artificially sweet
Sugar's out for me, it's my heroin, my cocaine. So how to sweeten the occasional thing which needs sweetening? Sweet-N-Low, besides having a stupid name (hate that "N" in the middle) is nasty.
Equal sweetens fine for cold things, but it's got a scary reputation and affected me badly when I first used it (dizziness, headaches). Here's a scary, really paranoid rant on aspartame.
So then there's Splenda, that modified backward sugar which the body can't absorb. That alone is a little frightening. Here's another paranoid rant on sucralose.
What do you use, if anything? If you're opposed to the artificials, why? Do worries about low calorie eating today override concern about alzheimers or brain tumors down the road? Are there any safe alternatives?
Equal sweetens fine for cold things, but it's got a scary reputation and affected me badly when I first used it (dizziness, headaches). Here's a scary, really paranoid rant on aspartame.
So then there's Splenda, that modified backward sugar which the body can't absorb. That alone is a little frightening. Here's another paranoid rant on sucralose.
What do you use, if anything? If you're opposed to the artificials, why? Do worries about low calorie eating today override concern about alzheimers or brain tumors down the road? Are there any safe alternatives?
posted by BigAssBelle at 2:10 PM
20 Comments:
I use natural maple syrup grade b. It has tons of vitamins and nutrients, and is a natural non processed sugar. We all know that forms of sugar are necessary for brain function. We just need to stay away from the refined, processed variety. I chose maple syrup over honey because it is healthier, and comes up through the roots, hence ground, and contains vital minerals. If I am looking for a total non sugar sweetner, I use steevia. It is a Brazilian plant (herb?) that has amazing sweetening abilities. It's non calorie, and occurs in nature, unlike the carcinogens put out by companies like McNeil. Splenda, S-n-L, and =, are horrid chemical experiments, whose safety is a myth perpatrated with lots of lobbiest money in D.C. STAY THE FUCK AWAY from them!!!! They are not healthy in the least bit.
uhhm, make that perpetrated. Damn my old brain...
Nutracuetical company. Have you ever heard anything as absurd as that?
Slow food baby!
I use stevia as well. It's in the "supplement" section rather than in the sugar/sweetener section. I love it, and it has fiber, too. Plus it's "all natural" not "chock full of chemical goodness."
-k
tater :-) passionate about sweeteners!
okay, stevia . . . isn't it little chopped up green leaves? i think i tried some of this once on some grapefruit ~ little chopped up greens that tasted like green leaves. is there a powdered stevia?
Yes! And a Liquid too!
I can't help being passionate, I get so tired of food industry lies...
I use saccarine. Old fashioned much maligned saccarine. Yes I know it kills lab rats. I don't care. I am hoping eventually to come to my senses and begin using raw honey. I used it before and it was great in tea and for cooking. Did not work on my oatey O's cereal. I ended up with a Cheerio the size of a baseball. I can control my honey use for some reason. Why am I using saccarine?
Ms. Lynette - I have many flaws - one of which is no taste for sugar at all. My first vice would be salt - closely followed by grease.
Yet I really write to let you know that my recent post on JMG taking (much) literary license with your words was never (ever) intended to be anything less than a compliment. You have a wonderful gift for language and for stirring up thought/opinions. In short, you are one of my favorite commenters/blog people.
All the best -
One problem... stevia, in more than minute quantities, tastes Teh Ick. (Just MHO.)
I don't have a hard rule for this. Sometimes I use Equal. Sometimes honey, maple syrup or concentrated fruit juice (raisins and dates make good sweeteners, too). My mom uses stevia, brown rice syrupm blaskstrap molasses and some kind of date sugar.
And sometimes, you've just gotta use real sugar.
If there's nothing else, I'll use Splenda or S-N-L, but never maltitol. Do you remember the symptoms Olestra can cause? Maltitol can do the same things. Brrrr.
I use honey, maple syrup, or apple syrup/sauce to sweet stuff. The other thing is sometimes I blend dates through stuff to make them sweet without adding sugar.
Water, my dear. Clear, cool water. I've developed a taste for it and now cannot abide sugary substances.
Late to the party, I use Splenda. I remember when the boards were packed full of people warning against Equal and recommending it as a "safe" alternative. Right now, it gets me by. It's on my list of "rarely used," however.
For the longest time I was using raw sugar. It's just a damn sight more expensive than the processed stuff. Sometimes I use honey and I do use drink mixes with splenda and aspartame. I just try not to go overboard with any of them. I know the artificial sweeteners are bad but so is the amount of sugar I put in my coffee. Alzheimers vs. diabetes? I'm trying to teach myself just to get by with less sugar. But I'm going to keep my eye out for this stevia stuff...
I use cocaine.
Couple bumps in my coffee in the morning, and I don't need to eat for the rest of the day. It really helped me cut down on sugar. Highly recommended.
I use stevia -- it's an herb and sweetens just as well as other sweeteners to me. :-)
I'd love to live chemical-free, but will use either Splenda or Equal in my coffee and sprinkled over my cereal. Except that I just discovered Kashi Go Lean Cereal, which is sweet enough (honey) without needing anything extra, so there ya go!!
We use a little splenda now and then. Of course, I drink some diet soda once in a while and it has equal or some other I suppose. I have cut down and switched to water but finding it hard to totally quit drinking the diet soda. Arrrgghhh! I like honey once in a while too.
I rarely use sugar, so when I do, I use white sugar. Sorry. I have got some organic sugar from Trader Joe's that I am going to try the next time I decide I need to make sweet tea or hot chocolate. Though Helen's suggestion just might have something.... just joking, okay. Really.
yeah, i liked helen's first suggestion too, at least i would have 24 years ago. but as i recall, cocaine always tasted jest a little bitter :-) so wouldn't do much for sweetening. as far as getting revved up in the a.m., i'm a fan of white crosses. just a little bounce up now and then.
alas, those days are long gone and now i'm fretting about things like sweeteners.
I'm working to get off of alll of it as it gives sugar addicts a 'hit' too. :) Not there yet... but working on it.
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