Natural Sweeteners other than Stevia

[Allen Yeh]

I was looking at a Mens Health the other day and came across a brief little blurb that compared 4 natural sweeteners, anyone else used these?

Oligofructose - They said it was 100% fiber?
Agave nectar - Similiar to honey and still fructose so why not just use honey?
Erythritol - sugar alcohol but I can't recall what else they said
stevia - not a big fan the few times I have tried this

[Mike ODonnell]

Stevia is more and more available in drinks/foods....although I remember reading a while back India bans it for some reason....and it produces an insulin response hence it is recommended for diabetes....as for the others...no idea..

Of course the best idea....avoid all artificial sweetners as much as possible....

[Allen Yeh]

The last point is very true, but I just can't drink black coffee...ugh.

[Garrett Smith]

Allen,
I highly suggest the Body Ecology stevia. It's much better than any other stevia product I've tried (ie. no bitter/licorice aftertaste).

Also, you might try xylitol or inulin/FOS (fructooligosaccharides).

Sweetleaf makes a powder combination of inulin and stevia. It's a good combo, already in a packet, for coffee.

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by Allen Yeh

The last point is very true, but I just can't drink black coffee...ugh.

Wuss.........I love it black...although in the summer I add half and half so I don't sweat my **** off drinking it....

side note...I tried taking some Sugar Free Red Bull before my am workouts to get a little boost instead of coffee.....2 days in I am getting neck spasms and cramps (haven't had those in many years...back to my corporate life..).....artificial sweeteners anyone?? Needless to say....no more RB.....

[John Vernon]

Originally Posted by Allen Yeh

The last point is very true, but I just can't drink black coffee...ugh.

get some better coffee. when I first started drinking coffee years ago I'd drown it with creamer & sweetener (this was WAY before I was baptised in the way of Paleo/Zone nutrition). I managed to break away from that horrible habit and start to truly enjoy coffee w/ no additives. you'll never know a good cup of coffee until you start drinking it black.

plus, your coworkers will think you're superhuman.

[Neal Winkler]

How strong is stevia's insulin response?

[Robb Wolf]

Hey Mariah!

Welcome to the PM. Agave, like all fructose sources can be a bit misleading if looked at through the lens of Glycemic Index. GI refers to how much an item raises blood GLUCOSE levels. Since agave is a form of fructose it is very slow to raise blood glucose as it must pass through the liver and be converted to glucose. This is a slow process but it does not account for the large insulin response fructose causes nor the hepatic derange that can occur with large fructose intake (think high fructose corn syrup).

From a metabolic standpoint one is almost better off using a glucose based sweetener over a fructose sweetener...although fructose does register as sweeter to the taste buds and thus one can get away with a little less of it in some instances. This is why cooks will use "convert sugar" in recipes which is introducing a small amount of acid to regular table sugar to cleave the glucose/fructose, yielding a sweeter concoction with no additional sweetener. My Coffee appears to have kicked in...

[Robb Wolf]

Mariah-
I suspect the amount of maltodextrin is tiny...if you do not notice blood sugar problems a few hours after using the product you are likely fine.