Results 1 to 15 of 15

Thread: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

  1. #1
    Senior Member Candy Girl's Avatar
    Joined
    May 2008
    Location
    Chicago, IL
    Posts
    149
    Thanks
    534
    Thanked 83 Times in 53 Posts
    My Mood
    Yeehaw

    Mind Blowing Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    My brilliant Vegas vet idol doesn't eat sugar. At all.

    I try not to eat it but really have substituted agave in tea/ coffee.

    A medic on one of my shoots said Agave syrup is the Devil -- it basically turns into corn syrup inside your body. Agave is a cactus, right? You're supposed to end up using 40% less than sugar so you save calories.

    I read that Stevia inhibits your fertility.

    Anyone know what's the best fake sugar?

    Holla back!

    Thanks in advance, y'all!
    Smoke good, eat good. Drink and f*** good. Comin' to the club, stuntin' how you should. My s*** on fire I don't need no gasolina. I'm comin through the block with the new two seater. Cash rules everything around me -- C.R.E.A.M. -- get the money! Dollar dollar bill, y'all!!! FREEZE!!! You know who it is!!! It's me *****es!!! Showtime!!! -Swizz Beats

  2. #2
    Featured Member SuperJa's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Edmonton
    Posts
    1,668
    Thanks
    2,969
    Thanked 4,552 Times in 1,250 Posts
    My Mood
    Yeehaw

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    I'd go with xylitol, personally. It is expensive though, typically. It doesn't affect insulin levels and various studies have shown random benefits.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol

    Note that Stevia is banned in several places due to lack of research.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia


    The sugar in agave is mostly fructose... so is corn syrup. But it's in berries too. So there you go.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_nectar

    There doesn't appear to be a large scale human study on Splenda, ones in rats have shown adverse side affects, but they were mega-dosing them, so it's really up in the air how much a human would have to consume to end up with problems, or if it's even relevant.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splenda

    If you don't drink too much tea or coffee I wouldn't really worry about it. The key with all of this diet stuff is really just to moderate. Too much of ANYTHING is bad for you.

  3. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to SuperJa For This Useful Post:


  4. #3
    Veteran Member
    Joined
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Great White North
    Posts
    206
    Thanks
    173
    Thanked 129 Times in 77 Posts
    My Mood
    Angelic

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    For a baking using a sugar substitute I often use applesauce.

    As for coffee and tea, I don't drink them very often but some tea tastes nice with some honey in it.
    Idk, I guess that's super high in sugar lol

    As for a real deal sweetener, what about Stevia?

  5. #4
    Veteran Member
    Joined
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Great White North
    Posts
    206
    Thanks
    173
    Thanked 129 Times in 77 Posts
    My Mood
    Angelic

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    For a baking using a sugar substitute I often use applesauce.

    As for coffee and tea, I don't drink them very often but some tea tastes nice with some honey in it.
    Idk, I guess that's super high in sugar anyways lol

  6. #5
    Member strength704grace's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    16
    Thanks
    34
    Thanked 22 Times in 5 Posts

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    I prefer Truvia.

  7. #6
    Senior Member MotherTang's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    85
    Thanks
    39
    Thanked 143 Times in 42 Posts

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    Agave is fine. Or real juice from fruit. Sugar substitutes are all usually man-made anyway, so I find them to be hard on my body (and I hear its bad for your brain).

  8. #7
    Featured Member SuperJa's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Edmonton
    Posts
    1,668
    Thanks
    2,969
    Thanked 4,552 Times in 1,250 Posts
    My Mood
    Yeehaw

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    More on agave:
    http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/

    "Agave nectar is not traditional, is highly refined, and actually has more concentrated fructose than high-fructose corn syrup. It is not a “natural” sweetener. Thus far, the evidence definitely points toward the conclusion: Agave Nectar = Bad."

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mer..._b_537936.html
    "While agave syrup does have a low-glycemic index, so does antifreeze -- that doesn't mean it's good for you."

    "Just the name "agave" conjures up images of romantic tropical excursions and mysterious shamanic medicine.

    These are the mental images many agave "nectar" sellers want you to hold. They use agave's royal pedigree to cover the truth that what they're selling you is a bottle of high-fructose syrup, so highly processed and refined that it bears NO resemblance to the plant of its namesake.

    Such a high fructose content isn't typical of all agave products. "Depending on how the syrup is processed, it may or may not contain more fructose," says Roger Clemens, a professor at USC and spokesman for the Institute of Food Technologists, whose research has focused on functional foods, food processing and nutrition.

    Depending on the source and processing method used, agave syrup can, therefore, contain as little as 55% fructose, the same amount found in high-fructose corn syrup -- in which case the syrup would offer no advantage."

    http://www.rodale.com/worst-sweeteners
    " Top 5 worst sweeteners

    Aspartame
    Agave nectar
    Sucralose (Splenda)
    Sugar
    High-fructose corn syrup"


    http://realfoodforager.com/why-i-never-use-agave/
    "To produce so called agave nectar from the Agave Americana and Tequiliana plants, the leaves are cut off the plant after it has aged 7 to 14 years. Then the juice is expressed from the core of the agave. The juice is filtered, then heated, in order to hydrolyze the polysaccharides into simple sugars. The filtered, hydrolyzed juice is concentrated to a syrupy liquid, slightly thinner than honey, from light colored to dark amber, depending on the degree of processing. (source)

    It is a highly processed operation to convert the carbohydrates into a liquid nectar. This is done using caustic acids, clarifiers and filtration chemicals and results in a syrup that is from 70% – 92% pure fructose — even higher than high fructose corn syrup (which is 55%). This is certainly not a raw product and this entire method can’t be good.

    And Truvia:

    http://www.foodrenegade.com/is-truvia-healthy/
    "What do you think? It’s not natural, but rather made by a mysterious, patented refining process to extract rebiana from the stevia leaf. Plus, it contains other ingredients besides rebiana, including erythritol (a dubious sugar alcohol) and “natural flavors” (whatever they are).

    I’ll leave you with a final thought. Why aren’t Coke and other companies using just plain stevia to sweeten their beverages? Could it have something to do with how it took the FDA all of three seconds to grant Truvia the coveted GRAS (generally recognizede as safe) status? (GUILTY! I’m exaggerating. It was more like 3 weeks.) How Monsanto spent 20 years blocking the FDA’s approval of stevia when they thought it posed a threat to NutriSweet?"

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-truth-on-truvia/
    "Finally, some critics also add that most of their stevia crops are generally grown in China under non-organic conditions. Given the recent problems with Chinese produced crops and medicinal substances (e.g. infant formula, pet food, heparin components), this fact doesn’t exactly inspire the deepest confidence."

    http://www.brucebradley.com/food/tru...stly-marketed/
    "First things first, is Truvia made from a leaf? Well the answer is kinda, sorta. Truvia has three ingredients: erythritol, rebiana, and natural flavors. Rebiana is made from the stevia leaf by soaking it in water. Although Cargill whitewashes the process as similar to making tea, the truth is revealed in Coca-Cola’s patent where it outlines a 40+ step process that includes the use of acetone, methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile, and isopropanol. I don’t know about you, but when I make a cup of tea, I’ve never used any of those ingredients.

    The second fallacy of Truvia’s “guilt-free” naturalness is it’s main ingredient, erythritol. Now while erythritol is a naturally-occurring sweetener found in many fruits, in nature it is present in such small amounts (less than .005% by weight) it’s impractical to use natural sources. So Cargill manufacturers Truvia’s erythritol by chemically converting genetically modified corn into a food grade starch which it ferments to create glucose and then processes further to create erythritol. Ah, the gentle hand of Mother Nature. Sorry for the sarcasm, but really Cargill? All Natural? Truvia sounds more like a GMO lab experiment than a sweetener straight from nature."

  9. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to SuperJa For This Useful Post:


  10. #8
    Banned
    Joined
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Colorado!
    Posts
    6,053
    Thanks
    3,775
    Thanked 3,701 Times in 1,713 Posts

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    Epic post Ja, super informative! That's why I stick with real sugar, and just use less of it. I've been into the Halloween candy this week, and made a batch of Italian rainbow cookies for my hubs and friend, but normally I hardly eat sugar at all. I'd rather eat 1/2 tsp of sugar in my coffee the 3x a week I drink it, than eat tons of substitutes. We don't buy anything with high fructose corn syrup either.

  11. #9
    Member
    Joined
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    17
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    Yes, SuperJa has great info! I've researched this stuff myself.... even considered going back to school to become a naturopathic doc... maybe still will one day..

    Yep, I used to use Truvia thinking is was stevia... Then, I learned better. So, stevia and xylitol are the best sugar alternatives. Period. But, you must buy actual stevia.... not Truvia or other sugar subs made from stevia. I use both. Xylitol is more expensive as someone mentioned, but I think it's more like sugar--in taste, and it's granulated just like sugar. So, I use it on cereal on the occasions I have it. But, I use stevia in my iced green tea I always have on hand for the entire family to eliminate the sugar. Vitacost is a good place to buy it for the most reasonable price I've found.

  12. The Following User Says Thank You to sexymia For This Useful Post:


  13. #10
    Featured Member SuperJa's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Edmonton
    Posts
    1,668
    Thanks
    2,969
    Thanked 4,552 Times in 1,250 Posts
    My Mood
    Yeehaw

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    Quote Originally Posted by mediocrity View Post
    That's why I stick with real sugar, and just use less of it. I'd rather eat 1/2 tsp of sugar in my coffee the 3x a week I drink it, than eat tons of substitutes.
    This is exactly it. If you only use small amounts of sugar, who cares. You're not going to turn into an obese diabetic if you eat a cookie once in a while.


    If somebody feels that a sugar substitute can be dumped on everything because "it's low gi" or whatever, they should probably be working on that issue.

  14. #11
    Member
    Joined
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Up the Arse.
    Posts
    72
    Thanks
    36
    Thanked 12 Times in 8 Posts

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    What about Yacon syrup? I heard that's kinda good for you.

  15. #12
    Featured Member SuperJa's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Edmonton
    Posts
    1,668
    Thanks
    2,969
    Thanked 4,552 Times in 1,250 Posts
    My Mood
    Yeehaw

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    Yacon itself is super good for you, however yacon syrup is debateable.


    Basically yacon is a root vegetable, a lot like a sweet potato. The sugar in it is mostly fructooligosaccharide, which humans can't digest and is a prebiotic for healthy gut bacteria. So eating yacon potatoes? Awesome for you.

    BUT

    To make yacon syrup, they have to heat and process it, and that sugar breaks down into- you guessed it, basically fructose.


    It's tough to find and expensive. There also isn't much research on the actual SYRUP... obviously a sweet-potato-like vegetable is going to be stupid good for you. The processed version of it's sugar? Who knows. Most of the info I found was from companies trying to sell the stuff, and of course they tell you it is the fountain of youth, best thing ever, bla bla.


    Once again, worry more about how MUCH sugar/artificial sweetener/sugar substitute you're using.

  16. The Following User Says Thank You to SuperJa For This Useful Post:


  17. #13
    Featured Member vivianbear's Avatar
    Joined
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Southern CA
    Posts
    1,507
    Thanks
    555
    Thanked 2,238 Times in 572 Posts

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    Why not just use organic, Grade A/B maple syrup or organic/fair trade, raw sugar (can be bought in bulk at co-ops)? It's not [as] processed and it's likely produced under fairer conditions. I'm also of the school that would rather just eat sugar in severe moderation than use any sort of GMO, highly-processed, man-made substitute. It's easier to manage and far cheaper, in the long run.
    "SS=stripper shit, in the same spectrum as CS=customer shit, which is within the spectrum of SaS=sales shit, which is all contained in the universe of BS=bullshit." -- Jay Zeno (mod)

    "Show me a hot chick and I'll show you someone who's tired of fucking her."






  18. #14
    Senior Member CamGirl4M's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    90
    Thanks
    158
    Thanked 186 Times in 52 Posts

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    I use stevia a lot and for baking I use erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol that doesn't cause any digestive issues like xylitol. If the stevia is too bitter, I just add a tiny bit of organic real sugar to take away the bitterness.

    I order the erythritol here: http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/gra...x#.ULeBF6X6Y5Q

  19. #15
    God/dess Flickdreams's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Look behind you....
    Posts
    3,406
    Thanks
    5,155
    Thanked 4,132 Times in 1,638 Posts

    Default Re: Sugar Substitutes: Agave Syrup Vs. Splenda Vs. Xylitol Vs. Stevia

    OP, there are plenty of threads of this topic if you have a search around.

    I like your work Ja. I use Dextrose when I get a sweet craving (or I eat fruit, up to two pieces per day). At the end of the day it wont kill you to have Sucrose/fructose in modration but how many can claim they have it moderately, it also sets the cravings up again (if you have detoxed from sugar).

    I follow the SweetPoisin Method and am starting to look into Paleo 2.0.
    Tiny tweaks----->BIG CHANGES

    Quote Originally Posted by Kirakonstantin View Post
    More fear-mongering? Really? Yes, this is not the 1990's anymore. Yes, things are changing. Either dance or don't. Freaking out and sowing fear isn't going to help anyone.




  20. The Following User Says Thank You to Flickdreams For This Useful Post:


Similar Threads

  1. Sugar and Sugar Substitutes
    By jack0177057 in forum Body Business
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 07-31-2011, 12:07 AM
  2. Maple Syrup - Questions, Recipes, Comments
    By hockeybobby in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 124
    Last Post: 04-18-2011, 03:37 PM
  3. Rice noodles and other substitutes
    By tempest666 in forum Body Business
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 03-23-2011, 06:56 AM
  4. Salt Substitutes
    By Athenathefabulous in forum Body Business
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 07-20-2010, 06:18 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •