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 ;).
I try to stay away from fake sugar as much as possible. Once in a while I’ll use stevia, but I like to use regular sugar!
Due to health reasons I most limit my sugar intake. If I eat too much I feel sick and miserable for a couple days after. I prefer to use natural sources in baking such as fruits or agave/molasses. I get more satisfaction out of fresh fruit then I do baked goods.
Artificial sweetners scare me so I stay away from them. They also have a fake taste to them that is just not good. I do use stevia but in small amounts and not very often.
I’ve tried a few artificial sweeteners, mainly out of curiosity. Splenda may be made from sugar but it does not taste like sugar. I know that the corn growers are trying to convince everyone that HFCS is safe, but I don’t buy that. Even if it won’t hurt me any more than sugar, I try to avoid it because it is so ubiquitous. By trying to not get any, I probably get a reasonable amount. I’ve not tried stevia, but I’ve always been curious about it. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with it. Maybe I’ll get inspired!
I rarely eat sugar — especially during cold and flu season. My biggest issue is that it causes so much inflammation in the body and feeds bacteria. If you want your cold to hang around – be sure and feed it lots of sugar. So for tea/coffee/cocoa I usually use stevia or honey and save sugar for once in awhile. I feel like I enjoy it more that way anyway! Once in a blue moon I will have a diet soda (and usually spend the better part of the day regretting it – feel yucky!) But there are so many things that are wonderfully sweet on their own — especially BANANAS!!
I am not against sugar at all, but it seems like a lot of recipes (not yours of course!) call for too much. I made a blueberry crisp yesterday, and when I tasted it, it was just way too sweet! Fruit is naturally sweet, and so I would cut the sugar in half next time. I think this can be done with a lot of recipes for sweet treats! However, I don’t think there is anything wrong with eating sugar in moderation 😉
As for artificial sweeteners, I try not to use them too much because I also get a stomachache. I have a weakness for chewing sugar-free gum when I am bored at work, but I have to limit myself to just a piece or two per day, or I notice the effects almost immediately!
I’ve never tried Stevia or NuNaturals, but it would definitely be something I would try, maybe in a Katie-inspired recipe!! Thanks for the honest review!
I use some Splenda — certainly less than I did a year ago. I don’t bake, really (I plead the law school excuse), so I don’t even know if we HAVE regular sugar in the house. I do drink diet pop and own it.
This is terrible of me, but when you said people’s favorite white powder, I thought, “Whaaaaat?” Forgive me. 😉 And I’ve always just been 100% drug-free — I just have a wandering mind!
Such a well written and thought out post Katie! And I’m with EE – no druggie here but when you said everyone’s favorite white powder… well I was a little shocked 😉
Appreciate your opinions and writing about this topic Katie! It’s such a hot bed in the food blog world and in nutrition circles, but with any nutrition fad it’s got to be a personal choice which I think you have articulated well here.
Personally, I have not met an artifical sweetener that I like…including Stevia. I can even taste it’s nastiness in protein powder where there is just a tiny bit added…YUCK!
So that being said, I don’t use them at all. But I have chosen not to use refined sugars either, because I just don’t feel comfortable or responsible putting those into my body, whether I’m craving it or not.
If I want something sweet I choose to bake with a small amount of molasses or maple syrup, and sometimes agave, but even that is not my first choice. Of course, this is all personal, and I respect everyone else’s choices as well. Like you said, our bodies all crave something different, and wouldn’t the world be boring if we didn’t?! 🙂 Thanks for the fun blog and all the thought provoking discussion.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating sugar in moderation, especially if you choose raw, unrefined sugar. It is plant based, after all! But I stay as far away from artificial sweetners as possible. They’re just chemicals, and toxic ones at that. If you google ‘aspartame’ it brings up some seriously scary stuff! I used to drink a lot of diet coke then stopped then but a few months later I had a can. It made me feel terrible, it gave me some almost flu-like symptoms for about 12 hours after. So now I make sure to keep well clear! I would be interested to try stevia though but I’m not sure if it’s in the uk yet.
Hey there 🙂 I have yet to try Stevia but I keep hearing wonderful things about it!
Have you read The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone? She talks about the negative effects of glucose blood sugar spikes etc from too much processed sugar…which made me realize that I had to cut down on sugar. After eating less processed sugar, I’ve actually noticed my sweet tooth shrinking (and lo, I never thought it would be possible!) and my taste buds being more sensitive & rejoicing in simple pleasures and sweetness of a crunchy yellow bell pepper for instance…
Now I use honey or agave if I need to sweeten something..or bananas which do a pretty good job by themselves!
Anyway I just posted some pictures of banana hammocks that I made last month on my blog, so you can check it out if you like 🙂