Diet Food Reviews
Sweet Leaf Stevia
By: | Sep 14, 2009
Let's put aside the debate between using 'artifical' sweeteners or not, and accept the fact that some people do and some people don't. I do. I cannot tolerate a lot of sugar in my diet - it's like crack to me or something, because it makes me crave more and more foods - not just sweet foods. So, I use artificial sweeteners - mainly Splenda - in coffee or tea, and in a few of the foods that I eat.
With Stevia being the latest sweetener to be approved for use by the FDA, I decided to check it out. Stevia is a naturally sweet plant native to Paraguay whose leaves are 30 times sweeter than sugar in its unprocessed form. When purified, it can be 250-300 times sweeter than sugar. SweetLeaf Stevia was one of the first zero calorie, zero glycemic index alternatives on the market.
I tried it in many different ways - I added it to coffee, Fage Fat Free Greek Yogurt, made lemonade, iced tea and even used it in a few recipes that called for sugar.I didn't detect any bitterness at all (which you can from the liquid supplements) and it's quite versatile since it can be used to cook with (unlike Splenda).
Sweet Leaf Stevia doesn't come cheap though, at $13.99 for a 100-count box (available online). If you're looking for an alternative to regular sugar, give this a try. I quite liked it, and it's now even being used as the sweetener in Sobe Lifewater, Trop50 and more.
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Artificial sweetners give me a tummy ache and bloating, have you heard if this does as well? I usually use a little honey, just for that reason, but can't avoid package "diet" foods that use splenda, so I'm hopeing that they might start using this, if it doesn't cause issues.
I haven't heard of it ... yet. But there may be sensitivities, as there are to foods that aren't "bad".
Even with artificial sweeteners, some people have a sensitivity, and some people don't. Luckily, I haven't had any ill effects - no headaches etc, and I don't crave sweet foods (although that may be more due to my aversion to things with milk & chocolate in it).
I've used both stevia and splenda. Splenda CAN be used for cooking..contrary to the article, it does not lose it's sweetness when subjected to high heat the way nutrasweet and others do.