Sugar substitutes

[xaero999]

We all know that sugar destroys our teeth and causes obesity and diabetes. But using sugar substitutes is not the way that guarantees healthy living further. For example, controversies on aspartame never stopped, I bet our scientists still don’t know how aspartame really affects health. Some of artificial sweeteners are banned in the US but approved in Canada and Europe. So for one I don’t believe scientists and try to use sugar when I have no honey or fruits around. What sweetener do you prefer?

 

[Scarpozzi]

Agave nectar and honey are both natural.

Saccharin(Sweet & Low), aspartame(NutraSweet/Equal), and sucralose (Splenda) are all chemical compounds that don't break down the same way natural sugars do. There was a chemist that had studied one or maybe 2 of the artificial sweeteners for one of the national news shows. His conclusion was that in the testing samples they were "safe", but then he added "You won't see me eat or drink anything with these chemicals in them willingly." His attitude was basically, that we make our own choices about what we think is healthy and substitutes may be more dangerous than the effects of the natural counterparts.

I believe obesity and diabetes are hereditary traits that can both be prevented or delayed through lifestyle change. Chemical makeup of your gut can actually cause hunger cravings, metabolic change, and psych issues because serotonin is produced there. (depression goes hand in hand with obesity, often) There are skinny people with type-2 diabetes, so you can't always link the two. If your body doesn't break down the sugar in your blood, it can basically cause all kinds of damage to your blood vessels. Dr. Oz did a demonstration with shards of broken glass to symbolize sugar crystals in your bloodstream floating around and that areas furthest from the heart where circulation is poor typically end up with the most damage.

 

[Kaido]

We all know that sugar can destroy our teeth and causes obesity and diabetes.

FTFY

I eat a ton of sugar and my teeth are great, I'm not obese, and I do not have diabetes. If you live on the stuff, never exercise, eat it in combination with a high-fat & low-fiber diet, and never brush your teeth, then yeah, it can kill you. But you can also get good results with it:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/

Anyway...I'd rather eat sugar than agave. The latest research on agave says it's a lot worse for you.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Anyway...I'd rather eat sugar than agave. The latest research on agave says it's a lot worse for you.

I think the real problem is that people fail to moderate their intake of such items. Sweeteners are simply additives/flavorings. None of them are considered healthy because they don't have enough fiber or nutrients to offset the negative effects they can have.

http://www.allaboutagave.com/agave-vs-granular.php
(please remember the source is likely agave growers or something, so it may be biased)

Agave nectar is likely healthier than the artificial sweeteners (what I was suggesting originally)....but that doesn't mean you should be drinking it in large quantities.

 

[solidstar]

Honey would be a great substitute. You can also try Stevia, it is a sugar substitute extracted from the stevia plant. But the packaged stevia is not necessarily all natural". Here is an article posted in Huffington post if you want to learn more about it http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/16/stevia-what-is-it_n_5983772.html

 

[Kaido]

I think the real problem is that people fail to moderate their intake of such items. Sweeteners are simply additives/flavorings. None of them are considered healthy because they don't have enough fiber or nutrients to offset the negative effects they can have.

Part of the problem is hidden sugars. Anything processed is pretty much guaranteed to have a lot of sugar, so a lot of people simply don't realize how much they're actually ingesting on a daily basis. If you're gluten-free, that's how they fix the issue of no gluten - throw in more sugar & fat. The dirty little secret of the fruit drink industry is white grape juice (refined/distilled/concentrate), which is just as bad as sugar, but then they can sell it to your kids as "100% juice" or sell you expensive fruit drinks that are "healthy".

I think the best way to eat sugar is either with a good diet & exercise or else with more fiber & lower fat (as opposed to a crappy diet & lack of movement). There are lots of resources for making healthier versions of things too, like Protein Pow's website:

http://proteinpow.com/

I make these chickpea cookies all the time, they're pretty dang good:

http://www.texanerin.com/2012/04/grain-free-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-bites.html

Lots of options, all depends on what your opinion of sugar is & if you want to pursue healthier alternatives.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

the only sugar substitute I've ever liked was nectresse. Some kind of monk fruit thing. It got discontinued. Probably deadly.

 

[pauldun170]

I substitute sugar with "less sugar"

Once you stop eating sugary crap, you get used to not eating sugary crap.
Once you stop adding 5 spoons of sugar to your coffee and maybe start using 1 or half a spoon, you get used to it.

 

[MustISO]

You definitely lose your craving for it if you reduce it. More than a year ago I decided to stop eating anything that could be considered a dessert or sweet treat including any sweet breakfast items (danish, donuts, etc). After about 2 weeks I didn't really care to eat that stuff anymore and no it doesn't even occur to me to eat it. Even watching people down a cake or any other dessert doesn't make me want to eat it.

I'm sure I still get plenty of sugar even with cutting all that stuff out, it's hard to avoid since it's in nearly everything. #1 sugar product I eat now is fruit.

 

[Ban Bot]

I like the taste of Truvia which contains erythritol (sugar alcohol) and stevia.

 

[deepthikv]

grt info

 

[z1ggy]

I use splenda, and it's for lowering my calorie count. But honestly, I don't quite understand if it really matters. I only use the splenda in my morning coffee.

From what I understand, science is discovering that these fake sugars end up being worse for you in the long run than natural sugar. I could just try and drink my coffee black.. or find another caffeine source... but these will likely all have fake sugars in them, too.

 

[blackdogdeek]

I use splenda, and it's for lowering my calorie count. But honestly, I don't quite understand if it really matters. I only use the splenda in my morning coffee.

From what I understand, science is discovering that these fake sugars end up being worse for you in the long run than natural sugar. I could just try and drink my coffee black.. or find another caffeine source... but these will likely all have fake sugars in them, too.

Leading up to allergy season this year I was adding 1 tbsp of local honey to my morning coffee/pre-workout. It was 64 calories according to MFP and with the milk I was also adding it was awesome. After allergy season I switched to just the milk and have been saving those calories for treats at night.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I use a little bit of honey to sweeten plain Greek yogurt, usually 1/2 tbsp in 150-200g of yogurt. Sometimes a little bit of honey in salad dressings. That's about it.

I drink coffee black, don't consume soda of any kind. Every once in a while I get an urge for something sweet and if a fruit snack doesn't satiate it, I'll have an energy bar.

 

[Nebor]

I substitute sugar with "less sugar"

Once you stop eating sugary crap, you get used to not eating sugary crap.
Once you stop adding 5 spoons of sugar to your coffee and maybe start using 1 or half a spoon, you get used to it.

This is the best answer. Agave, rice syrup, honey, etc. is all still just sugar. It all has roughly the same impact on your body. The artificial sweetners, who knows what the real effects of those are? Maybe we'll know in another hundred years.

 

[IGemini]

Most of my sweetener use is basically my morning coffee: less-processed sugar and stevia. Honey if I'm having tea. Don't care for artificial sweeteners...saccharin tastes too powdery, aspartame just doesn't taste good. I was into sucralose for a while when it came out but it turned unpalatable.

I'm a believer in moderation. Takes me months to go through a fridge pack of soda on my own.