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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
stevia or agave instead of sugar?
Right now I use organic cane sugar to bake with and put in my tea. Other than baking or tea, we don't need much sugar in our house. However I want to eliminate sugar if possible. I am considering replacing my sugar use with stevia or agave and was wondering from both a health perspective and manufacturing perspective which one is preferable?
p.s. I am a sugar addict which is why I think I need to eliminate it from my life if possible....
Re: stevia or agave instead of sugar?
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
I don't know much about splenda. Isn't that the o calorie sweetener or something....it's supposed to be imitation sugar? I will pass on splenda I think if it is what I am thinking of.
I am not opposed to trying brown rice syrup, stevia, agave, etc. I have used maple syrup, honey, and turbinado sugar in the past but wanted to broaden my horizons.
I am seriously addicted to sugar. When I have a tiny bit of sugar it is like a drug and I cannot stop. I think I had a headache last weekend from not having something sugary to eat....it's really disgusting.
Thanks for the input so far ladies.
Replacing cane sugar with other sweeteners isn't going to change that. Brown rice syrup, maple syrup, agave...they are still going to give you the same effects.
For ethical and environmental reasons I use honey.
Stevia might be an alternative for you, although I have never tried it or know much about it. It seems to be sweet without many sugars, so thus it shouldn't affect you like sugar.
Of course, the best thing to do would be to wean yourself off such a sugary diet!
I like agave, and it's a lower glycemic index than cane sugar, so maybe that will help? I'm fairly sensitive to blood sugar jumps, and it seems to work well for me.
I definitely don't bother with Splenda. It's really just a glorified alternative to aspartame, which is awful. They market it as "made from sugar" but it is still a chemically manufactured substance that triggers many of the same health problems as other artificial sweeteners (like the migraines and IBS issues it was causing for me).
Stevia (marketed as TruVia, PureVia, etc.) IS, on the other hand, a natural sweetener from a plant. It definitely has a better flavor than NutraSweet, Splenda, and most artificial sweeteners, but still has a bit of an aftertaste. If you have any health issues, you may want to look up the details on stevia, though, as I have read that large quantities of it are not so good.
My favorite sweeteners are raw sugar and agave. Using agave will probably be a step in the right direction for you. It has a good taste, is natural and safe, and it's actually a bit sweeter than sugar so you'll probably use less of it.
When I was weaning myself off sugar, I literally had to wean off it. Instead of cutting it out all together and replacing it with a substitute, I had to slowly mix it in with the sweeteners I was using at the time to take the edge off.
Right now, my sweetener of choice is stevia. You could use half sugar and half stevia until you get used to using only stevia. That way, you won't get the cravings quite so bad.