Good natural sugar substitute?

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Well, I use a variety of sugar substitutes (aspartame, SomerSweet, Stevia and sugar alcohols) and keep planning to stop but never do. My favorite natural sugar substitute is Whey Low (wheylow.com); however, it is not calorie free. Dr. Zehner developed Whey Low primarily because of his wife’s diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes.
 
Celeste88 said:
Perhaps a study can be taken by those that use Splenda and those that use “natural” sweeteners like Stevia? Let’s see who gets cancer and who gets what. If there was scientific proof Splenda is so bad for you I wouldn’t take it, right now I use Splenda over Stevia. For one thing It’s easier on my budget than Stevia. And how do you know Stevia is so safe?? Just because it’s natural? A lot of natural products/herbs/plants taken excessively or combined with the wrong product can harm or even kill you.
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To each his/her own.

**I will not use something questionable. I’m not going to wait for proof of it’s harmful effects. There is enough anecdotal evidence out there to make me pause, so why take the risk?
But if you are comfortable with it, that’s fine. I didn’t start the thread to debate the issue, but rather to find out what natural products are used and liked.
And, just because something is natural, doesn’t mean it is safe…I agree. But there are things that have been used for many centuries by other cultures with no ill effects. Splenda hasn’t been around long enough to prove itself one way or the other, so I won’t be using it.
malia
 
Well, there’s always honey. That’s been used since biblical times but not calorie free and not for diabetics.
 
I’m with Jay and Celeste on this one. I used to have beehives, but got too busy to do them justice, so I gave them to another beekeeper. What most people don’t realize is that there is tremendous variation in honeys; from water-clear (e.g., Basswood flower honey in the spring) light golden hop clover honey in summer to molasses-dark fall flower honey; from very lightly flavored to very heavily flavored. What you buy in the store is blended, so you don’t get any choice. If I wanted a sugar substitute, (and back when I had bees, I had it all the time) I would find a beekeeper who could introduce me to all the varieties; taste test them and decide which ones I wanted for what purpose.

Let me say one last thing. If you like apple pie or peach cobbler, you have not lived until you fully substitute honey for sugar. My favorite used to be apple pie with dark fall-flower honey. It deepened the flavor enormously, didn’t affect the color to speak of, and you could eat all you wanted without the slightest digestive upset. I used to use whole-wheat flour for the crust, too. I don’t know about these other substitutes people are talking about, but from the standpoint of digestibility, you really can’t beat honey.
 
Celeste88 said:
Well, there’s always honey. That’s been used since biblical times but not calorie free and not for diabetics.
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Yeah, honey is a good one, especially if it’s local…yummy!
But, it has such a distictive flavor that it can’t be used in everything… that’s why I was looking for alternatives. Not necessary to be low/no cal, but that would be a great bonus as I’m trying to lose the rest of my baby-weight, lol.
malia
 
Ridgerunner said:
I’m with Jay and Celeste on this one. I used to have beehives, but got too busy to do them justice, so I gave them to another beekeeper. What most people don’t realize is that there is tremendous variation in honeys; from water-clear (e.g., Basswood flower honey in the spring) light golden hop clover honey in summer to molasses-dark fall flower honey; from very lightly flavored to very heavily flavored. What you buy in the store is blended, so you don’t get any choice. If I wanted a sugar substitute, (and back when I had bees, I had it all the time) I would find a beekeeper who could introduce me to all the varieties; taste test them and decide which ones I wanted for what purpose.

Let me say one last thing. If you like apple pie or peach cobbler, you have not lived until you fully substitute honey for sugar. My favorite used to be apple pie with dark fall-flower honey. It deepened the flavor enormously, didn’t affect the color to speak of, and you could eat all you wanted without the slightest digestive upset. I used to use whole-wheat flour for the crust, too. I don’t know about these other substitutes people are talking about, but from the standpoint of digestibility, you really can’t beat honey.
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You’re making my mouth water!!!
One of my clearest memories from childhood was a field trip to a local honey farm. We got to taste the honey and it was incredible! I have no idea what it was, but it was almost white and creamy. I have spent the last 25 years trying to find it in stores, lol…
Malia
 
Ridgerunner said:
I’m with Jay and Celeste on this one. I used to have beehives, but got too busy to do them justice, so I gave them to another beekeeper. What most people don’t realize is that there is tremendous variation in honeys; from water-clear (e.g., Basswood flower honey in the spring) light golden hop clover honey in summer to molasses-dark fall flower honey; from very lightly flavored to very heavily flavored. What you buy in the store is blended, so you don’t get any choice. If I wanted a sugar substitute, (and back when I had bees, I had it all the time) I would find a beekeeper who could introduce me to all the varieties; taste test them and decide which ones I wanted for what purpose.

Let me say one last thing. If you like apple pie or peach cobbler, you have not lived until you fully substitute honey for sugar. My favorite used to be apple pie with dark fall-flower honey. It deepened the flavor enormously, didn’t affect the color to speak of, and you could eat all you wanted without the slightest digestive upset. I used to use whole-wheat flour for the crust, too. I don’t know about these other substitutes people are talking about, but from the standpoint of digestibility, you really can’t beat honey.
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How would a person go about finding a Local Bee Keeper?
Our household loves honey in all of its forms…but we find it difficult to find a great variety at our local farmers market or grocery store:(
 
My former parish priest told me he uses honey as a natural sugar substitute. Very natural.

-Alison
 
You can try searching for fine organic honey at herbal stores or stores like Whole Foods, be(e) :rolleyes: prepared to spend a little more than the supermarket variety.
 
Good tips. I’ll have to look for Stevia. I cannot stand the aftertaste of Splenda. Blechh!
 
Stevita Stevia is the sweetest and purest. There is also a sugar substitute called FOS or Fructooligosaccharide. I have been using stevia, but FOS is supposed to not have an aftertaste. I have not tried the FOS yet, but Stevia is a great substitute for sugar. it is a little hard to cook with though.
 
honey is a great food, but not a sugar substitute for diabetics, still raises blood sugar. if that was not an issue, I would not worry about using cane or beet sugar for baking and cooking, it is a lot less dangerous than the chemically altered substitutes. What I would be very concerned about, esp. for my kids, would be not only artificials, but HFCS, high fructose corn syrup, the common additive in most processed foods that is supposed to be so damaging.
 
Feanaro_s_Wife said:
I have been thinking of doing this for awhile, but just keep procrastinating. I would like to find a good, natural sugar substitute to use in things like tea or protein shakes.

I have heard that Stevia is good. Just recently heard about Agave.

What do you use and like?

Malia
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I use stevia in the packets with a bit of fiber added…I like it. I have such a sweet tooth…
 
I started using honey more last year. I am a type 1 diabetic and I have found that both tupelo and sage honeys do not cause my blood sugar to spike as does the other kinds. I can even use them on pancakes and don’t count it as a carb (unless I want my blood sugar to plumet!).

Sage honey is very mild and can be used in a lot of baking without that distinct “honey” flavor.

Another thing that I have but haven’t started using for baking yet is sucanat. It is made from the sugar cane juice and contains all the molasses and more of the solids than white sugar. It can be substituted for brown sugar (which I have used on oatmeal–yum!) or bought “with honey” and used for white sugar. I plan to use thatt this summer for lemonade. DH loves it but I hate having him consume the large quantities of corn syrup from the frozen can.
 
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