There’s always been a war going on when it comes to sweeteners. Some experts feel that corn syrup is bad while white sugar is okay—in moderation, of course. Some think honey is best and all forms of processed anything should be avoided.
Then we come to artificial sweeteners. Saccharine was fine in the 70’s then was purported to cause cancer in rats. Now some experts say it’s fine and their data was off. I read that the amount of saccharine they had to give rats equaled about 300+ diet sodas per day for humans. I don’t have that many in a year! Aspartame has been shown to cause everything from headaches to digestive disturbances. Some experts even claim that it can lead to a health breakdown if taking too much over a long period of time.
Stevia is one of the newer sweeteners on the market, although it’s been used for centuries. Stevia Rebaudiana is an herb that’s in the same family as the Chrysanthemum. It grows as a wild shrub in parts of Paraguay and Brazil. The glycosides in its leaves, including up to 10% Stevioside, account for its incredible sweetness. In fact, this plant is up to 300 times sweeter than regular table sugar. It’s said not to raise blood sugar levels, doesn’t break down in heat, and is purported to be perfectly healthy. However, the taste does take some getting used to. In fact, I’ve never gotten used to the flavor of Stevia.
So what to do? It seems that every ten years or less a new sweetener comes out and an old sweetener gets bashed. We’re made to feel safe about a product for a good long while then all of sudden we’re to avoid it at all costs.
Where do I stand? I always feel that the more natural something is, the better. Since Stevia is all-natural, it does seem like a good choice, but it’s more expensive than sugar and, as I mentioned a moment ago, the taste isn’t very good. Maybe I just need to get used to it.
In the end I tend to stay away from sweets as much as possible, unless it comes in the form of fruit. I’m not even very fond of fruit juices. However, I do often use concentrated fruit juice to sweeten recipes, or use a prune puree—this has the added benefit of being able to reduce oil as well, which helps with weight loss efforts. Still, I do tend to use honey, Stevia, and plain white sugar in rotation. I stay away from the artificial sweeteners since they make me incredibly ill. Aspartame was responsible for many of my migraines.
Use your own judgment when it comes to sweeteners, but remember that natural is almost always better than something made in a laboratory from chemicals. If you’re watching your weight and/or have diabetes, Stevia may be the way to go.