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Is stevia better than sugar?

harry1970 said:
Read a very interesting article in The Age today:

Stevia | Is Stevia Better Than Sugar?

It appears the final product is 'bulked up" with other carbs that are calorific.
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That's if you buy the stevia blends ... the granulated stuff.

eg. Natvia is stevia bulked up and blended with erythriol, which is a sugar polyol of the same family as sorbitol, mannitol etc.

Erythriol is the least evil of the sugar polyols in the sense that is is fairly benign and does not cause GI issues (passes right through you unlike the others).

it is also not particularly calorific.
Some stevia blends are bulked up with other stuff although I've not seen them on aussie shelves (but I know Equal have brought out a Stevia blend so maybe that's one).

If you buy pure stevia extract, it's just that, pure stevia...alternatively, stevia in the raw or powdered stevia leaf. you can get these at health food stores and Professional Whey also sell it (a particularly good one with no bitterness).

Ultimately, it's not sugar vs stevia. Sugar in true moderation is not harmful. It's just that most people have no real idea of how much sugar they consume on a daily basis.

Stevia is not a wonder product but it has been used for centuries in south america, it's apparently pretty safe given that, and I use it sometimes when i want to keep the carb count down on recipes.

You are better off using real sugar, maple syrup, stevia, coconut sugar etc than using most "sugar free" processed products that contain sugar polyols, sucralose, aspartame etc.

My gastro guy says he keeps telling patients this (it's the real food vs test tube food debate) but is disappointed most people just don't get moderation.

I think these articles are a bit silly at times .. with the whole A vs B ...
 
chocchillimango said:
you should try coconut sugar, Goosey ... lovely caramel, toffee flavour and unrefined, has protein, iron, lotsa goodness.

I love using it :)
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The Coconut sugar i use is light brown in colour, im sure theirs plenty of variates, But its awesome, Great to make toasted muesli with :)
 
fmdreams said:
Stevia, coconut sugar and then raw sugar :)
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Yep, I'd actually place raw sugar a little further down the scale but good ones include:

stevia (pure, raw, whatever)
coconut sugar (palm sugar/sap)
rapadura sugar (evaporated cane juice)
maple syrup (pure)

raw sugar
honey
molasses

all of these contain nutrients that you don't get with regular refined sugar once they're stripped out in processing.
 
chocchillimango said:
you should try coconut sugar, Goosey ... lovely caramel, toffee flavour and unrefined, has protein, iron, lotsa goodness.

I love using it :)
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I was just kidding about the raw, but I do like the taste of it, especially in my coffee occasionally.

I love any form of coconut chocco, I'll look into it!
 
I made a cake using stevia instead of sugar once and it tasted strange as.. Same when mixed with coffee, its got a bit of an acrid aftertaste to it.
 
Palm sugar is absolutely delicious. I have used it in a few Thai meals, brilliant stuff.

I use Natvia or whatever it is in my Coffee
 
Brand of stevia makes a big difference only one I have found remotely palatable is professional whey, really good, minimal bitterness or after taste.
 
chocchillimango said:
yep, best one I've tried and I've tried a few and sometimes had to throw them out :mad:
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I reckon its best to sweeten strong flavours, my fave is putting it with frozen berries into the microwave then use that mix to flavour my greek yoghurt. Delicious and heaps less cals then the store bought flavoured yoghurts.

I find in my herbal teas I can taste the biterness but in coffee or dark hot chocolate I can't. Don't give up on the stevia its worth experimenting to find mixes that work
 
Fluffy said:
I reckon its best to sweeten strong flavours, my fave is putting it with frozen berries into the microwave then use that mix to flavour my greek yoghurt. Delicious and heaps less cals then the store bought flavoured yoghurts.

I find in my herbal teas I can taste the biterness but in coffee or dark hot chocolate I can't. Don't give up on the stevia its worth experimenting to find mixes that work
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Fluffy, I have more stevia at home than most people do :)

I use it all the time but my experiments always use the less is more principle. A little overboard and you ruin a dish.

Different forms of stevia also work best for different desserts/baked goods too.

It pays to find a good one.
I stand by Professional Whey's stevia and Nirvana pure stevia extract.
Both top notch.
The others, ugh.

:D
 
Minchia said:
Choc why don't you write an eBook of recipes already :D

I'll help you sell it :)
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I have a couple of recipes lined up. Will be putting together one for the new year.

In process of having new branding/design/logo and website move at the moment! Been a long, frustrating year for this to happen. Finally have a talented friend of mine on the job to help me.

In parallel, ebook planning underway.

I'd love to put in some stuff about sugars etc but i'm hesitant to do that sort of thing as a) what do I know, seriously ... and b) I'm not formally qualified (which I know means jack cos what i know about nutrition trumps most nutritionists but still).

All this talk of interesting sugars has made me dream of making a fully coconut cake with coconut butter, sugar, flour, milk/cream.

I have to work in some chocolate maybe ... ???
 
All the information you need is at your finger tips, if you have a science background and use the scientific method you don't even need to be qualified. There are so many qualified derelicts out there. Don't you have a damn PhD? :D You're well acquainted with science IMO
 
Minchia said:
All the information you need is at your finger tips, if you have a science background and use the scientific method you don't even need to be qualified. There are so many qualified derelicts out there. Don't you have a damn PhD? :D You're well acquainted with science IMO
Click to expand...

LOL this is true.

Last time I saw a dietician about my food intolerance, I went with my folder post an 8 week experiment (well designed and executed) with my write up, findings, conclusions and a list of citations for research papers. I then proceeded to challenge her useless input (she quoted some research) by pointing out the flawed methodology and analysis ... haha

She learned quite a bit :p

I'm a nightmare patient :eek:
 
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