Stevia- no carb sweetener

[Wolf]

Being new to this forum, I don't know if "stevia" has been discussed here. Stevia is an all natural sweetener with zero calories and zero carbohydrate. It's sweeter than sugar and comes from a plant from South America. It's not FDA approved yet, but Cargill and Coca-Cola are working to change that. I believe that diet sodas in Japan are sweetened with this.

[Evermont]

Yeah, we kicked that around here before. I did a search here on DF and found 66 hits for Stevia (http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/search/id/485662/). I learned about it here at DF first and then read up on it elsewhere too. Everything you said sounds about right. Stevia is sold here in the US, I think it grows here too. I plan to try it someday. For now I'm using Agave nectar and I like that a lot.

[lewsterr]

I really don't think it's going to catch on here so quickly for two reasons: It has a bitter aftertaste and, in my opinion, the taste is quite different than sugar and the artificial sweeteners that are already on the market. Second, have you seen what this stuff costs? I'm sure if Coca-Cola begins to utilize it in its products, it'll certainly drive the cost up.

[princesslinda]

I have tried it, but really didn't care for the taste. Give me Splenda or Sweet-N-Low any day, even with the potential side effects.

[Wolf]

I actually like the taste. And as for the cost, it's something like 30 or 50 times sweeter than sugar so you don't need to use as much, although in reality I don't use it in an amount 1/30 of sugar. I probably use about half the amount of sugar. I buy it in a shaker bottle for about 8 dollars, which lasts about two months, and I use it every day.

[Schlep]

I have tried it, but really didn't care for the taste. Give me Splenda or Sweet-N-Low any day, even with the potential side effects.

The problem is that for some reason you cannot buy pure stevia, yes I know the box says pure but read the ingredients and you will find it is only 80% pure.

The product that they use to cut the stevia with tastes similar to licorice and thus leaves an after taste.

If you try pure stevia direct from the leaf of the plant you will find that it has no after taste.

[samdavid6]

Splenda..? Side effects..? Nooooooooooo..!! I was just beginning to get used to the stuff.

What are the side effects of Splenda..? (worried now)

[Schlep]

Do a search on Splenda on the net and you will find that it was originally refused by the FDA as a sweetner and it was originally produced as an ant poison.

Still will wipe those little suckers out.

[grace girl]

I tried stevia...to me it has a licorice after-taste that I can do without. If they can use it and have no nasty after-taste, I'd use it again. Otherwise, I'm sticking to splenda, side effects or not. They use strychnine to produce white sugar, so I don't know which is worse. When I accidentally drink something with regular sugar in it the taste reminds me of the smell of bug spray.

[patricia52]

Being sensitive to both Splenda and Nurta-
Sweet, I am now trying Stevia. So far no side effects that I can tell. I prefer the liquid. I do not drink tea and I do not sweeten my coffee so I have only tried it in a few things. Liked it in grape koolade and Lemonade and tried it in a pudding I made from scratch at Christmas. No one noticed the difference.

[Schlep]

Being sensitive to both Splenda and Nurta-
Sweet, I am now trying Stevia. So far no side effects that I can tell. I prefer the liquid. I do not drink tea and I do not sweeten my coffee so I have only tried it in a few things. Liked it in grape koolade and Lemonade and tried it in a pudding I made from scratch at Christmas. No one noticed the difference.

FYI -;) I also prefer the liquid.

[sherry]

I use stevia too. In fact, I buy it by the pound from herbalcom.com

[wiseguy]

You need to purchase pure stevia extract, like the Herbal Authority brand sold at Vitamin World, to avoid the licorice taste. It's also economical as you need to use very little of it. I use 1/8 teaspoon to sweeten a large glass of iced tea. It would take at least 8 packets of splenda to achieve the same results.

[slipperyelm]

You need to purchase pure stevia extract, like the Herbal Authority brand sold at Vitamin World, to avoid the licorice taste. It's also economical as you need to use very little of it. I use 1/8 teaspoon to sweeten a large glass of iced tea. It would take at least 8 packets of splenda to achieve the same results.

8 packets of Splenda! Holy moly, how big is this large glass of tea? A gallon? I only would put 1/2 to one packet of Splenda!

[Sheralyn]

SamDavid -- Seems everything has side effects. I quit smoking after more than 40 years, so I'll take my chances with Splenda. I love that stuff.

[wiseguy]

8 packets of Splenda! Holy moly, how big is this large glass of tea? A gallon? I only would put 1/2 to one packet of Splenda!
It's a 32 ounce glass and I like my tea sweet. Most people wouldn't even be able to notice one packet of Splenda in 32 ounces.

[slipperyelm]

Well, indeed, 32 ounces is a much bigger glass than I was picturing. ;)

[kclay0840]

I cannot handle the bitter aftertaste of stevia. I much prefer xylitol which is also good for your teeth as well.