kimpossible
06-25-2007, 01:04 PM
Not artificial! But a couple with half or no calories in comparison with sugar plus additional health benefits.
Recently, I've been big on xylitol and powdered stevia. I'm not big on cane sugar or corn syrup in my drinks so I tend to brew iced tea and put either xylitol or stevia in to sweeten.
Xylitol is a sweetener with half the calories of regular cane sugar but has the added health benefits of low-glycemic index (good for diabetics), protects teeth from bacteria sticking to them which can help in preventing tooth decay, and prevents bacteria from adhering to ears, nose and throat. It's more expensive than sugar or artificial sweeteners so that's one drawback. You also can't cook with it and there is a chance if you overuse it you can get some loose bowel movements. It's also slightly sweet so if you love a supersweet taste more xylitol really isn't the cure. It's a sugar endorsed by many European dental associations.
Stevia. Stevia is something I've known used in some Japanese snacks for quite a while. I know some Chinese drink it as a 'tea'. However you imbibe it you can derive liver support so for anyone with Hepatitis in your life, it's a great, small change you can make for healthy liver support. For you dieters out there, it's incredibly sweet with zero calories. It's also extremely diabetes friendly as well as the xylitol. As with xylitol, it's much more expensive than sugar or artificial sweeteners. It can also be harder to find.
But if you use artificial sweeteners or would like to try alternate sweeterners that are natural, light in calories or no calories, with health benefits, try stevia or xylitol.
Recently, I've been big on xylitol and powdered stevia. I'm not big on cane sugar or corn syrup in my drinks so I tend to brew iced tea and put either xylitol or stevia in to sweeten.
Xylitol is a sweetener with half the calories of regular cane sugar but has the added health benefits of low-glycemic index (good for diabetics), protects teeth from bacteria sticking to them which can help in preventing tooth decay, and prevents bacteria from adhering to ears, nose and throat. It's more expensive than sugar or artificial sweeteners so that's one drawback. You also can't cook with it and there is a chance if you overuse it you can get some loose bowel movements. It's also slightly sweet so if you love a supersweet taste more xylitol really isn't the cure. It's a sugar endorsed by many European dental associations.
Stevia. Stevia is something I've known used in some Japanese snacks for quite a while. I know some Chinese drink it as a 'tea'. However you imbibe it you can derive liver support so for anyone with Hepatitis in your life, it's a great, small change you can make for healthy liver support. For you dieters out there, it's incredibly sweet with zero calories. It's also extremely diabetes friendly as well as the xylitol. As with xylitol, it's much more expensive than sugar or artificial sweeteners. It can also be harder to find.
But if you use artificial sweeteners or would like to try alternate sweeterners that are natural, light in calories or no calories, with health benefits, try stevia or xylitol.