4 ms·

So when can we have stevia into all of our food?

by mtgx 11y ago

greggman 11y ago
I tried stevia for a while. It doesn't come even close to sugar's flavor and eventually I just gave it up.
- bosdev 11y ago
  It absolutely does not have the same flavor, no artificial sweetener does. But if you decide to not have sugar, you can grow to enjoy it in a different way. For me, for example, regular Coca-Cola is just non-existant in my world at this point. I drink Coke Zero, and I like it. I'm sure the sugar full version tastes better, but I've decided that's just not an option for me.
  - J-dawg 11y ago
    I drink a lot of sugar-free cola, and to my dismay there seems to be mounting evidence that diet soft drinks actually contribute to weight gain, possibly by altering gut fauna. [0] As with all nutrition advice, I find myself wondering what to do with this information (other than kicking my diet coke habit just to be on the safe side). Good science takes time, but I want to make decisions that benefit my health right now. Any that's before you even get into the crazy amount of pseudo-science and quackery that exists around nutrition. It would be great if anyone knowledgable about the subject could add their two cents! [0] http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-bad-belly-fat/ http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-bad-belly-fat/
    - ktRolster 11y ago
      It might be true....but sugar soda is definitely worse than diet soda. For example, you can drink through 5 cans of diet pepsi in a day, with very few health problems (if you do it consistently, over a long period of time, it might cause problems, but that is still 'might' so it's not obvious). Now imagine drinking 5 cans of sugar pepsi in a day. That's 800 calories of pure sugar! If you keep that up, you'll be gaining a pound every week.....or feeling the effects of malnutrition by the end of the year. Nothing subtle about that.
    - greggman 11y ago
      I saw that too. My anecdata: In 1992 I was 5'10" and 210lbs. I switched from caloried drinks to non-caloried drinks (coke -> diet coke) and have up sides (no more fries). No other changes. Lost 30 lbs and pretty much stayed that way. Pretty much no real physical activity. Don't know which it was, the drinks or the sides or both. Stayed that way until I moved to Japan in 1998 where most restaurants don't have diet coke. They're only non-caloried drink was tea which got me addicted to tea. That's probably better for me than diet-coke but tea stains my teeth :(
    - greggman 11y ago
      I saw that too. My anecdata: In 1992 I was 5'10" and 210lbs. I switched from caloried drinks to non-caloried drinks (coke -> diet coke) and have up sides (no more fries). No other changes. Lost 30 lbs and pretty much stayed that way. Pretty much no real physical activity. Don't know which it was, the drinks or the sides or both. Stayed that way until I moved to Japan in 1998 where most restaurants don't have diet coke. They're only non-caloried drink was tea which got me addicted to tea. That's probably better for me than diet-coke but tea stains my teeth :(
  - mmebane 11y ago
    > I drink Coke Zero, and I like it. I'm sure the sugar full version tastes better, but I've decided that's just not an option for me. My wife thinks I'm weird, but I hate the taste of regular Coca-Cola. I much prefer Diet Coke.
    - vonmoltke 11y ago
      Well, the formula of Diet Coke was originally developed to attract people who preferred Pepsi over Coke, so that isn't really surprising. Led to the whole "new Coke" fiasco, though.
JoeAltmaier 11y ago
Never I hope. The aftertaste makes me ill.
KingMob 11y ago
Might be better to just curb the craving for sweetness. Study after study shows no effect of diet sodas vs regular sodas. While artificial sweeteners have a low glycemic index/load, they stimulate the release of related hormones like insulin and GLP-1. And insulin, if you recall, signals fat cells to suck up the energy and grow. So if you drink a diet soda, it might have no calories itself, but it's more likely to convince your body to turn more of your lunch into fat than otherwise.
- sov 11y ago
  I don't think you're correct here. http://examine.com/faq/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin/ http://examine.com/faq/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insuli... But even if diet soda DID spike insulin (it doesn't), it would have nothing to do on a low-carb diet because your blood glucose is already very low.
- Shengbo 11y ago
  I'm guessing they're downvoting you because you mentioned studies but provided no links, so here's one I found[1]. [1]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/
- aaxe 11y ago
  No no no no no God damn. This is a perfect example of how a little knowledge is dangerous. 1. Artificial sweeteners do NOT cause insulin to be released. 2. On that note, insulin is a storage hormone. That is it. It is not a fat-hormone. You know what's one of the few hormones that almost all bodybuilders take? Insulin - because it makes their muscles grow. You get fat because your intake of calories is excessive, regardless of whether its done via carbs or fats.
  - KingMob 11y ago
    > This is a perfect example of how a little knowledge is dangerous. So is your own comment. 1. Aspartame doesn't release insulin, but it does provoke release of related hormones. Other artificial sweeteners DO stimulate insulin release. See my reply to my own comment for a quick sampling of relevant articles. 2. Yes, insulin is a generalized storage hormone, but fat is always ready to absorb, while muscle requires exercise to stimulate the absorption. Unless you're exercising heavily (which isn't most of us), my general point stands.
djsumdog 11y ago
I really like stevia. It's got a very specific taste so it doesn't work with everything. You have to work your recipes to deal with the extra mint. Chocolate works really well with stevia. A lot of people cut things with stevia + sugar alcohols.

So when can we have stevia into all of our food?

by mtgx 11y ago

So when can we have stevia into all of our food?

greggman 11y ago

I tried stevia for a while. It doesn't come even close to sugar's flavor and eventually I just gave it up.

bosdev 11y ago
It absolutely does not have the same flavor, no artificial sweetener does. But if you decide to not have sugar, you can grow to enjoy it in a different way. For me, for example, regular Coca-Cola is just non-existant in my world at this point. I drink Coke Zero, and I like it. I'm sure the sugar full version tastes better, but I've decided that's just not an option for me.
- J-dawg 11y ago
  I drink a lot of sugar-free cola, and to my dismay there seems to be mounting evidence that diet soft drinks actually contribute to weight gain, possibly by altering gut fauna. [0] As with all nutrition advice, I find myself wondering what to do with this information (other than kicking my diet coke habit just to be on the safe side). Good science takes time, but I want to make decisions that benefit my health right now. Any that's before you even get into the crazy amount of pseudo-science and quackery that exists around nutrition. It would be great if anyone knowledgable about the subject could add their two cents! [0] http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-bad-belly-fat/ http://time.com/3746047/diet-soda-bad-belly-fat/
  - ktRolster 11y ago
    It might be true....but sugar soda is definitely worse than diet soda. For example, you can drink through 5 cans of diet pepsi in a day, with very few health problems (if you do it consistently, over a long period of time, it might cause problems, but that is still 'might' so it's not obvious). Now imagine drinking 5 cans of sugar pepsi in a day. That's 800 calories of pure sugar! If you keep that up, you'll be gaining a pound every week.....or feeling the effects of malnutrition by the end of the year. Nothing subtle about that.
  - greggman 11y ago
    I saw that too. My anecdata: In 1992 I was 5'10" and 210lbs. I switched from caloried drinks to non-caloried drinks (coke -> diet coke) and have up sides (no more fries). No other changes. Lost 30 lbs and pretty much stayed that way. Pretty much no real physical activity. Don't know which it was, the drinks or the sides or both. Stayed that way until I moved to Japan in 1998 where most restaurants don't have diet coke. They're only non-caloried drink was tea which got me addicted to tea. That's probably better for me than diet-coke but tea stains my teeth :(
  - greggman 11y ago
    I saw that too. My anecdata: In 1992 I was 5'10" and 210lbs. I switched from caloried drinks to non-caloried drinks (coke -> diet coke) and have up sides (no more fries). No other changes. Lost 30 lbs and pretty much stayed that way. Pretty much no real physical activity. Don't know which it was, the drinks or the sides or both. Stayed that way until I moved to Japan in 1998 where most restaurants don't have diet coke. They're only non-caloried drink was tea which got me addicted to tea. That's probably better for me than diet-coke but tea stains my teeth :(
- mmebane 11y ago
  > I drink Coke Zero, and I like it. I'm sure the sugar full version tastes better, but I've decided that's just not an option for me. My wife thinks I'm weird, but I hate the taste of regular Coca-Cola. I much prefer Diet Coke.
  - vonmoltke 11y ago
    Well, the formula of Diet Coke was originally developed to attract people who preferred Pepsi over Coke, so that isn't really surprising. Led to the whole "new Coke" fiasco, though.

JoeAltmaier 11y ago

Never I hope. The aftertaste makes me ill.

KingMob 11y ago

Might be better to just curb the craving for sweetness. Study after study shows no effect of diet sodas vs regular sodas. While artificial sweeteners have a low glycemic index/load, they stimulate the release of related hormones like insulin and GLP-1. And insulin, if you recall, signals fat cells to suck up the energy and grow. So if you drink a diet soda, it might have no calories itself, but it's more likely to convince your body to turn more of your lunch into fat than otherwise.

sov 11y ago
I don't think you're correct here. http://examine.com/faq/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insulin/ http://examine.com/faq/do-artificial-sweeteners-spike-insuli... But even if diet soda DID spike insulin (it doesn't), it would have nothing to do on a low-carb diet because your blood glucose is already very low.
Shengbo 11y ago
I'm guessing they're downvoting you because you mentioned studies but provided no links, so here's one I found[1]. [1]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/
aaxe 11y ago
No no no no no God damn. This is a perfect example of how a little knowledge is dangerous. 1. Artificial sweeteners do NOT cause insulin to be released. 2. On that note, insulin is a storage hormone. That is it. It is not a fat-hormone. You know what's one of the few hormones that almost all bodybuilders take? Insulin - because it makes their muscles grow. You get fat because your intake of calories is excessive, regardless of whether its done via carbs or fats.
- KingMob 11y ago
  > This is a perfect example of how a little knowledge is dangerous. So is your own comment. 1. Aspartame doesn't release insulin, but it does provoke release of related hormones. Other artificial sweeteners DO stimulate insulin release. See my reply to my own comment for a quick sampling of relevant articles. 2. Yes, insulin is a generalized storage hormone, but fat is always ready to absorb, while muscle requires exercise to stimulate the absorption. Unless you're exercising heavily (which isn't most of us), my general point stands.

djsumdog 11y ago

I really like stevia. It's got a very specific taste so it doesn't work with everything. You have to work your recipes to deal with the extra mint. Chocolate works really well with stevia. A lot of people cut things with stevia + sugar alcohols.