Welcome to EatingWell's forum to discuss questions and concerns as well as ideas and possibly recipes addressing sugar substitution. This is Sarah, the EatingWell moderator, please check out EatingWell's explanation to the questions concerning the sugar substitute, Sucralose. http://www.eatingwell.com/news_views/food_news/page228.html
I have a question about sugar subs. I am (very slightly under) normal weight and do not have concerns about diabetes. So why would I need to use a sugar substitute? My father and mother are really "into" xylitol (sp?), but they are both pre-diabetic (according to their blood glucose level).
The subs just taste a little "off" to me, but if sugar is a bad thing, I may try to get accustomed to it.
Thanks for the reply!
Posts: 57 | Location: Northeastern USA | Registered: February 26, 2006
A friend said to me this morning that she knows she needs to get off the sugar. Sugar isn't bad by itself like trans fats are but stay away from products with high fructose corn syrup(HFCS). Do you know how much is in your diet everyday? Keep a journal for a week of all (everything!) that goes in your mouth. Xylitol has carbs in it but half of what sugar is. Using sugar substitutes can help if pre-diabetic but not if cookies, candies and desserts made with it are a major part of the diet. If the sweet tooth was under control would they still need the products with xylitol or do they feel by using those products they can eat more and be guilt free? Look what we did with the low fat products and everyone got heavier. Sugar alcohols can cause digestive problems for some people. We were at a wedding once and the man next to me was telling me how sick he got after eating a carton of ice cream with sugar alcohols. Enough said! He'll never touch it again but in moderation he may not have had a problem.
Thanks for this info. I really don't eat a lot of refined sugar and I consume even less of that high-fructose corn syrup ick. I enjoy treats, but I don't buy prepackaged cookies and other such things because I can make them a lot healthier, and I enjoy baking. And, when I do make these things, I give most away. Just keep enough for DH & me for a few days. I have really, really crappy willpower and to have snacks in the house means that I [u]will[/u] eat them! And usually sooner, rather than later.
Xylitol just sounds so "chemical". I suppose that when I need to sweeten anything, I will just use regular old (pure and natural) sugar!
Posts: 57 | Location: Northeastern USA | Registered: February 26, 2006
Originally posted by healthyeats: Thanks for this info. I really don't eat a lot of refined sugar and I consume even less of that high-fructose corn syrup ick. I enjoy treats, but I don't buy prepackaged cookies and other such things because I can make them a lot healthier, and I enjoy baking. And, when I do make these things, I give most away. Just keep enough for DH & me for a few days. I have really, really crappy willpower and to have snacks in the house means that I [u]will[/u] eat them! And usually sooner, rather than later.
Xylitol just sounds so "chemical". I suppose that when I need to sweeten anything, I will just use regular old (pure and natural) sugar!
Try using agave nectar. It looks like honey but is lighter in flavor. It is great on blood sugar and doesn't spike it for me as much.
I like xylitol although I am still experimenting with it for baking. Believe it or not, my health insurance company sent out a flyer telling people to use products (like sf gum) with xylitol because it's supposed to prevent tooth decay or something like that. If I am successful baking with it, I'll post here.
Try using agave nectar. It looks like honey but is lighter in flavor. It is great on blood sugar and doesn't spike it for me as much.
It's not cheap. You can get it at Whole Foods.
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I also like the agave nectar and stevia is another good one...we grow it and use it fresh ...takes very little to sweeten with...should not be use though is you are having a baby or wanting to have a baby...
"For, behold, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth. The time of the singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." Song of Solomon 2:11-12
Posts: 17 | Location: Oregon | Registered: March 21, 2006
Agave nectar is great -- I've even made brownies* with it. But for diabetics, you need to control your timing when eating foods with agave nectar in them. It will spike sugars IF eaten close to a meal, so save it for snacking.
*I used the Ghirardelli cocoa recipe on their cocoa can for brownies, but substituted unsweetened cocoa for the sweetened mix.
dear readers, i find a dailey intake of natural antioxidants is the key to good health. with all of the toxins in our environment our bodies are contiually bombarded by poisons that literally kill us. your system needs the proper diet to clean these out. some of my favorites are: blueberries, srawberries, fresh garlic, onions just to name a few.water,water,water, for those whom desire to reduce their weight water with lemon juice concentrate works wonders. take care of your body inside and out.
Originally posted by EatingWell: Welcome to EatingWell's forum to discuss questions and concerns as well as ideas and possibly recipes addressing sugar substitution. This is Sarah, the EatingWell moderator, please check out EatingWell's explanation to the questions concerning the sugar substitute, Sucralose. http://www.eatingwell.com/news_views/food_news/page228.html
I'm somewhat confused. The opening post -- as quoted -- reads as if the whole intent of the Forum area Nutrition is about sugar substitutes. Hmmmmmm. Nutrition is a much bigger area than that -- AND finding a "spot" for the subject of salt in EW recipes (also in here) would be much easier if the area of Nutrition had some "subforums" about, say, Salt and Sweet and Fat, just to start with.
Lots of room for discussion there.
Jude
Posts: 8 | Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada | Registered: September 04, 2006
The Bulletin Boards have been restructured a few times. That message might be from a different sub-forum intially but seemed to fit best here, so I just left it for the conversation that resulted. That doesn't mean that sugar should be the only thing discussed in Nutrition, it was just something she posted to get the ball rolling I believe.
As it reads on the main bb page now, nutrition is for "general nutrition discussions." When this board becomes more active, I may make more specific forums, but feel free to start any threads you'd like in the Nutrition forum to discuss salt, sweets and fat!
--- Carolyn Associate Editor & BB Moderator
Posts: 295 | Location: EatingWell | Registered: December 07, 2005
I have read that Steevia is a good sugar subtitute. As for all the others on the market, I would be wary.
<staying healthy>
Posted
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (cspinet) withdrew its lawsuit against KFC re. trans fats as KFC has joined Wendy's, Ruby Tuesday, Chili's, Legal Sea Food and several others that now fry in trans fat free oils. However, the trans fats are still in KFC's biscuts and pot pies. One little slow step at a time in the fast food arena.
