Stevia

[Amanda61]

Why is this substitute for sugar in almost all the desserts and smoothies, when
it's almost 200 times more sweeter than ordinary sugar?
I tried that one beginning with X and it gave me really bad cramps.
I would love to make these different breads and desserts, but I am
Very reluctant to use this Stevia.

Your thoughts would be most appreciated.

 

[chri5]

Why is this substitute for sugar in almost all the desserts and smoothies, when
it's almost 200 times more sweeter than ordinary sugar?
I tried that one beginning with X and it gave me really bad cramps.
I would love to make these different breads and desserts, but I am
Very reluctant to use this Stevia.

Your thoughts would be most appreciated.

Hi, just because it`s sweet that doesn`t necessarily mean it`s bad for you, as far as I know stevia is perfectly ok.

 

[karencymru]

The liquid Stevia I've found is the type that's x200 sweeter and you use just a few drops. I bought granulated to use in some dessert recipes, but on reading the label properly it's a fraction of Stevia and main ingredient is maltodextrose, a sugar. Be aware of the labels!

 

[RosieLKH]

I tend to dislike all artificial sweeteners and would rather go without sweet than have to endure the nasty chemical taste of them, but I heard about Stevia and succombed to the advertising hype about it and tried it. Yuk! It is just as disgusting to me as any other I've tried. It's a shame, as it means I have to just avoid making any sweet things or suffer the consequences.

 

[chri5]

I don`t know if it`s true or not but a site called nutritionstripped says that stevia may even increase insulin sensitivity (love the use of the "may" get-out)

 

[BooJewels]

I personally simply cannot get on with any artificial sweetener, they all make me feel poorly in various different ways, but predominantly, I go violently dizzy within a minute or two of the first mouthful, so I do tend to avoid them enthusiastically.

But, as I've been diabetic for a long time, I've found that my sweet tooth has significantly adapted and I can get away with a very modest amount of sweetening for something to taste sweet enough for me. So if I do want something sweetening, I just tend to use a proper sugar product for the task - maple syrup, granulated sugar, honey etc. depending on the dish. I can get away with very little these days and it's only very occasionally.

So it does concern me a little the effect of using sweeteners for diabetics, that they might fool the body into expecting glucose from the taste, the effect they have on gut bacteria - but also that taste buds continue to be programmed for that taste of excessive sweetness that modern humans have developed. They simply weren't available to this degree when I was first diabetic - so I had to option but to retrain my taste and I'm quite happy about that.

So maybe look at alternative dishes or recipes that don't just rely on replacing sugar with an artifical alternative. Give some thought to a different approach that minimises the need for chemicals that haven't been around long enough yet to know what their long-term implications might be.

 

[DeejayR]

Wikipedia explains if you can understand (I struggle). It says the glucose in stevia is used by bacteria in the colon and not absorbed into the bloodstream.

 

[Charles Robin]

Stevia is a great ingredient, but finding 'proper' Stevia is a challenge. I buy Nature's Garden Stevia from Holland and Barrett. It has a small amount or inulin (not insulin, inulin is something else) but it is predominantly Stevia. You often find that Stevia has been mixed with xylitol or maltodextrin in a lot of products. Those are fancy words for a substance known as 'sugar.' Your blood sugars will probably react accordingly.

Stevia has no effect on my blood sugars and I bake with it all the time. However, as it is soooo much sweeter than sugar, you only need small amounts. Think of it like vanilla extract. Use it in something in a small quantity and it's wonderful. Use loads or eat a spoonful of it on its own and you will wish your tongue would detach itself and run for the hills.