I have had many questions about the sweeteners I use and those I refuse to use so I have FINALLY (sorry its taken so long!) written a post for all those who have been patiently waiting to hear my thoughts on all the health "stuff" out there.
Hope you can glean something from the choices I have made in my life to benefit your own!
For those of us who have struggled with our weight on and off for most of our lives we know all to well that losing weight is never easy and always requires work. Choosing the right program that you know will help you stick with it in the long haul can be a confusing one to say the least. One thing I've learned along the way is that fad diets never work and never, ever help in keeping the weight off for good. In my own personal battles with losing weight, I used many different programs along the way. But honestly in my own humble opinion, all programs can and do work, it just depends on if you are ready and willing to do what it takes or not.
The basic theme is always the same no matter what program you choose. In order to lose weight you must eat less and expend more calories than you are currently taking in or you would have already lost the weight you wanted to lose by now.
We can choose on a daily basis certain types of foods and ingredients that either help promote our overall goals or detract from them. My experience has shown me eating foods with refined sugar and flours, as well as artificial sweeteners, have greatly contributed to binges, overeating, acne, PMS and other menstrual issues, ravenous hunger and cravings, sluggishness, and sleep problems.
I share my top 3 best sweeteners with you so that you can make informed decisions about what products you decide will either help or hinder your weight loss efforts. Some that are fairly new on the market I prefer to use the" wait and see" approach with. I am currently avoiding coconut palm sugar as I haven't read enough articles to support it as a healthy alternative personally for myself. Here's one article if you are interested in reading more about it. Is Coconut Palm Sugar A Healthy Sugar Substitute?
There's quite a bit of controversy over using agave and whether or not it is a healthy refined sugar free substitute. I've read enough articles at this point to decide that it isn't any better than using white table sugar because it is highly processed. If you are interested in reading more about it, check out, "Agave: A Triumph Over Marketing Truth" , "Is Agave Nectar A healthy Sweetener?" and "Shocking! This 'Tequila' Sweetener is Far Worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup".
This is what I have found through researching agave:
- Sap is removed from the plant itself and chemically processed at high temperatures to produce the syrup.
- Depending on how much heat is used, the syrup may be made up of 55-90% fructose. What's fructose? Essentially high fructose corn syrup! That's what anyone who is trying to lose weight should avoid at all costs!
- The higher the percentage of fructose the higher your blood sugar will spike just as it would consuming white table sugar.
- The FDA has stopped shipments of agave due to excessive pesticide residue.
Some of you have asked about brown sugar and why I don't use it as well. It is completely refined white table sugar crystals that have been added with molasses to produce the brown color. So to me it is not any better for you than white sugar.
If you are interested in why Splenda and other artificial sweeteners are not listed, you can read about it in my post, " 3 Splenda Myths Busted" to learn more.
This list is my choice of sweeteners that works for myself and my family. I am able to cook, bake and enjoy foods made with any of these sweeteners without problems. No longer having issues with cravings, ravenous hunger and other symptoms I felt were directly related to using white table sugar and flour. Except for the first sweetener listed, the other refined sugar-free sweeteners are still a form of sugar and I choose to eat foods with these ingredients in moderation. But the one exception to everything in moderation is consuming refined sugar and flour products. They just don't offer me anything positive in return so I choose to abstain and my life is better for it.
- Completely sugar-free plant based sweetener
- Calorie Free so it doesn't raise blood sugar
- Up to 300x sweeter than sugar so you can use much less
- 2 drops of liquid stevia = 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 tbsp. of liquid stevia = 1 cup of sugar
2. Raw, unfiltered honey
- natural and pure
- minimally processed and retains nutrients
3. Sucanat
- sometimes called evaporated cane juice
- contains less sucrose than white table sugar
- not commercially processed, hand-paddled to dry it
- minimally processed so less likely to spike blood sugar
- ranks as one of the highest in nutritional value because it retains vitamins and minerals found in the sugar cane plant
- 1 tsp contains 15 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 sodium, 10mg potassium, 6mg calcium, 4 g complex carbohydrates
I choose to cook and bake with these top 3 sweeteners above.
The following sweeteners are ones I would ingest if found within processed and packaged foods but I do so very rarely. I have not cooked or baked with these sweeteners below although I am not opposed to doing so. I just really love using the top 3 I have already shared.
- date sugar, brown rice syrup, black strap molasses, barley malt and fruitsource- a natural sweetener made from kiwi fruit.
Hopefully this post will encourage you to try the sugar-free lifestyle gradually eliminating refined sugar from your life. Everyone is different and some products will not effect you as they do other people. Choosing to abstain from certain sugars has greatly helped me achieve a freedom in my life I never thought was possible before. No foods or sugars and products will ever hold me captive without the ability to say NO to them and YOU can do it too!
Have you tried to become sugar-free? Are you unable to say no to refined sugar products?
What products and ingredients effect you negatively? Are you successfully leading a sugar-free lifestyle? Please share your thoughts and comments!
PLEASE NOTE DISCLAIMER:
Brenda Bennett is not a medical professional or nutritionist. She does not have formal weight loss training. This blog is her own experience as examples and guidelines for healthy eating, exercise and weight loss strategies. Consult a medical professional before making exercise and dietary changes.
Sonya
Thanks for the info., Brenda. I went sugar-free back in October for a month. Then birthday, Thanksgiving, Holidays came and even though I didn't indulge like I normally would, I wanted to get back to it. Some friends had the same goal, so we started a 2018 Challenge. January is to be sugar-free (and my goal is to continue that for the entire year). We have a different goal each month (more water intake, eat more veggies, eat more protein--etc.), in hopes by the end of that month it will have become a habit. We are a pretty healthy group, but know we can take it up to the next level!
Glad I found your website. I'm going to post a link to it on our group FB page.
Brenda
Glad you found me!
darren
TOP 3 REFINED SUGAR-FREE SWEETENERS is the title of this blog post and it is incorrect and misleading. #1 misleading bit of information is that honey is a refined sugar-free sweetener. In fact, honey is a sugar, doesn't matter if it's raw or filtered, a spoonful of honey contains more calories than a tablespoon of sugar, and it's certainly no sugar-free substitute for sugar. Honey is sugar.
Linda McPherson
Have you used Monkfruit?
Brenda
No
Diane Sanderbeck
Hi there!
Just found you and am so happy I did! I decided to do sugar free February as I just felt the need to break my sugar addiction. Reading your article about Splenda explains why I was so addicted to sweets! I really just HAD to have sweets every day, and not sugar free ones either. Years ago I started using Splenda in my morning coffee, 2 packs to a cup. I guess that kick started my sugar cravings. I'm one week into February and have had no sugar of any kind, except what comes naturally in fruits and vegetables, and the couple of tablespoons of peanut butter I allow myself on six Triscuit crackers. I've given up kefir, yogurt and milk after learning lactose is sugar and started using unsweetened almond milk in my coffee. At the end of the month, I'll start using Stevia. I've already trashed the Splenda! Thanks so much for helping folks learn about being sugar free.
Diane Sanderbeck
Lynn Gies
I have recently been diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia and my doctor wants me off ALL refined sugar. I have battled with my weight since high school (I'm now 58) but I've never wanted to give up the flour & sugar, but now I have to keep my carbs down and the sugar out. Do your recipes have the nutritional info on them?
Brenda
Yes nutrition info on all recipes.
R
What about monk fruit?
Jill
What do you use as a substitute for brown sugar? My son loves it on his oatmeal! I enjoy your recipes. Keep them coming 🙂
shanna
I cook/bake with fresh canadian maple syrup, dextrose and coconut sugar. I also use whole wheat flour instead of white. What's you're take?
Brenda
Maple syrup effects me greatly in that even a little effects my blood sugar and makes me spike then crash just as I would if I were to ingest white table sugar. I use coconut sugar and honey for many of my family recipes and limit my consumption of those as well. I still use whole wheat flour for my family but make more and more gluten free recipes for myself and they eat them too.
Nancy Blessing
I'm very thankful to have come across your website. You are definitely answering a lot of questions in my journey to live a healthier lifestyle. I've been using stevia for about 5 years now simply cannot handle artificial sweeteners (headaches, fatigue, etc) and have found Now Stevia to be the best for me. I have found the Now website and their products are offered at considerable savings over Sprouts and other health food stores. looking forward to trying some of your recipes. Been trying to go gluten-free too, but that has not been well received by my sons. My younger son has cerebral palsy and suffers from a lot of joint and muscle pain. I really think that this will benefit him. Thank you again and May God Bless you and your family
Brenda
Thank you Nancy!
Malavika
Hi Brenda! I recently came across your website and I was wondering - what's your take on this new craze about monk fruit as a natural zero-calorie sweetener? I generally use stevia, but I don't really enjoy the after-taste and have found monk fruit doesn't have as much of an after taste...but I do have to use at least 2-3 times the amount to get the same level of sweetness I can get from one packet of stevia. So was just curious to see if you're experimented with it and had any comments on whether it's a decent sugar substitute or not. Thanks!
Brenda
I've not researched it enough yet to make a decision on it.
Heidi Wurst
Hi, I have a couple questions for you. I have used "Purvia" and "Truvia" for my coffee, cereal, etc. and have not minded any different taste. I have never baked or cooked with it though. When you use stevia in place of sugar, do you have to add more of something to make up for the bulk that the sugar would have added to the recipe? I tsp is quite a bit different than 1 cup of something. Also, I noticed you said you are flour free as well. Do you include spelt? Just curious. We use spelt in place of flour for many baked items due to wheat allergies (not celiac) and love it, but I was curious if you had ever used it and what you thought.
Brenda
There definitely is a difference baking with stevia versus sugar and almost always each recipe is different from another when I bake, lots of trial and error happen for me and then I share/post the recipe. I seem to be having difficulty eating wheat lately so went gluten free even though I don't have celiacs but haven't yet tried spelt. I need to buy some and experiment. How is the texture as opposed to using a packaged gluten free flour which doesn't every seem to rise well like when using a whole wheat flour?
Heidi Wurst
Well, I have to admit, I use the white spelt for most things, and maybe change 1/3 of it to whole spelt when making breads, pizza crust, cookies, etc. You substitute cup for cup, and either cut back just a tad on liquids, or add just a tad more flour than called for. You don't have to knead as long, it rises very well with yeast, and actually makes a much better pie crust than regular flour. I love it, and don't think there is any taste difference at all. We buy it bulk 25# at a time and keep it in the freezer.
Paul
I think of Splenda (which I used exclusively for quite a while) as chlorinated sugar. I don't drink the water from our pool, and filter all of my drinking and cooking water, so why would I want to eat chlorine. I've lost 160+ lbs. without surgery and now the hard part has really started. Keeping it off. Being a former insulin dependent Type 2 Diabetic, with high bloodpressure & cholesterol, and now off 4-5 medications, have no intention of going back. My philosophy has become keep it natural & simple. 414 lbs. that I used to carry around, with my walking consisting of looking for a place to sit. Now I start my day with a 4-5.5 mile walk plus a couple of more miles throughout the day, is so cool I'm not about to give them up. Bicycle rides of 10 - 35 miles seem like a dream come true for this 64 year old man. Thanks for the recipes, and research that I don't have time to do myself.
Brenda
Congrats on your wonderful weight loss success but also for the harder part of maintaining that weight loss!
Cheryl
Oh great I THOUGHT !!! Sugar free, but just what junk you are using, I think you should re-name to ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER RECIPES at least one knows what sugar does to you, artificial sweeteners ?!!!!! who knows
Brenda
What are you saying is "junk" I am using? Are you referring to stevia as artificial? If that is the case you are mistaken. It is natural and not artificial in the least. Classifying stevia with splenda or any other artificial sweetener is inaccurate. Please do some research before jumping to conclusions. Sucanat and honey are also natural sweeteners and a lot less refined that using white table sugar.
Carol Reilly
I love your web site and your recipies. I was diabetic for years and was about 70 lbs overweight. I struggled with weight loss, constantly up and down but the old sweet tooth got me everytime. Finally I decided to have baratric bypass. I lost 70lbs, I look and feel much better and am diabetes free. However, I still think about sweets - but now I cannot eat very much and if you do - you will get very sick. I do plan to try several of your recipies; I like the idea of sweetening things natually. I use splenda now and I know it is not the best for you. Thank you so much! I found you through pinterest.
Brenda
welcome thank you for sharing!
Andrea @Pencils and Pancakes
Thanks for the information! I am going to attempt to do a sugar detox next month and it is very helpful/.
Gina
Hi Brenda 🙂
I love your website!
I was just wondering what your views are on 'Perfect Sweet 100% natural xylitol?' The package says it is naturally occuring and extracted from plants (birch tree and corn cobs) as well as naturally occuring in our bodies. Do you think it is a safe sugar free substitute?
Thanks,
Gina
Brenda
HI Gina, I have heard of using xylitol as a natural sweetener. It certainly is safe. I haven't used it because I've also heard it can or may cause some digestive issues in some people, not all people but some. So since I already love stevia, I haven't bothered to try it as I already have digestive issues with my stomach and would rather not. So do my children as well. But possibly in small amounts it is fine for some to consume it.
Gina
Thanks!