Sugars vs. 0 Cal Sweeteners

Hi all,

I am curious about how to sweeten my food (such as my daily coffee) as healthily as possible. I've experimented with a few different things and was looking for some ideas on this.

Splenda: Seems like a miracle at first, tastes more like sugar then the other no calorie sweeteners...but! More knowledge from my Biochemistry class :) Splenda was only tested for 6 months, and its essentially just a sugar molecule with a CHLORINE atom attached to it. If that chlorine atom gets dissassociated from the sugar molecule in the body, you could have serious problems. I suspect I started having memory problems when I used splenda alot...but I can't be sure. I'd suggest people stay away from it.

Stevia: This seems like a good choice. Its all natural, coming from the leaf of a plant. Its been in use for ages by people outside of the US and has no harmful side effects. Only problem I had with it, it has a bitter after taste. Still, not a bad trade off for no calories.

Sugar: This is where I need help. I know that refined sugar should be avoided. So I know you can get sugar in other forms...brown sugar, cane sugar. Which of these do you all recommend is the healthies form of natural sugar. Anyone know anything about that?

Some great natural sweetners (although probably not good in coffee) are honey and maple syrup. There are many different types and grades available, but often include many more vitamins/minerals than sugar or sugar substitutes.

We also have an article in the library: Are artificial sweetners safe?

Wow! Thanks osiris! Maybe Splenda is part of why I can't remember anything any more and I'm not even 40 yet...

I have a book at home that I just bought called inflammation nation which is about eliminating the foods and drinks that cause inflammation in the cells of your body. I know it says to avoid all of the man-made sweeteners like sacchrine and aspartame and the like. I'll have to post on here when I find out what sweeteners are recommended, if any.

What I know from my cooking background is that sugar, brown sugar, and cane sugar are all pretty much the same as far as how they break down in your body, how many calories, etc.

The kind of sugar that occurs in fruit, fructose, is thought to be a lower glycemic index sweetener. Plus it's a naturally occurring substance. But the downside is that people who ingest a lot of fructose can develop high triglycerides and insulin resistance which can lead to diabetes.

There's a new sweetener I've read about called WheyLow that combines two natural sugars, fructose and lactose (found in milk). I haven't tried it but it seems like a promising product, less calories than Splenda but the same sweetness as sugar. I live in a rural area, so it will be a while before it's on my grocery store shelves.

I don't drink coffe - I used to drink diet soda, but have switched to herbal tea and water. I tend to choose teas that taste good without any sweetener added. I like TAZO calm tea and Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime and Candy Cane teas.

Let us know if you find WheyLow and if it's any good.

I've noticed most fake sugar has a bitter aftertaste... In small quantities real sugar won't hurt. White sugar, raw sugar, and brown sugar all have about 18 cals a packet, most synthetic sweeteners might say zero but really have about 4. It's all about personal preference, I think...

WOW... that does worry me about the splenda a bit since I use it in my cofee daily...

I do use splenda sometimes, but I really like Stevia. you have to find a good blend of it though. some are more "bitter" than others, but you adjust to the taste. the problem with Stevia for me is that it a bit cost prohibitive.

In baking I use molasses or raw sugar, not refined because I firmly believe refined foods are hell on the body. I use honey a lot too :). A packet of raw sugar is actually in my opinion sweeter than a packet of granulated sugar.

I personally like Splenda, and I'm not worried about a chlorine molecule disassociating itself from a sugar molecule.

Also the information about tesing for only 6 months and on a very, very limited number of human testers I think is misleading.

Everything I've seen on the "web" about Splenda that is negative can be looked at very, very carefully. Because they identify their sources, and some might say "FDA", does anyone go in and check these sources, or the info gleaned from them? Many things can easily be taken out of context and spun one way or another.

Who's to say the "Dangers of Splenda" campaigns aren't designed, implemented and supported by lobbyists groups that are in support of real sugar and/or the makers of Sweet-n-Low or Equal?

It's often interesting to dig very deep to uncover the root and "motive" behind a lot of what can be read that we simply take as the truth given face value!

I'll step off my soap box now, conspiracy theorists can now breathe a sigh of relief! Oh, and my 2 cents... I enjoy just a leeeetle bit of real, plain ole sugar!

Ok went into search and found this post. I just bought the new "EQUAL" Sweetener... it says right on it 0 calories sweetener with aspartame. I never in my life had sweeteners. But decided I should try it... I don't know anything about this... Does anyone have any suggestions?

Arg Just looked it up on the net and all they have to say is bad things, Now Im scared of using it!!! =(  but but its 0 calories... Does diet coke have aspartame too?

ok.. aspartame is, in my opinion, NOT GOOD!  but that's because i'm sensitive to it and it gives me really bad joint pain

have you considered splenda?  it is also 0 calories with no side effects that have been proven.    also, regular diet coke is made with aspartame.. (bad aftertaste for me) BUT they do make a version with splenda in it.. just check the box.. it'll tell you..

Splenda is also bad it has sucralose its not as bad as aspartame.

Pre-approval research showed that sucralose caused shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage) and enlarged liver and kidneys.

Recent Research

A possible problem with caecal enlargement and renal mineralization has been seen in post approval animal research.

While it is unlikely that sucralose is as toxic as the poisoning people are experiencing from Monsanato's aspartame, it is clear from the hazards seen in pre-approval research and from its chemical structure that years or decades of use may contribute to serious chronic immunological or neurological disorders.

stay aware from the highly toxic sweetener aspartame and other questionable sweeteners such as sucralose (Splenda), and acesulfame-k (Sunette, Sweet & Safe, Sweet One).

Maybe artificial sweeteners are bad, but I will take my chances! 

I like to sweeten my coffee with sugar free flavored syrups.  I believe it has splenda or aspartame - I can't remember which.  Caramel flavor is the yummiest!  These syrups (make sure they read sugar free) are zero calories.  I get a big bottle from Marshall's or TJ Maxx for $4.99 - $5.99.  Other flavors (great for ice cream, smoothies, shaved ice and more) are kahlua, amaretta (almond), root beer, creme de menthe, hazelnut, irish cream.  All very good, but caramel ... it's the ticket :Þ

Any 0 Cal sweeteners are very very very bad, I'm a Nurse and if you have any questions on it you need to go to www.herbtime.com  - www.sweetpoision.com.  Google phenylketonurics or aspartame...and look up those sites.  Diet Pops, Crystal light,ect  you need to stay away from.

Mindy

I use splenda in my tea all the time...where as I do understand there maybe some risk with sweeteners, the risk from sugar to me is higher, as I really need to lose weight for the risk of heart probs, and BP and diabeties is proven and much higher..I hope when I maintian finally I will be able to go back to sugar..but thats awhile away for me..:)

www.sweetpoision.com did not come up for me.

I try not to use any sugar (real or artificial) any more than I have to. I drink my coffee black and my tea unsweetened. There are products I buy, like pudding for example, that are made with splenda or Equal.

Remember the Saccharin cancer scare a while back? Where the rats were fed Saccharin and got cancer? But what researchers failed to tell people was that they fed these animals the substance in rediculously high amounts (far more than a human would even intake in their whole lifetime!). So I am somewhat skepticle of any research claiming this or that is good or bad for you. Because you can find research on just about anything saying Everything you eat is bad for you.

Personally, I get a headache if I use too much aspartame sweetener. I've not noticed any side affects from using Splenda. I would say watch your body for allergic reactions to any artificial sweetener. If you feel off, then stop using the product and try something else. As with most things, use it in moderation.

I dealt with this years ago - I got used to foods not being sweet.  I didn't like diet soda, so I gave up soda.  I gradually put less and less sugar in my coffee and cereal until I wasn't using it. I began putting all fruit type jam on my toast and pancakes instead of syrup. I cut way back on eating sweets.  Now I use a small amount of Splenda sometimes, but the little box I bought last fall is still 3/4 full.  It took me about a year to make this change, so I'm not saying it's easy.  I'm not a slave to my sweet tooth anymore.  Now I'm doing the same thing with salt.

Good Luck!
Claire

Yeah, the artificial sweetener scare is so real.

:: grins :: here's what I know:

Aspartame: I've got an inside line on this one, 'cause my mom was an organic chemist working for the FDA when this went through!  Although, at that time, it looked like a miracle cure for the sugar problem, many of the chemists who tested it were still very wary of it because, (aside from all the things we know /now/ about it, such as the formaldehyde pockets is develops in your brain, and the cancerous stuff,) it's such a small molecule, and the way it works is that, one, the body doesn't recogonize it and two, it can slip through many areas of the body that other chemicals can't--such as the brain.  :: shrugs :: that's my understanding of it.

For the others--having once more consulted my mom, she says that although they do feed these in large amounts to animals during the testing, anything that does create cancerous cells or other negative effects are supposed to be studied a lot more thoroughly before they're passed--what we have with most of the others is that they were passed /despite/ their testing, (such as the meat that's treated with poisonous gas--carbon monoxide--which was slipped through the FDA as being a color fixitive rather than an additive.)  The thing we always have to remember whenever we're considering the things that are going through the FDA is that the companies making this stuff carry a lot of clout, and a LOT of money.

Of the artificial sweeteners, Mom said saccerine is the safest.

Stevia: go to www.stevia.com, (can't remember which,) and you can find out all about it.  If you're worried about costs and such, you can buy a plant, (it's also called sweetleaf plant in gurney's, storks, 4 seasons, all the different plant catalogs,) and keep it on the window sill-the only thing is, it's not quite as sweet that way, /but/, it's a /perfect/ additive to tea, as it's in leaf form.  It's easy to grow, too!  They /also/ have some interesting information on stevia.com about stevia's history with the FDA.

I know in the plant catalogs, it's anywhere from four to ten dollars a plant, for something that's up to 300 times sweeter than sugar!

And, as cekurs said, you can train yourself out of needing the sweets--if you eat something for two weeks straight, and then stop, regardless of whether or not you liked it to begin with, later on you'll develop a craving for it.  Same goes for the reverse, only it can take a little longer.

Sweeteners have always made me nervous, and I'm about to the point where I'll just take the sugar if I want coffee that much, and take off the calories later.  The more I think about it, the more I think diet soda is just water full of color and chemicals designed to taste sweet.  I keep walking by the organic raw cut cane sugar in the store because its very expensive, but I may have to start picking the stuff up.. 

The more I think about food, the less processed stuff I buy.  I have become a true 'perimeter shopper' - I shopped yesterday and compared my cart to the woman in front of mine - mine - veggies, organic milk and soy, fresh meat, an 18 lb bag of grapefruit, organic eggs, salad dressing, bread and whole wheat cereal.  The other person - processed foods galore.. and I mean galore.. packaged deli meats, 'lunchables', frozen meals, chips, cookies, crackers and 3 boxes of cheap soda... no thanks.  I felt pretty darn good.

Since sugar is an addiction, I try and stay away from it all together on a daily basis. There is organic sugar in its in its true form... I couldn't find the article that I have read about sugar..but it said something about the white sugar we buy in the store isn't all that great for us and there is real sugar out there. But even with that being said, I don't do the artificial stuff--splenda, equal... If I am going to eat something sweet, I try to do chocolate, a little bit of chocolate is good for you anyways. Still trying to research which choc is the best. But if you are going to eat something sweet, eat something sweet as a treat!

I think that Dark chocolate is the best for you in small amounts that is...