I realize I must stop eating sugar if I want to live a long and healthy life. But I have a sweet tooth and can not stand unsweetened coffee or tea, and I love candy. So, is there really a way to enjoy the sweetness without worry?
To make matters more difficult, most sugar-free desserts and chewing gums use sugar substitutes that are bad for you. All those: aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), neotame, saccharin (Sweet'N Low), sucralose (Splenda) have been found to contribute to a whole bunch of health problems. Not surprising, since they are manufactured from disgusting stuff! Aspartame is made from the genetically modified poop of E.Coli bacteria! Gross! Sucralose is made from chlorine, saccharin is made from coal tar. The studies showed that those sweeteners cause cancers, weight gain, heart and vascular problems, diabetes 2. .
Sugar alcohols, such as erythritol and xylitol are marketed as natural and safe, since they are produced from plants. I bought a jar of that stuff once because it said "safe and natural, made from birch sap" and used to sweeten my tea for a couple of days. I got so bloated, I thought I was going to explode! My stomach looked and felt like a yoga ball for a few days and couldn't even look at food without wanting to throw up.
All man-made sugar substitutes, including are not to be used ever! They are simply not suitable for human or animal consumption.
So how about Stevia? It's all natural, right? Apparently not. The chemical that is sweet, without the bitter aftertaste is Rebaudioside A (Reb A) is what is actually sweet. But it's content in the leaves is only 2-4%. So it would take a whole lot of leaves and distilling to get that stuff. No wonder Stevia extract is expensive. Canada doesn't even allow to call Stevia sweetener "all natural". Their food agency says that, "due to its significant processing and the types of solvents used for its extraction and purification... steviol glycosides cannot be described as a natural sweetener." Wow, that's a bummer.
A UK medical school back in 2013 did a study of 50 various herbal medicines, including Stevia. 30% of the herbs, 15 out of 50, were shown to have "moderately severe adverse effects", and Stevia was among those 30%. Apparently it is possible to be allergic to Stevia, since it belongs to a family of allergen-producing plants, such as ragweed. More information came from the Latvian study in 2014. It claimed that Stevia may be harmful to the good gut bacteria Lactobacillus. Overall, the information I dug up on internet claims that Stevia extract is a safe sweetener. As long as you buy pure organic Stevia extract online, not the other products you find in grocery stores which is mixed with lots of additives that can cause problems such as gas and bloating. Back in 1985 there was an experiment done with rats fed a lot of Stevia, which showed that it produced a mutagenic byproduct. Mutagenic means it causes DNA mutations that don't go away, but are accumulated in the body. A mutation can cause cancer or any weird thing, one just never knows. In view of those findings, the Expert Committee on Food Additives published a recommended maximum daily intake of no more than 4 mg per kilogram of body weight, which is about 2.7 grams for a 150 lb person - no more than 9 little packets a day. However, as I said earlier, the mutations effect is cumulative, and it's kind of like a throw of a dice, whether a mutation will cause cancer or do nothing. In those rats the DNA mutations were found in blood, spleen, brain and liver cells. But no studies were done on human organ tissues same as on rats. So far Stevia is presumed harmless. But it may cause bloating and gas. Personally, I'm suspecting that because I've been using Stevia for a very long time, I have now constipation problem that won't go away no matter how much fiber I eat. I feel it's time for a switch.
So, how about Monk Fruit? It has been used since 13th century by Buddhist monks, that's why it's called Monk fruit. Up to date there hasn't been any adverse side effects noticed from using monk fruit. In fact, it is supposed to be good for you. It has been used medicinally for centuries. The sweet stuff in monk fruit is called mogrosides, which is an anti-oxidant, an anti-inflammatory, and it inhibits tumor growths and DNA damage! Studies have also shown that monk fruit lowers bad cholesterol and blood sugar! Sounds wonderful. I'm ordering it right now. Of course, organic, non-GMO and without any additives.
To make matters more difficult, most sugar-free desserts and chewing gums use sugar substitutes that are bad for you. All those: aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), neotame, saccharin (Sweet'N Low), sucralose (Splenda) have been found to contribute to a whole bunch of health problems. Not surprising, since they are manufactured from disgusting stuff! Aspartame is made from the genetically modified poop of E.Coli bacteria! Gross! Sucralose is made from chlorine, saccharin is made from coal tar. The studies showed that those sweeteners cause cancers, weight gain, heart and vascular problems, diabetes 2. .
Sugar alcohols, such as erythritol and xylitol are marketed as natural and safe, since they are produced from plants. I bought a jar of that stuff once because it said "safe and natural, made from birch sap" and used to sweeten my tea for a couple of days. I got so bloated, I thought I was going to explode! My stomach looked and felt like a yoga ball for a few days and couldn't even look at food without wanting to throw up.
All man-made sugar substitutes, including are not to be used ever! They are simply not suitable for human or animal consumption.
So how about Stevia? It's all natural, right? Apparently not. The chemical that is sweet, without the bitter aftertaste is Rebaudioside A (Reb A) is what is actually sweet. But it's content in the leaves is only 2-4%. So it would take a whole lot of leaves and distilling to get that stuff. No wonder Stevia extract is expensive. Canada doesn't even allow to call Stevia sweetener "all natural". Their food agency says that, "due to its significant processing and the types of solvents used for its extraction and purification... steviol glycosides cannot be described as a natural sweetener." Wow, that's a bummer.
A UK medical school back in 2013 did a study of 50 various herbal medicines, including Stevia. 30% of the herbs, 15 out of 50, were shown to have "moderately severe adverse effects", and Stevia was among those 30%. Apparently it is possible to be allergic to Stevia, since it belongs to a family of allergen-producing plants, such as ragweed. More information came from the Latvian study in 2014. It claimed that Stevia may be harmful to the good gut bacteria Lactobacillus. Overall, the information I dug up on internet claims that Stevia extract is a safe sweetener. As long as you buy pure organic Stevia extract online, not the other products you find in grocery stores which is mixed with lots of additives that can cause problems such as gas and bloating. Back in 1985 there was an experiment done with rats fed a lot of Stevia, which showed that it produced a mutagenic byproduct. Mutagenic means it causes DNA mutations that don't go away, but are accumulated in the body. A mutation can cause cancer or any weird thing, one just never knows. In view of those findings, the Expert Committee on Food Additives published a recommended maximum daily intake of no more than 4 mg per kilogram of body weight, which is about 2.7 grams for a 150 lb person - no more than 9 little packets a day. However, as I said earlier, the mutations effect is cumulative, and it's kind of like a throw of a dice, whether a mutation will cause cancer or do nothing. In those rats the DNA mutations were found in blood, spleen, brain and liver cells. But no studies were done on human organ tissues same as on rats. So far Stevia is presumed harmless. But it may cause bloating and gas. Personally, I'm suspecting that because I've been using Stevia for a very long time, I have now constipation problem that won't go away no matter how much fiber I eat. I feel it's time for a switch.
So, how about Monk Fruit? It has been used since 13th century by Buddhist monks, that's why it's called Monk fruit. Up to date there hasn't been any adverse side effects noticed from using monk fruit. In fact, it is supposed to be good for you. It has been used medicinally for centuries. The sweet stuff in monk fruit is called mogrosides, which is an anti-oxidant, an anti-inflammatory, and it inhibits tumor growths and DNA damage! Studies have also shown that monk fruit lowers bad cholesterol and blood sugar! Sounds wonderful. I'm ordering it right now. Of course, organic, non-GMO and without any additives.
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