In honor of winter, which brings along everyone’s favorite white powder (unless you’re lucky enough to live in Miami…), today’s post is about a different sort of white powder: Stevia
What are your thoughts on sugar?
I’ll go first: I’m a bit wary of including a lot of sugar in my diet, not because of the calories (if anything, I try to eat as many calories as I can, not as few), but because of how sugar made me feel in the past. However, this doesn’t mean I don’t think sugar can be part of a healthy diet.
Sweeteners
Why is sugar perceived to be so bad?
The media gives a bad name to sugar, but the truth is that if one isn’t trying to lose weight (and even if one is), there is absolutely no harm in including some sugar in one’s everyday diet. Sure, it’s devoid of nutrition, but that doesn’t mean it has negative nutrition (as long as you brush your teeth thoroughly). Also, some sugars, like maple syrup and blackstrap molasses do have nutritional value. Blackstrap molasses is an exceptionally-high source of iron, and it also contains calcium, potassium, copper, and magnesium. In other words, it’s a super sugar!
The main reason people are told to cut back on sugar is that they eat sugary foods instead of nutrient-dense ones. But unless you have diabetes or another such illness, I’d argue that as long as you’re getting enough nutrients in your diet, there’s nothing wrong with eating non-nutritious, sugary foods too. Sugar may not help you get in more nutrients, but it certainly won’t hurt you or take away the nutrients you are getting. (I’m not a doctor, so take my opinion with a grain of salt sugar ;).)
What about artificial sweeteners?
I admit that I don’t have much experience with these. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever tried Splenda or any products containing it. My only encounters with artificial sweeteners: When I was younger, I hated soda (still do); therefore, at restaurants, my habit was to order iced tea. My mom told me that Sweet-n-Low dissolved better than regular sugar in iced tea, so I’d use that. But I kept getting stomach aches, so my doctor recommended I try nixing the Sweet-n-Low. Surprise: the stomach aches went away! Maybe it was a coincidence, but maybe–on the other hand–my stomach was trying to tell me that people aren’t supposed to ingest dangerous chemicals in place of real food!
What about stevia? Is it safe?
As I said before, I’m not a doctor, so I can only tell you my opinion. I’ve heard the lab-rat studies that claim to show stevia is unsafe. But honestly, I think those studies are flawed because the rats were fed HUGE amounts of stevia, and anything in such a high quantity will produce negative results. (Did you know that too much broccoli can cause acid poisoning? Or that too much cinnamon damages the liver?) Stevia, an herb, has been used for centuries in South America and Japan to sweeten teas and other foods, without evidence of harm. So looking at historical evidence, it seems as if stevia—when used sparingly—is harmless.
Next up:
Ways I use sugar, followed by ways I use stevia. Without much of a sweet tooth, I don’t really use much of either. But I feel that there’s a place for both in a healthy diet. Variety is the spice of life, right? Well, that and some good-quality onion powder ;).
What I find amusing about my own experience is that I’ve never, ever in my life considered using artificial sweeteners (bar the VERY occasional Pepsi Max) until I visited America. Then, suddenly, it was everywhere, and my friends were all using it, and now I’ve become quite a fan of stevia.
And partly for the same reason as you – I’m not trying to cut calories, but I do eat an awful lot of sugar in other things (e.g. vast quantities of chocolate) so I don’t mind using stevia in a few things here and there.
But golly gee, I wish a company would send me samples of yummy things!!
I used to be obsessedddd with artificial sweetners. Particularly, Splenda. I think that loading up on chemicals is WORSE for you than loading up on refined sugar. I mean, both aren’t good…but I’d rather not mess around with my body’s natural chemistry 😕
I used your idea for carrot cake cereal & had it for bFast!
I love stevia! I have a huge sweet tooth, so its hard to say that I dont use any refined sugars what so ever (baking!), but I definitely use stevia in my oatmeal and coffee – its basically replaced everything that I used splenda in =)
I am a big advocate of no sugar. It can cause a great deal more than just weight gain…sugar consumption leads to fluid retention and inflammation which can lead to higher levels of bad cholesterol (raises triglyceride levels in the blood) , cancer cells feed on sugar, sugar compromises your immune system, and it can deplete your nutrients. There is not one good think that comes from eating sugar. Again, not a fan.
As far as artificial sweeteners go, again not good for us. They are made with chemicals are body does not recognize, but unfortunately, they are one of my weaknesses. I love sugar free syrup in my coffee. 🙁
I’m a big stevia fan, but sill weary sometimes. I think I would probably be better off just not sweetening anything at all as I think the more stevia I use, the more sweets I want. I will say that out of all the brands I’ve tried, NuNaturals is the best tasting.
I try to avoid most refined sugars. I stick to fruit, agave, and some xylitol (a sugar alcohol). I used to drink diet sodas, but I’ve cut them out this year. I like stevia in drinks, but not food, for some reason.
I have to try Stevia! I read about it all the time but I haveyet to seek it ot for use. I knew it was something worth looking into when my mother of all people turned to me and asked me if I knew anything about it.
I like Stevia. I used to be a HUGE artificial sweetener junky, but I’ve tried to cut it out as much as possible. I’ve also tried to cut out most of the refined sugars, but it is in almost EVERYTHING! Craziness! I do use honey, maple syrup, and Truvia (which is stevia cut with something else, not really sure if it is clean or not, but it’s more granular then a powder).
Not for anything, but I read an article that compared honey to HFCS. Not sure why! That just seems silly to me 😉
As an avid baker, sugar is very important to me. I used to eat a lot of it but have been cutting back. And I’ve discovered that one can fairly easily adjust to doing so, if you really want to. I was formerly of the opinion that I needed sugar in my tea– but after trying it without I soon adjusted and don’t miss it. I try to bake less sugary recipes now, or if I have the urge to bake something high in sugar I just give most of it away. 🙂 Or if I want something sweet I make a smoothie and rely on fruit for the sweetness. I have never used artificial sweeteners– I am trying to eat naturally. So I am also avoiding many processed foods and the fairly recent crop of alternative sweeteners– HFCS and the like. I think it is important to remember that sugar is just refined– it is naturally occuring and just purified out of the sugar beet or cane. But many other sweeteners are modified in some way.
My grandmother grew stevia and I tasted the actual plant once, but I haven’t used any stevia products yet. I am interested in investigating it– so I am looking forward to reading your next posts.
Do you know what levels of cinnamon are damaging to the liver? My doctor recommended it a few years back to help with my bad joints and arthritis (at 23, most of my joints snap, crackle and pop like a rice krispie commercial; c’est la vie). I’d asked if he knew a safe supplement I could take, and I’ve been putting about a teaspoon in my oatmeal almost on a daily basis ever since.
I have yet to find an artificial sweetener that doesn’t bother my stomach. I just stick to normal sugar or substitutes like honey or agave.
I haven’t used artificial sweeteners in over a decade–“foods” made in a lab scare me! I’ve used stevia as my only sweetener in cooking and baking for over a year, and I love it.
That said, there are different types of stevia products. Here in Canada, all we get is the “pure” stevia, and it’s sold as an herbal supplement. That type is, in my opinion, perfectly safe; it’s when companies start extracting only PART of the sweet compounds in the plant that I get worried. I wrote a post about stevia and the different types, if you’re interested! 🙂
i’m a stevia girl, all the way. i have it with everything. I think it’s much bette than my previous addiction to splenda. once i found out they discovered splenda when trying to find a new form of ddt and a miscommunication turned “test it” into “taste it” Voila-sweetness!
i have been trying ween myself off of sugary substances in general though. studies have been recently published that suggest that these non-nutritive sweeteners (stevia included. anything that is sweet but has no calories) make your body crave more sugar/calories. without that little fiber package or actually calories in a piece of fruit for example, your body isn’t tricked into thinking it has the real thing.
the nature of sugar, and our love of it is a very interesting scientific topic.
I’m so glad you’re doing this series Katie!
Love love love NuNaturals stevia products! The only stevia products with no funny aftertaste I’ve ever tried. Yay for free samples.
I use a little bit of artificial sweetener in my coffee everyday, and use sugar when needed. I think that both are fine in moderation. I’ve had Stevia once or twice and it didn’t like me – or my body didn’t like it, so I stick with sugar, maple syrup, honey, and artificial sweetener.
Okay, urm. A bit stumped! I was going to write my two cents worth, then I read Elizabeth’s comment. Rest assured Elizabeth, that Splenda WAS NOT discovered whilst they were searching for a new form of DDT. My Dad was one of the lab group who discovered the synthesis of Splenda/sucralose- you can check, it was a collaborative effort initially between Tate and Lyle of Reading and University College London, both in the U.K. I’ve talked to my Dad a number of times about sucralose, and its development, being interested in the debates swirling around the world… he said that the safety testing for sucralose was incredibly rigourous, check after check, study after study, and if there had been a hint of any safety concerns the U.K version of the FDA would have halted it in its tracks- you can see how strict they are by the fact that they are still banning stevia here due to a few studies showing questionable results! I’ve read about the new studies linking a possible mismatch between the brain and bodily responses to artificial sweeteners, its going to be interesting to see what subsequent studies come up with!
I can understand the whole chemicals thing, but not all ‘chemicals’ are bad (we’re all made up of them!) Most of us wouldn’t be here without antibiotics. Besides, if alcohol came to the market now, it would be an illegal drug ;( So far there is a tonne more evidence on salt being harmful to us than artificial sweeteners. Mind you, after having lecturers from a Prof on the advisory committee for setting U.K. vitamin RDAs about the obesity/diabetes epidemic I try to steer clear of too much fructose. Although fructose is good for diabetics as it doesn’t cause insulin spikes, for the rest of us, it increases our risk of central (tummy) obesity, cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes etc. (I could go into details but this is Katie’s blog, sorry Katie!) That means agave too- I don’t understand why the same ppl who avoid HFCS use agave instead- near 100% fructose. I say listen to our bodies, and use our minds to check things out, moderation is the key… and have fun making all that Katie has to offer 😉 (P.S. KAtie- I’m so sorry about the size of this comment, please feel free to edit it, or not post it up!)
I like to use stevia where I can, but is it just me or does it have a slightly chlorine-like taste? The one I buy is pure and completely natural, but I still find it has a funny aftertaste that over-powers the flavour of whatever it is I’m making!