Is Stevia ok ?

Why do you need a sweetener of any kind

I use it and erythritol, powdered stevia in coffee or tea etc. I like and no it's not a cure nor is it toxic.

I expect stevia is fine - if you can stand the taste. I can't.
So I use erythritol. No reactions to it. No blood glucose rises. OK flavour. Definitely not toxic to me, or any other dramatic ideas or descriptions.
The best taste IMHO is xylitol, but since it is deadly poison to dogs, I won't have it in the house.

Choice of artificial sweetener is incredibly personal. No one size fits all. Best to use your own meter and taste buds, and wait and see if you get any reactions. Some people get on very well with things like saccharine and acesulfame. We all get to choose. And a bit of time on Google will throw up articles and studies 'proving' just about any theory we look for.

Once your tastebuds adjust to low carbing the desire for sweet foods reduces significantly, so it is easy to wean yourself off the sweeteners.

I've had sweeteners in my coffee and tea for years. I keep reading that they are not good for us, but quite frankly I do not enjoy unsweetened drinks. I've gone long weeks without them, but always reverted back. A hot, sweetened cup of tea or coffee is for me a moment of pleasure in a busy day. I cannot stand the taste of Stevia although it is said to be better for us. Perhaps erythritol would be the healthiest and best tasting choice.

Best wishes.

Mike D said:

Why do you need a sweetener of any kind

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The OP hasn't answered this but I will try. It's true that you can reduce your need for sweetness with a low carb diet. I am happy with one square of 85% dark chocolate melted in a cup of warm goat's milk now. But those of us who have had a sweet tooth most of our lives have a "relationship", or addiction if you will, with more than just the taste of something.

I know, for myself at least, that eating something sweet is part of a ritual of enjoyment of (in my mind) one of the finer pleasures in life. From all the memories of having cake and coffee with my closest friends all cosied up in a trendy cafe in my youth to finally getting that 30 mins to myself while the baby sleeps and the bigger kids are playing outside, that sweet taste in my mouth represents an escape from the harsher moments in life. A GREAT PLEASURE in other words.

And then of course I could go on to talk about the effects of a sugar hit on the brain equating to being in love or sexual pleasure, and who doesn't like pleasure??!

If you have never had a sweet tooth, consider yourself lucky. It's not an easy thing to walk away from and leave behind forever.

Sweeteners, I imagine, are a crutch and one which I have yet to try as I still allow myself the odd teaspoon of the evil white stuff when I make nut meal cakes. But the more I try to give up sweetness for good, the more tempted I am to try something like erythritol, just to see how it goes. I wonder if anyone knows whether erythritol can affect a breastfed infant...

Both stevia and erythritol are safe for diabetic use. They are high in carbs, but these aren't digestible, so should have no impact on glucose levels.

They also occur naturally, and stevia, AKA Sweet Leaf, can be grown from seed if you so wish, and the leaves dried and ground up for use - if you don't mind its green colouring! Commercial stevia is obviously more highly processed and will (usually!) be white powder or clear drops. Stevia rebaudioside A is supposed to have a "cleaner" taste than stevioside.

I've used both stevia and erithritol separately or in combination for baking, in hot drinks, etc, for nearly six years. I no longer like the taste of real sugar and the only time I've actually wanted it was when i initially had some minor false hypos - my body is quite capable of differentiating. So as far as i'm concerned, if they don't cause spikes/high glucose levels, and help me keep away from truly high carb sweet stuff, then they have a (welcome) place in my low carb diet.

Robbity

Mike Sixx said:

Because I would like to have at least one food or drink left in my life that actually tastes good. Or at least has a some kind of taste. And does not slowly and painfully cripple & kill me.

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then you are very lucky, there are huge numbers of low carb foods that fit the bill.
This link gives you a list to start you off:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-few-asking-for-low-carb-food-lists.96321/
I should warn you though, there are quite a few that you won’t need sweeteners to enjoy.

Mike D said:

Why do you need a sweetener of any kind

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I don’t understand why you need to forego sweet things when you’re diabetic if you can sweeten food with safe sweeteners such as Xylitol, Erythritol and Stevia. Everything in moderation. (Except sugar and other carbs!)

@ChristieM ... because I hate anything artificial.

ChristieM said:

I don’t understand why you need to forego sweet things when you’re diabetic if you can sweeten food with safe sweeteners such as Xylitol, Erythritol and Stevia. Everything in moderation. (Except sugar and other carbs!)

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Two possible reasons: There is a suggestion that the sweetness triggers an unwanted insulin response and secondly if your aim is to reduce your desire for sugar, reminding yourself of sweetness doesn't help.

I've just seen a video on youtube where a couple who do keto tried lots of different sweeteners and sugar and measured the spike in their BG after 30 min. They measured their BG before amd after 30 min of eating the equivalent in sweetness to 2 tablespoons of sugar.

For what their test is worth, xylitol raised a lot their BG. Maltitol, too.

Cocosilk said:

It's not an easy thing to walk away from and leave behind forever.

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Certainly isn't ... however it is well worth doing if you can..
Plus you don't have to worry about sweeteners.. one less thing to fret about maybe?

Divia said:

I've just seen a video on youtube where a couple who do keto tried lots of different sweeteners and sugar and measured the spike in their BG after 30 min. They measured their BG before amd after 30 min of eating the equivalent in sweetness to 2 tablespoons of sugar.

For what their test is worth, xylitol raised a lot their BG. Maltitol, too.

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In my experience Erythritol and stevia typically don’t effect bgl. Maltitol is as bad as sugar for me. Xylitol tastes the best but does have a limited response.

I occasionally like a pudding.
There, I've said it.
I had a Christmas Panetone and turned it into a really nice bread-and-butter pudding. To make the custard, I used a sweetener (Stevia). This didn't offend the tastebuds of my family and I was able to indulge in a sliver without any BS dramas.

My current favourite is Greek yoghurt with extra cream, vanilla extract and sweetener.
I intend to churn and freeze this for "ice-cream", when the sun returns.

Stevia is a healthier sweetener because that contains no calories. Stevia taste like menthol or some people finds it bitter. Stevia can be used as a sugar replacement for diabetes patients.