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Stevia is an herbal sweetener from a plant native to South America where it has been used for centuries. It has been used commercially for decades in Japan. Stevia is 300X sweeter than
sugar! You can buy it as a liquid extract or in powder form, at most health food stores.
Stevia has no effect on blood sugar or insulin, so is a very good choice for
diabetics as well as anyone concerned with blood sugar regulation.
When purchasing Stevia, look in the
supplement section because the FDA has approved it as a dietary
supplement but not yet as a food.
I prefer to buy it in liquid form because the amount used is so
tiny, it is easier to standardize the amount I'm using in a recipe.
Stevia does not substitute well for
sugar in most baked goods because sugar adds something to the
structure of the baked good, which Stevia does not. But it does work
well for flourless desserts such as fruit compotes, cobblers,
puddings, or for shakes, smoothies, lemonade or iced tea.
Splenda is a brand name product
for the generic Sucralose, that also claims no effect on insulin. It is made from sugar
which has undergone a chlorination process that theoretically leaves
it with zero carbohydrates. You can find out more about Splenda at
http://www.sucra.com Sugar-free flavored syrups made with Splenda can be ordered
at
http://www.carbsmart.com They
also sell Splenda as a powdered sugar substitute which
behaves like sugar in most recipes.
Caution: Although
Splenda and products using Splenda or Sucralose are seductive, there
is some debate within the holistic health community as to their safety. Long term human studies have never been done, and the
effects on laboratory animals would make me want more information
before I use this product. Remember, that whenever we are dealing
with a chemically manipulated or manufactured food, our body does
not recognize it as real food. If you would like to investigate
further on your own, a good place to start is http://www.holisticmed.com/splenda/
Trutina Dulcem
is a low glycemic sweetener made from kiwi fruit sold under the
brand name ThermoSweet. Depending on which version of a low carb plan you use, this product may or may not be acceptable. It has just under 5gms of carb per teaspoon, and is 10X as sweet as sugar measure for measure.
Thermosweet may be purchased at www.thermofit.com.
I have not yet seen it available in retail stores.
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