I have never been able to handle the artificial sweeteners. Splenda, Nutrasweet, any of them. One sip or bite of something artificially sweetened and I can tell it's there.

After trying Splenda again post-surgery, I have been using small amounts of honey or sugar in my tea or yogurt, etc.

At the advice of my nutritionist, I tried Stevia. I'm amazed. It works for me. It's not perfect, but it's much, much more tolerable to me than the chemical sweeteners. I use the liquid type. I just put three drops into my mug of tea, or into my plain yogurt and amazingly I don't focus just on that sweetener when I eat or drink it.

Stevia is an herb, so it's more natural and doesn't have that nasty taste. They say if you get too much it becomes bitter, but I haven't had that happen yet.

Love Stevia and think it's a Godsend! Thanks to the sugar industry monopoly we won't see any Stevia-sweetened colas any time soon but anyone can buy it for cooking and sweetening. Unlike any of the artificial sweeteners (which I now think are far more dangerous than processed sugar even though I like the taste of Nutrasweet) I would give Stevia to a child.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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Here's the interesting part. I'm a classic sugar addict. The more I eat the more I want. (Sugar hits my brain the way alcohol hits an alcoholic’s brain.) One way I used to lose weight was to give up all sugar - processed and artificial. If I eat no sugar or sweeteners and am careful to balance fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose) with protein, fiber or fat, I eat less, get hungry, get full. You know like a normal person. I'm on a four-week pre-diet to show my doctors that I can change my eating habits and I've done a really good job of getting rid of the real and fake sugars. But this time I am using Stevia in green tea, cereal, etc. And I still have normal eating patterns. I haven’t craved sugar whereas diet coke in the morning meant an ice cream binge at night.<o:p></o:p>

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This works for me and my body chemistry and I think there are dozens of reasons/addictions that cause people to gain weight. But if you are a huge sugar eater you might want to try Stevia as a substitution and see if it lowers the desire for other sweets. There is a lot of information online about Stevia as well as recipes, sugar substitution measurements and health pros. (Have yet to see a real con about Stevia.)<o:p></o:p>

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I was introduced to Stevia by my healthiest friend – the aerobics instructor who munches veggies all day and lives healthy, not just talks it – and I am very glad I found it. It’s a little expensive at $10+ a bottle, but the bottle will last forever. I also recommend the packets which can be stored in a purse or wallet easily.<o:p></o:p>

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100% natural – no calories – no bad effects – no calories – ok for diabetics as there is no spike in blood sugar – no calories – ground plant root – no calories – no chemicals and did I mention it has no calories?:biggrin2: Love this stuff and strongly encourage all to try it. Trader Joe’s, Henry’s, Whole Foods, any health food shop all carry it so it is easy to find (and I suspect you will see it in the supermarkets soon as people discover this “miracle” herb.) There are different flavors - sometimes it tastes like licorice (yuck!) so I go for the labels that indicate no aftertaste and a lighter flavor. Let me know if you have any questions.:thumbup:

I have never heard of stevia. I am glad you posted this. I use to live off of Crystal Light. When I got banded in Dec. of 07, I couldn't understand why my stomach would constantly hurt. I went to the doctor 4 times complaining about stomach pains. My stomach would get so swollen and bloated that I couldn't even take a deep breath and hold my stomach in. I looked as if I was pregnant.

Finally one day my family doc. told me that he thought my stomach was sensitive to artificial sweeteners. He told me to stay away from them for 2 weeks and report my progress. Amazingly enough my stomach pains totally went away. I have been drinking water and a 1/4 cup of juice to take my meds. I will try stevia and see how my stomach responds to it.

Please report back. I think you will like it. I used to drink Diet Coke every morning and would just feel weird after about 40oz. (Yeah, I know but it was calorie-free and all you could drink - who knew?) I just feel so much better since switching to Stevia, taking a good multivitamin, eating right and exercising.

Another Stevia fan here. The protein powder i am drinking is sweetened with Stevia & I love it.

What protein powder is that?

Generally, if I want something sweet its already manufactured - like a cookie or something, so I just eat the sugar. I also cant stand the taste of artificial sweeteners, I dont like soft drinks like Coke anyway and its never entered my head to actually sweeten yogurt - I love the tart taste of it.

I drink plain Water, I dont drink coffee or tea sweetened and am not into those confectionary type coffees so for me, having a bit of real sugar every now and then isnt a problem.

It's called Metobolic RESET (Chocolate is my fav). I drink it with skim milk, but also tried it with Water today and still liked it.

Sugar is my enemy.

Edited May 26, 200818 yr by AliNSanDiego