OT- Stevia- A natural sweetener that sounds like the Holy Grail... is it ?

Milacron · Oct 13, 2014

I'm just now finding out about this stuff...sounds too good to be true....even the "Food Babe" gives it the thumbs up and she is usually overly paranoid on anything that even hints of danger (like GMO's, which I am not that concerned with)

http://foodbabe.com/2013/04/25/stevia-good-or-bad/

Thoughts ? :typing:

Philabuster · Oct 13, 2014

Stevia is good shit. We have some growing in the herb garden and also use the Kal brand of liquid. Some extract brands taste funny, so need to experiment. I do not like the powdered stuff as it has other things in it and also makes it taste like crap.

Scottl · Oct 13, 2014

Everything I have read about artificial and substitute sweeteners seems to indicate that they are an attempt to fool the body's metabolism which then reacts to compensate. Probably best to wean yourself off sweet tastes if you have health reasons for avoiding sugar.

Porschefix · Oct 13, 2014

My wife is a long time food babe groupie. She was using Stevia long before food babe took up the cause. She uses it in everything that you'd normally use sugar for. She swears by it, to me it has a bit of a bitter taste but hell I am sure there are lots of things she puts it in I never suspect. There are supposedly valid popular claims that normal sugars feed cancers and Stevia does not act like sugars, which I don't understand. But anyway, she carries a bottle of the drops with her and uses it in tea etc when we are eating out. She gives it 4 thumbs up and that means so do I.
Thanks,
Mr. Whipped

Ray Behner · Oct 13, 2014

Plus, it's "supposedly" good for diabetics. Helps make insulin.

Milacron · Oct 13, 2014

Scottl said:
Everything I have read about artificial and substitute sweeteners seems to indicate that they are an attempt to fool the body's metabolism which then reacts to compensate. Probably best to wean yourself off sweet tastes if you have health reasons for avoiding sugar.

True in general but Stevia has super low glysemic index...so maybe not with this one. Another reason one never looses weight on artificial sweetners is the lack of calories just makes you hungrier than you would have been otherwise so you eat more.

But I'm thinking in terms of perhaps adding Stevia to things like plain whole fat yogurt, which does have calories and some carbs, but isn't quite sweet enough to be "great tasting" and you avoid adding more carbs to the yogurt mix. In other words, with low glysemic index your body shouldn't be fooled into producing more nasties and adding it to things that already have some calories and carbs you shouldn't get any hungrier than if you eat the stuff with no sweetener added...you just enjoy it more.

Scottl · Oct 13, 2014

Milacron said:
True in general but Stevia has super low glysemic index...so maybe not with this one. Another reason one never looses weight on artificial sweetners is the lack of calories just makes you hungrier than you would have been otherwise so you eat more.

But I'm thinking in terms of perhaps adding Stevia to things like plain whole fat yogurt, which does have calories and some carbs, but isn't quite sweet enough to be "great tasting" and you avoid adding more carbs to the yogurt mix. In other words, with low glysemic index your body shouldn't be fooled into producing more nasties and adding it to things that already have some calories and carbs you shouldn't get any hungrier than if you eat the stuff with no sweetener added...you just enjoy it more.

Sounds like it might be worth a try.

Milacron · Oct 13, 2014

Scottl said:
Probably best to wean yourself off sweet tastes if you have health reasons for avoiding sugar.

EVERYONE has "health reasons for avoiding sugar" .... NO human should consume added sugar...ever if possible. Of course it's not practical to avoid added sugar completely, so one does what one can to avoid it as best as one can. But really, added sugar is not one of those "everything is ok in moderation" deals...it it never "good" even in moderation ...but it won't kill most of us....so we keep eating it anyway.

Sugar is everywhere...even a slice of Boar's Head ham has 2 grams of sugar in it for gawds sake..we don't need yet more, anywhere on anything.

(take note of the word "added"... fruit is ok in whole form but even fruit is bad news in concentrated form...orange juice for example)

David J. · Oct 13, 2014

Might be the Holy Grail of sweetners but it tastes like crap to me.
Wife as tried it in some stuff....yuck.
David

HuFlungDung · Oct 13, 2014

I've only tried one brand of Stevia powder, but I find it extremely difficult to dispense the correct quantity into a cup of coffee. "Too much" certainly doesn't taste extra sweet, it's just extra yuck.

But realistically, few of us are probably going to forego all sugars, so in baked goods, it's probably okay to halve the amount of sugar, and use a smidgeon of stevia, because most baked stuff is ridiculously oversweetened anyways. But don't let's forget that starches becomes sugars just as easily as spit flows out of your cheeks, so starch control is at least as important as sugar control, IMO.

toolsteel · Oct 13, 2014

I tried it.......didnt care for it. Personal preference i suppose.

Milacron · Oct 13, 2014

toolsteel said:
I tried it.......didnt care for it. Personal preference i suppose.

Reports I read, some versions of it taste a little different from others. I tried the one packet of the "Sweet Leaf" version yesterday in a small coffee cup amount of plain yogurt and it made it taste a little better but wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. Have yet to experiment with adding less or more to see if it improves any.

I notice Coke and Pepsi are just now coming out with versions of it in their drinks but that they must still be using sugar as well due to the "30 percent less sugar" claims. I presume that is a combination of the fact that they couldn't get the Stevia only to taste good enough plus one would want some calories in the drinks to provide at least some energy.

To me the big question is does Stevia taste better than the artificial sweeteners such as Sweet n Low ? So far the answer in my case is a huge yes but I have met people who actually like the taste of sacarin or aspartame laden soft drinks..... bizarre to me.

Mtndew · Oct 13, 2014

I use either Agave Nectar or good old Honey when I want to sweeten something, such as my all veggie smoothies...which are disgusting without agave nectar or a bit of watermelon to make it taste good.

kustomizingkid · Oct 13, 2014

Mtndew said:
I use either Agave Nectar or good old Honey when I want to sweeten something, such as my all veggie smoothies...which are disgusting without agave nectar or a bit of watermelon to make it taste good.

Very strange response from a guy named Mtndew hahahaha.

Milacron · Oct 13, 2014

Mtndew said:
I use either Agave Nectar or good old Honey when I want to sweeten something, such as my all veggie smoothies...which are disgusting without agave nectar or a bit of watermelon to make it taste good.

I don't know anything about the nectar but "good old Honey" is no different from cane sugar to your body.

Conrad Hoffman · Oct 13, 2014

I grew up in Vermont and you'll get my maple syrup when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

Most of us have an inherently unhealthy lifestyle and are trying to make up for it by adjusting what we (do or don't) eat. My guess is it's a fools errand.

Milacron · Oct 13, 2014

Conrad Hoffman said:
I grew up in Vermont and you'll get my maple syrup when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

Most of us have an inherently unhealthy lifestyle and are trying to make up for it by adjusting what we (do or don't) eat. My guess is it's a fools errand.

I will admit in a second that maple syrup on yogurt is certainly better tasting than Stevia on yogurt. But the Stevia appears to be a way healthier alternative and is pretty good to me (just now tried yogurt experiment again with 1 1/2 packs Stevia plus pecans....pretty good) Re the fools errand, depends somewhat on genetics but type 2 diabetes is becoming a major crisis and yet it was a practically unknown disease prior to our modern diets. (type 1 diabetes existed since the beginning of human history as far as we know.... but not type 2) Would be a fools errand not to take heed of that.

toolsteel · Oct 13, 2014

Milacron said:
Reports I read, some versions of it taste a little different from others. I tried the one packet of the "Sweet Leaf" version yesterday in a small coffee cup amount of plain yogurt and it made it taste a little better but wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. Have yet to experiment with adding less or more to see if it improves any.

I notice Coke and Pepsi are just now coming out with versions of it in their drinks but that they must still be using sugar as well due to the "30 percent less sugar" claims. I presume that is a combination of the fact that they couldn't get the Stevia only to taste good enough plus one would want some calories in the drinks to provide at least some energy.

To me the big question is does Stevia taste better than the artificial sweeteners such as Sweet n Low ? So far the answer in my case is a huge yes but I have met people who actually like the taste of sacarin or aspartame laden soft drinks..... bizarre to me.

Thats funny........I never drank coffee until i was about 30 years old. It never appealed to me. I was dating a woman who would have a LARGE cup every morning with one sweet and low. She would make me one too.....exactly like hers. She really seemed to enjoy making a coffee for me and i didnt want to "harsh her gig" so i drank it. I havent seen her in 15 years.......but I still prefer 1 sweet and low to anything else in my coffee. I guess to me .....that is what a coffee is supposed to taste like and anything else makes it taste "off" to me.

dgfoster · Oct 13, 2014

Milacron said:
I will admit in a second that maple syrup on yogurt is certainly better tasting than Stevia on yogurt. But the Stevia appears to be a way healthier alternative and is pretty good to me (just now tried yogurt experiment again with 1 1/2 packs Stevia plus pecans....pretty good) Re the fools errand, depends somewhat on genetics but type 2 diabetes is becoming a major crisis and yet it was a practically unknown disease prior to our modern diets. (type 1 diabetes existed since the beginning of human history as far as we know.... but not type 2) Would be a fools errand not to take heed of that.

I can understand the enthusiasm for a "discovery" of something like stevia. But it is dangerous conclude that simply reducing added sugar is the answer to reduction of various diseases, in particular, type 2 diabetes. The strongest evidence (just take a look at WebMD for starters) is that obesity and physical inactivity are the big risk factors. This has been known a long time. Added sugars may contribute to this very real problem of obesity, but the Greeks had it right when they advocated eating moderately (not in America) and being physically active (not in America).

I am surprised the the Food Babe is cited as a source for medical information. What is her qualification to pontificate? Is she a person or just some website spewing who knows what?

It would be so nice if there were an easy solution to America's obesity epidemic---just take a look at he stats which are all over the web---by focusing on refined sugars and a "revolutionary" substitute. That is a fools mission, however. The fundamental need is for us to eat less and exercise more. That is bitter medicine to most. If you do not believe this, take a look at the Center for Disease Control, American Diabetes Association, or American Heart Association websites. The Food Babe, not so much.

Denis

Conrad Hoffman · Oct 13, 2014

My point is that it would be much better to address the lifestyle and overall diet problem, but I'm certainly the poster child for being unwilling to do that. Standing in front of machines or working at a bench isn't the greatest exercise program, and I'm pretty sure that at least 50-75% of the what you find in the grocery store isn't something you should be eating. We have to work to eat (the bad stuff) and making changes without upsetting the people around us can be tough. Popping a few vitamins and changing artificial sweeteners isn't going to make a dent in what's become a huge problem. (I see Denis beat me to the post while I was typing)

OT- Stevia- A natural sweetener that sounds like the Holy Grail... is it ?

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