Sugar Substitutes

Sarah5200

Just interested in people's opinions about sugar substitutes? For them or against them? If you like them, what's your favourite, or the brand you think is most healthy?

Interested in any opinions or information!

anna.oskar

I'm not generally a fan of most sugar substitutes since some of them are so chemically derived that I wonder as to the long-term effects of using them.  I have read some papers that claim they can actually stall out weight loss.

Now, if we're talking natural-ish substitutes, I enjoy honey, agave, and even a bit of stevia.

grk223

I was an avid fan of Splenda for years until my soon to be mother-in-law found out she had Crones disease. She used to drink only diet soda, cause she was brought up thinking sugar was bad for you and sugar substitutes were a great alternative. Her doctor told her that while it may not have been the main cause her comsuption of sucralose had an impact on her contracting Crone's disease. Apparently studies have shown that a diet that regularly includes sucralose or other sugar sub.'s can cause auto-immune dieases. I think if you want something sweet, try something with real sugar or use honey and just rememeber everything in moderation. 

entropicbeauty

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_sugar-substitutes?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:d9904726-5174-4f75-8f9a-9e8b43d83687Post:c5c32119-eb38-4048-80a6-e67bfd767297">Re: Sugar Substitutes</a>:
[QUOTE]I was an avid fan of Splenda for years until my soon to be mother-in-law found out she had Crones disease. She used to drink only diet soda, cause she was brought up thinking sugar was bad for you and sugar substitutes were a great alternative. Her doctor told her that while it may not have been the main cause her comsuption of sucralose had an impact on her contracting Crone's disease. <strong>Apparently studies have shown that a diet that regularly includes sucralose or other sugar sub.'s can cause auto-immune dieases.</strong> I think if you want something sweet, try something with real sugar or use honey and just rememeber everything in moderation. 
Posted by grk223[/QUOTE]

<div>Do you have any links to this research?! I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and my doctors really weren't helpful talking about it...and I was raised on diet sodas. I would be really interested in learning more about the links!</div><div>
</div><div>I admit I do have more fake sugar in my diet than I should, but I have tried to cut back. I hate how nutri-sweet tastes, I like splenda for the most part, but stevia is probably hands down the best (I wish they would start trying to make sodas with it!)</div>

lls31

I don't drink diet soda (and I generally try to stay away from soda in general) and I normally use real sugar.  However, I've found that I prefer Splenda when I drink hot tea.  I like the taste better.  I know it's bad for you, and I'm trying to stay away from it as much as possible.  I recently started using honey as an alternative, but I feel as though it's almost too sweet.  

lls31

Dumb question... what is Stevia?  I've never heard of it.

Lobsters25

Stevia is some naturally-derived stuff made by J&J (who also makes Splenda.)

I'm with Anna, I love using agave, honey, maple syrup, etc, where the concentrate is higher so that you can use less.  I refuse to put any artificial sweetener in my body and am still on a desperate search to find gum without it.

housewifehobbiest

Stevia is actually the plant (also known as sugarleaf) which is used to make a 0 calorie sweetener.  I use Trader Joe's brand.  I only use a little, because you can definitely taste that it is not sugar if you use too much (and it sucks to bake with!).  I also love honey in my tea and molasses on my oatmeal.

misssunshine17

I use raw sugar, regular white sugar or maple syrup to sweeten things. My roommate swears by sweet-n-low, but it's so processed it weirds me out. I'd rather eat the 50 calories than the chemicals. 

Sarah5200

Thanks for the input people!

I am taking a nutrition course as an option at school and my prof insists that it is better to use sugar substitutes than actually eat sugar (he showed us some Dr. Oz videos about how sugar is the new "silent killer"). I had just always heard that sugar substitutes weren't good for you.. so I found it strange how much he was promoting them.

I'm just going with eating less processed foods (way less sugar in them than processed food) and that using things like honey in moderation to sweeten food is better than dumping a cup of Splenda on whatever you're eating. I do have Splenda in my cupboard, but I'm pretty cautious about only using it here and there. I still find it strange that it's so light compared to actual sugar..

Also, interesting to hear about the correlation with Crohn's disease. My father has Crohn's and it is a hereditary disease, so I am to "watch" for symptoms. Suppose I don't want to do anything more to increase my chances. I'll have to look into it a little further.

firsttimersluck

I think it's all bad. The closest I get to soda is carbonated water with my vodka :P 

once upon a time we thought aspertame (equal) was no big deal. 

Then it was splenda

Now it's stevia. 

Ultimately, it's all stuff that wasn't meant to be put in your body. 

I weened myself off of adding things like honey to tea and sugar to coffee... Once I stopped, I stopped missing it. 

J&K10910

Personally, if I'm going to sweeten something, I prefer just having the calories and really enjoying it instead of trying to make something that's not really healthy to begin with healthier.

With that said, I do drink diet dr pepper, and I have no plans to stop drinking it, but I drink that instead of regular soda because I truly do prefer the taste.

firsttimersluck

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_sugar-substitutes?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:d9904726-5174-4f75-8f9a-9e8b43d83687Post:a0870b26-d8ce-4349-9839-13db6a950cc4">Re: Sugar Substitutes</a>:
[QUOTE]I have yet to read a single, reputable, peer-reviewed medical study linking aspartame and the like to all of the evils people claim it causes. I love Diet Coke w/ Splenda when I really need a soda fix. I tried using Splenda in baking, but it just isn't the same. It affects the texture and consistency of so many things. So, I still use regular sugar; I just make sure to cut my personal portion size WAY down.
Posted by burntofferings[/QUOTE]

<div>yeah, but that doesn't mean your bod loves it. </div><div>The problem with medical studies, is even if things seem SUPER CONCLUSIVE, they can still only say it's a correlation at best, because every person is different, eats differently, exercises differently, has different genes, etc. And a correlation is not 100%. </div><div>We all have our weaknesses... For some it's soda, for some it's oreos.. Ultimately it comes down to moderation and awareness. </div>

angelsong21

In my nutrition courses (and by my personal dietitian) I've been taught that sugar substitutes are not recommended by many nutrition experts.  Recent studies so show that the way the body responds to sugar substitutes can be problematic in that the substitute acts like sugar, but when it is processed, the body realizes it's not sugar essentially and just increases your cravings for sweetened foods and beverages.  I've always used real sugar so I have no personal experience with this.

This may be one of those things where it really just depends on what studies a person chooses to put the most emphasis on along with ever-changing research outcomes.  I remember when I was younger eggs were good, then they were supposedly TERRIBLE for you, and now they are good for you again. 

elizanurse

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_sugar-substitutes?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:d9904726-5174-4f75-8f9a-9e8b43d83687Post:ab8cdeee-f1c5-40bc-bf22-04f90ee95e63">Re: Sugar Substitutes</a>:
[QUOTE]I I like splenda for the most part, but stevia is probably hands down the best (I wish they would start trying to make sodas with it!)
Posted by entropicbeauty[/QUOTE]

They do! My local verson of Whole foods has a couple of kinds of soda made with stevia. Zevia is the main one, but I think there are more. And I think diet Vitamin Water is made with stevia. I'm one of the unfortunate few who vomits nearly instantaneously upon consumption of stevia, so I'm a Splenda girl. I use agave where I would use honey or brown sugar, like on oatmeal.

kpdorr

I am a dietitian and I just reccommend REAL food!