a little goes a long way. So while you might put, say, 15g of total sugar from cane sugar in your coffee, you could put more like 8g of total sugars from Agave an achieve the same level of sweetness. My sister in law has a kidney condition and has to be careful of sugars, this is what she uses. I get migraines as well and artificial sweeteners are one of my triggers. I haven't had any issues with the Agave, and it doesn't have the nasty bitter taste I get from stevia. My husband has T1D, so I have learned a lot about "sneaky" sugar, like white rice, pasta, etc. Frankly, you are better off switching to whole grain/sprouted breads and wraps, brown rice, plain yogurt, etc, and keeping your vice of one soda every couple of days :)

My DH and I only use Stevia. It is a natural product...we buy the liquid from Whole Foods, their 365 brand tastes best....second best flavor wise is Stevia in the Raw (from the Sugar in the Raw people). They sell that in large loose pouches for cooking and packs for drinks.

My DH has done a lot of reading and it does not raise your glycemic index.

When my cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer her doctor at MD Anderson told her the only approved alternative to sugar sweetener at MD Anderson is stevia. That says a lot to me...if a major cancer research center only approves stevia.

It is based from a plant...so to me it is like putting mint in your drink. Of course it is processed but we might try growing our own next spring.

Hope this helps!!

Stevia is a plant that is many times sweeter than sugar. The food giants Cargill and PepsiCo are manufacturing "stevia" under the brand names Truvia and PureVia. These actually doesn't even have stevia as the main ingredient, are very processed and should be avoided.

Real stevia extract is not allowed to be sold as a sweetener, but can be sold as a health food supplement and has been sold that way for many, many years. Traditional stevia sold as a supplement is basically stevia leaves that have been dried and powdered, or turned into a liquid extract. SweetLeaf is one brand that has been around forever and is minimally altered. My personal favorite is Trader Joe's Organic Stevia Extract, which contains only one ingredient, Organic Stevia Extract. No fillers or anything else.

ETA: your allergies are most likely Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS). You aren't allergic to the food per se, but your body confuses proteins in raw fruits and vegetables with pollen of a tree to which you are allergic, in your case, birch. My oldest son is allergic to all tree pollen (except pine) and has OAS to most raw fruits, most vegetables that have seeds (so lettuce is generally OK), and tree nuts. If it's OAS, you should be able to cook the food and have it not cause a reaction, because cooking changes the protein structure enough that your body no longer thinks you're eating pollen. Freezing, canning, etc. can also change things enough so that it won't cause a reaction. So my son can't have any raw veggies, but well-steamed or roasted are fine. Can't snack on an apple, but can eat apple pie. No bananas, but banana bread is fine. No strawberries, but can have strawberry jam.

So that said...it's highly unlikely that if you have OAS, stevia would be an issue as what's sold as a supplement or sweetener is an extract of the leaves that has been dried and powdered or turned into a liquid. You're not munching on the leaves themselves. It's probably safe to give it a try.

Stevia (often sold as rebiana) is a natural sweetener from a plant. (But see my edit below)

It is not like saccharin (e.g. Sweet & Low), sucralose (e.g. Splenda), or aspartame (e.g. Equal). So it's not artificial. However, it is often processed with all kinds of stuff you don't want and which are terrible for you. So you have to read the label to see what else is in there, and also where stevia (or rebiana) occurs on the ingredient list - if it's the 4th or 5th ingredient after a bunch of other stuff, you have to re-think it. I get mine on line because I haven't found anything in the grocery store that isn't loaded with junk.

Same goes for things loaded with corn syrup or corn syrup solids. Plain sugar would be better.

I think it makes sense to rethink your Dr. Pepper and your KoolAid, of course, because they do build up a craving for sweetness. That makes you, and the kids, want other forms of sugar too. If they really want flavoring, can't you save their teeth and a lot of money with water and a squirt of lemon or fresh orange slice - even a few slices of cucumber sitting in a pitcher of water in the fridge change its flavor to make it seem different - although I think the idea of doing that or buying artificial flavor drops for water kind of sends the message that "water is bad". Then there's all that artificial red dye and other color dyes in there. If you read the ingredient list of the sodas, you'll be amazed.

But you're absolutely right about these artificial sweeteners causing all kinds of problems, and there is a ton of data about how the pancreas reacts to it. They've been on the market for decades (with pitiful testing), and we have a far greater obesity problem than we did before.

If you like something fizzy, why not have regular seltzer/club soda, watered down halfway with plain water, and/or with the natural flavoring added, or add a squeeze of lime, lemon or other fruit? I think you'll see a difference in everyone's health, their other food choices and your budget.

(Edited to add: stevia is the plant itself; rebiana is a derivative from it which some people question BUT it depends on how that rebiana is processed. Moreover, it is often added to things like erythritol and other lab-produced items which you may or may not want to consume). Pure stevia is a plant, just like sugar cane. And sugar cane is processed into a variety of sugar products, with white sugar being the most processed and having the most nutrients removed from the plant. There are so many forms of sugar in your store, for example: brown (light/dark), turbinado, etc.)

It is made from a plant not chemicals like most other artificial sweeteners.

The most natural sweetener is honey, raw is best, once it is pasteurized it loses its nutrients.

Check the labels on other foods you eat, high fructose corn syrup is in everything and your body doesn't process it the same as sugar (it's like a extremely condensed version of sugar which makes it sweeter). Dr. Pepper and other sodas (and most foods) use HFCS and people wonder why America has a problem with type 2 diabetes.

If you are going to use sugar for coffee or a drink you are better off using natural sugar (like sugar in the raw), it wont be as sweet as you are used to, but you will get used to it.

The problem with stevia is a significant one, in my opinion. Yes, stevia is a plant. And you can grow it, and steep the leaves (like tea) and sweeten things with it. But the stevia that is sold commercially (Truvia and all the others) is heavily processed. If you look at the package, you'll see words like Rebaudioside A, or Reb A or similar words. The stevia has been processed and the Reb A stuff is not natural. Look up Rebaudioside.

Also, the agave nectar isn't natural. There is an extract in the agave plant that can be used, like the sap that is used to make maple syrup, but that's not what is in those bottles of agave nectar. What's in the bottles on the supermarket shelves is an extract of the leaves, again highly processed. The leaves are exposed to very high heat and a liquid is produced, but it's not nectar, and it's not natural. Read up on how agave nectar is made, and you'll see the process.

Both products probably do have some positive points, like being lower on the glycemic index, or you can use less of them, but because they are so highly processed, I avoid them completely. The process to make them is much like that of the high fructose corn syrup.

I suggest you steer clear of both, and instead rely on raw, unfiltered, local honey, and pure organic maple syrup. Those both are unprocessed, unrefined, and truly natural.

Happy New Year, Gamma!

I am sure you know that cool aid and sodas have the same affect than artificial sweeteners. Studies showing that allergies to foods are coming from the ingredients in sodas and the dyes.

Eliminating sodas, cool aid etc. could prevent more health issues and could help to control your allergy.

I like real sugar (from sugar cane or sugar beets)- white, brown, powdered.
Maple syrup and maple candy are good too but I don't do them often since they can be fairly expensive.
Molasses and honey are alright.
Anything else I stay away from as much as I can - this includes high-fructose corn syrup (and you'd be surprised at all the stuff they sneak that into).
Anything that's zero calorie or low calorie often uses an artificial sweetener - and the artificial stuff is horrible for your metabolism and it's not great for your kidneys either.
Most of the time I drink water - plain or with a little lemon or lime juice in it.
A chilled pitcher of water with a few leaves of mint and a few slices of lime is very refreshing - no sweetener at all - get the kids use to drinking this or unsweet ice tea with lemon instead of Koolaid.
I don't like milk for drinking (though I do like to drink cultured buttermilk) but I'll cook with it (and cream or half n half).
I use real butter, coconut oil and olive oil the most.

We don't forbid soda but we try to do it only once a week.

Don't use anything artificial. Just use regular sugar.

Do some research.
No Stevia, no Equal, no Sweet & Low, no Splenda.
NO ARTITICIAL SWEETENERS.
It's simple.
Use a little Organic, Raw sugar.
No soda. It's the simplest move you can make to improve your overall health.
24 pack of Dr Pepper over 60 days? Still too much.
Do t use agave -- too high in fructose!

Agave and stevia. Or just use real sugar. Just don't use that much of it.

Stevia is a plant-based non-caloric sweetener. It does NOT taste like sugar, and for me, it leaves a foul aftertaste.
Frankly, I don't trust anything that tastes sweet but has no calories.