Stevia and artificial sweeteners

[SwanQueen]

Trying to reduce sugar consumption for wellness reasons. I've found stevia to have come a long way in taste and now they're using the sweeter part of the leaf barely notice the difference between sugar and stevia. Was just wondering if anyone had any negative side effects with it though? Everything I've read suggests it is far better for you than the other artifical alternatives. AIBU to make this asumption?

(I know some people advocate for sugar in moderation, but sugar gives me terrible joint pain! As does aspartame.)

Stevia is much better than any artificial sweetener, in my opinion. I avoid artificial sweeteners (except sugar alcohols), especially aspartame.

Tastes like soap and has a lingering aftertaste.
Not as headachy as aspartame though.

I stick with proper sugar but keep drinks well diluted and drink plenty of water anyway.

I like xylitol and it's good for your teeth. Get a good one made from beech trees and organic.

Thanks guys! I'll check out xylitol. @jynxasmoochum I'd give stevia another go when you get the chance, now they've started using the 'reb-A' part of the leaf (the sweetest part) I've found the after taste has gone. If sugar works for you though, you are lucky.

I read the sugar lobby in the US blocked stevia innovation for a long time as they were so threatened by it! It baffles me that they accept aspartame.

No side effects at all from stevia. Xylitol is made from a sugar alcohol and can have negative tummy side effects (diarrhea/bloating/flatulence). It is also 100% lethal to dogs - even in tiny doses. (Not sure about cats, but they’re probably not likely to eat it anyway... my dog is a pig who eats first and asks questions later, so I won’t risk leaving xylitol-sweetened treats around my house, but I do still eat and drink them.) I live in Australia, so we probably have different products available. I have just discovered flavored stevia in squeezy bottles for coffee that fit easily in my handbag. Best thing ever. (They also close firmly and don’t drip.) They are called Sweet Drops by a company called Sweetleaf and the Vanilla and Caramel ones are fab!

That green bottle 'healthy Coke' tastes nice but destroys my stomach. Yikes

I avoid sugar and especially all artificial sweeteners. We use honey and maple only.

It baffles me that they accept aspartame.
The whole story of how the FDA approved aspartame is interesting.
www.huffpost.com/us/entry/805581

Sorry, that link didn’t work.
www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html

I avoid sugar and especially all artificial sweeteners. We use honey and maple only

These are sugar. Maybe you mean you avoid refined sugar but even so - sugar is sugar is sugar.

Total Sweet is a very good alternative - it's Xylitol and there is no taste difference at all. Just be very careful as it is toxic to and lethal for dogs.

I hate artificial sweeteners. Just use the real thing in moderation.

Incidentally, what were they using before the discovered “reb-A” the so-called sweetest part of the leaf?

Sounds like a marketing gimmick they devised once they’d heard feedback on how shit it tastes.

To my knowledge they were using the whole leaf and parts of it has a more 'natural' 'bitter' note.

I just did more reading and they explain that Reb-A is not a part of the leaf but the sweetest compound of the leaf. It took them a while to perfect the extraction of it, and separate it from the other compounds that give traditional stevia it's bitter association.

Also interesting is that I had no idea stevia has been used by south american tribes for over 2000 years! It was only approved for use in the USA after a long battle against the sugar and artificial sweetener lobbies. It got approved by declaring itself an 'extract' rather than a 'sweetener'.

I try to avoid eating things with artificial sweeteners in, but I've found that xylitol, sucralose & stevia have much less of a headachey effect on me than old fashiined sweeteners. I do have normal sugar too, but try not to have too much (& I save my "ration" for fruit & chocolate!)

Try agave x

Sounds like you are selling it OP

The trouble with any sweetener- it’s sweet. We need to eat food that’s less sweetened and re-educate our tastebuds... not trade one chemical shitstorm for another.
Stevia, extracted via industrial methods, is so far removed from being “natural” it’s laughable, and many big brand foods/drinks are using stevia mixes with synthetic sweeteners so they can splash “sweetened with stevia” on the label.

I thought that too, lettuce, but I think it's just the way the OP writes. And I agree with you on your other point, too - just get used to eating less sweet stuff.

They all go straight through me, I don't touch them

I hate stevia. It has a weird texture and the mouthfeel is all wrong.

I'd rather have a smaller amount of actual sugar or honey than a boatload of artificial sweetener

The trouble with any sweetener- it’s sweet. We need to eat food that’s less sweetened and re-educate our tastebuds... not trade one chemical shitstorm for another.
This.
What do you currently use sugar / Stevia for? Can you go for a non sweet alternative?

Agave? Tasty and a healthier alternative. Or just stick with a tiny bit of honey.

I didn’t think that at first lettuce but the OPs responses since certainly sound like they’ve swallowed a marketing presentation hook, line and sinker!

As for South American tribes using it for thousands of years, er... let me introduce you to ...sugar!!! Also used for thousands of years ... shock horror ... people

I don’t understand people who are ok with sugar granules etc (from sugar cane plant) but not with stevia (from plant) what’s the difference? Apart from artificial sweetener hysteria?

I'd be interested to hear how sugar causes joint pain, given that it's pretty much (being composed of one glucose and one sucrose molecule) the basic component of all carbohydrates.

You have hit the nail on the head! All sugars are carbohydrate.

Excessive carbohydrate consumption can cause or increase systemic inflammation, so that can impact on joint pain.

People who cut out “sugar” are usually cutting down a lot on ALL refined carbohydrate foods such as biscuits and cake etc, so they are eating a less inflammatory diet all round.

Well I have PCOS so have chronic inflammation and probably slight insulin resistence from that. Sugar causes joint paint often by raising blood sugar which causes inflammation. In normal people it causes probably insignificant inflammation, but if you have anything out of whack it can be much more inflammatory. There's a lot of different stuff out there but I love Dr Eric Berg on youtube and his advice on longevity, hormone balance and cutting down sugar.

Definitely not selling stevia, I'm a fulltime business consultant. Just found a bunch of articles the other day and probably am a bit too obsessed on hacking the body for optimal health.