A REAL Alternative To Sugar!
Discussion
Yes, Im on diet and hope to lose 5kg in the next month. I try to keep as much sugar out of my diet as possible especially on my morning porridge. My son in law recently bought back a pot of Stevia sweetener from Bolivia. It's amazing!!! You need, literally, a pinch of the stuff to replace what would have been a spoonful of sugar. The best bit about it though is that its totally natural and dosnt taste like a sweetener at all. That is what has always put me off Sweetex & Canderel, the awful chemical aftertaste. This stuff just tastes.....sweet!
Just found a similar product on E-Bay!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/White-Stevia-Powder-NuNaturl...
Just found a similar product on E-Bay!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/White-Stevia-Powder-NuNaturl...
ks does it 
? Should help with the appetite as well if it does.Well, I was expecting snake-oil or some other mumbo-jumbo but no, it does appear to be based on fact. According to the advert it contains 'stevia' which is an extract of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia, and eyrthritol which as the name suggests (think mannitol, sorbitol) is a sugar alcohol: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol.
So yes, it would to be valid product and it passes the Simpo Cynic Test.
Personally I hate aspartame too but was perfectly happy with saccharin.
So yes, it would to be valid product and it passes the Simpo Cynic Test.
Personally I hate aspartame too but was perfectly happy with saccharin.
Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 3rd January 11:01
Simpo Two said:
Well, I was expecting snake-oil or some other mumbo-jumbo
Don't you trust me???Wikki says - 'In some countries, stevia is restricted or banned. In other countries, health concerns and political controversies have limited its availability; for example, the United States banned stevia in the early 1990s unless labeled as a supplement'
This basically because the sugar industry will suffer BIG time if this product was readily available!
Putting aside the "advert" I'm very wary of artificial sweeteners, especial anything ending in "tol". I worked for/with a company that made extensive use of artificial sweeteners and they were treated with the utmost respect, ie. akin to radioactive materials. We used to call them "small ingredients" with their own mixing room, air-lock, extraction system which did not vent externally, special suits etc etc.
Nasty, nasty stuff. Personally I'd stick to sugar and just eat less.
Nasty, nasty stuff. Personally I'd stick to sugar and just eat less.
if i were handling any bulk chemical i would treat it as if it were toxic. In fact, even though i only do stuff on small scales that is how i treat all compounds.
you should probably have a look at how industry would handle something properly toxic to compare it to your experience of how they handled a sweetener.
and of course, the other thing is that these compounds are required in very small amounts to be effective. the physiological effect of them in very high doses probably isn't worth exploring.
you should probably have a look at how industry would handle something properly toxic to compare it to your experience of how they handled a sweetener.
and of course, the other thing is that these compounds are required in very small amounts to be effective. the physiological effect of them in very high doses probably isn't worth exploring.
21TonyK said:
Putting aside the "advert" I'm very wary of artificial sweeteners, especial anything ending in "tol". I worked for/with a company that made extensive use of artificial sweeteners and they were treated with the utmost respect, ie. akin to radioactive materials. We used to call them "small ingredients" with their own mixing room, air-lock, extraction system which did not vent externally, special suits etc etc.
Nasty, nasty stuff. Personally I'd stick to sugar and just eat less.
But its a natural product thats been used all over the world for centuries AND it contains no calories!Nasty, nasty stuff. Personally I'd stick to sugar and just eat less.
Lordbenny said:
Simpo Two said:
Well, I was expecting snake-oil or some other mumbo-jumbo
Don't you trust me???21TonyK said:
Nasty, nasty stuff. Personally I'd stick to sugar and just eat less.
There's a vast difference between a vat of pure chemical and the vanishingly small concentration that would be found in food. IIRC saccharin only fell into disrepute because somebody stuffed a mouse full of it and the mouse died. They didn't add that you'd have to drink 10 bottles of orange concentrate every day for a year to get the same dose (or something, but you see the point).Lordbenny said:
But its a natural product thats been used all over the world for centuries AND it contains no calories!
You could say the same of cannabis! But in this case, carry on 
Simpo Two said:
Lordbenny said:
But its a natural product thats been used all over the world for centuries AND it contains no calories!
You could say the same of cannabis! We should be wary of the idea that what is natural is benign - most of the deadliest poisons are natural.
H_Kan said:
I'm also trying to trim down a bit, but still prefer to use real butter, sugar etc because it is a natural product
Stevia IS natural, Wiki it! 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
Lordbenny said:
H_Kan said:
I'm also trying to trim down a bit, but still prefer to use real butter, sugar etc because it is a natural product
Stevia IS natural, Wiki it! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
I'm always sceptical when told that xyz can cause ABC (where xyz is something we've been eating for generations), but when something new comes onto the market I think it's wise to consider how much research has been done and what evidence is available before claiming it to be safe.
Anyway, for me, porridge with honey rather than sugar is a much nicer alternative
Just to bump this up, Stevia is now available in the supermarkets as a granular product to look like normal sugar. I bought the tablet version which is like candarel. This as as opposed to its more natural state.
Only issue with the granular stuff is that it appears to have undergone some processing to get it into granular form.
The product is approved by the EU food authorities but for limited quantities dependent on your body weight.
OP are you still using the product you were using?
Only issue with the granular stuff is that it appears to have undergone some processing to get it into granular form.
The product is approved by the EU food authorities but for limited quantities dependent on your body weight.
OP are you still using the product you were using?
Non-sugar sweeteners tend to lack the texture and other non-sweetening properties of sugar (like being hygroscopic which makes cakes and the like moist) which tends to limit their use quite significantly (unless you're happy with the trade offs). If they can ever make a low calorie sweetener that works just like sugar it'll be a real breakthrough.
Are you serious OP?
I bought some Stevia at the weekend to make some protein bars and aside from being worryingly light (seriously, it's like having a plastic jar of helium... I'm surprised it doesn't float away) it tastes like any other sweetener.
I think the best way to overcome this (what Pepsi Max & the new low-cal Monster) is use a delicate balance of 2 different sweeteners which hides the aftertaste of them.
I bought some Stevia at the weekend to make some protein bars and aside from being worryingly light (seriously, it's like having a plastic jar of helium... I'm surprised it doesn't float away) it tastes like any other sweetener.
I think the best way to overcome this (what Pepsi Max & the new low-cal Monster) is use a delicate balance of 2 different sweeteners which hides the aftertaste of them.
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