One of the things that I've stayed away from after surgery is processed foods. I realized that I use a lot of Splenda which is not good for me. I tried Stevia but I didn't like the taste. While watching a You Tube video I learned about Monk Fruit Sweetener. It is natural sweetener and it is many times sweeter than sugar. I bought a bag of it at Whole Foods. After using it, I had the most intense stomach cramps and diarreha since my surgery. It turns out the Monk Fruit Sweetener was mixed with Erythritol. In fact, erythritol was listed as the first ingredient with Monk Fruit Sweetener listed second. Lesson learned, I went on Amazon and found 100% Monk Fruit Sweetener. This stuff is so sweet it comes with a tiny scoop. I use it daily and find it to be my go to sugar substitute.

On a side note, the first bag of Erythritol/Monk Fruit Sweetener does have a practical use. A friend recently had WLS and like us all is experiencing constipation. I squeezed a few lemons, added water and the Erythritol/Monk Fruit Sweetener. No more constipation. (Wish I had this stuff when I was going through my bout of constipation)

I tend to react to erythritol the same way - terrible cramps. I'll have to try some of the pure monk fruit sweetener. Thanks!

3 hours ago, Danny Paul said:

One of the things that I've stayed away from after surgery is processed foods. I realized that I use a lot of Splenda which is not good for me. I tried Stevia but I didn't like the taste. While watching a You Tube video I learned about Monk Fruit Sweetener. It is natural sweetener and it is many times sweeter than sugar. I bought a bag of it at Whole Foods. After using it, I had the most intense stomach cramps and diarreha since my surgery. It turns out the Monk fruit Sweetener was mixed with Erythritol. In fact, erythritol was listed as the first ingredient with Monk Fruit Sweetener listed second. Lesson learned, I went on Amazon and found 100% Monk Fruit Sweetener. This stuff is so sweet it comes with a tiny scoop. I use it daily and find it to be my go to sugar substitute.

On a side note, the first bag of Erythritol/Monk Fruit Sweetener does have a practical use. A friend recently had WLS and like us all is experiencing constipation. I squeezed a few lemons, added Water and the Erythritol/Monk Fruit Sweetener. No more constipation. (Wish I had this stuff when I was going through my bout of constipation)

Monk fruit affects blood sugars exactly the same way as sugar cane sugar and we should all be avoiding it. The body treats it exactly the same way as normal sugar and will be converted via the liver and stored as fat.

I too hate stevia on its own but I found a blend of erythritol and stevia doable. It is called Natvia here, or you could do it a cheaper way like I do buy stevia powder and erythritol powder and mix them together yourself.

I have Zing which is a Combo of Dextrose and Stevia, still not So GOOD but for my Fellow US peers - Splenda. Naturals Stevie has the same blend as my Aussie friend Bastian's Natvia has! So Maybe Good News for One and All! But it's odd, I used to have a Raging Sweet Tooth, WLS " pulled" it out and I seldom sweeten anymore. Well I did try sweetening the Strawberry Kefir last week, but that was because I got a little upset with its bitter sourness, yeah yeah I should have known THAT was why I bought it in the first place, but even I don't always Think PERFECT like I should!