topic Re: Aspartame in Kitchen

Aspartame

ScrapHappy — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 17:01:08 GMT

I'd like to stop (or drastically decrease) my intake of aspartame. The diet soda isn't a big problem, I can quit drinking soda but when it comes to my coffee....

My question is: what is a good replacement for aspartame? That tastes good?

Thanks everyone!

Re: Aspartame

Ibby114 — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 17:11:05 GMT

Stevia. I buy a liquid - all natural (Stevita) - from Amazon. 3 teeny drops sweetens a big coffee mug! Many stevias are mixed with junk so you need to check ingredients.

Re: Aspartame

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 17:12:48 GMT

You can try raw sugar, honey, agave nectar, or stevia. I like demerara and turbinado sugars because they're unrefined and taste great. If you've used Sugar in the Raw from a restaurant, that's a turbinado sugar.

Re: Aspartame

wagirl — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 17:34:03 GMT

I use powdered stevia in my hot choc and tea. Don't drink coffee. And any type of sweetener is sugar, organic or unrefined, but I do use the most naturally, less processed type of sugar I can. And i use cane sugar and not beet sugar. But for sure would not use any artificial sweetener at all. Unrefined sugar is light tan to brown in color.

Re: Aspartame

gingerjars — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 18:27:09 GMT

My joints and especially my hands were hurting often. Would wake up to my hands hurting. A friend suggested it might be the artificial sugar that I used a lot of every day. Sweet and low for coffee and tea and crystal light for my water and occasional diet drink. It has been a month since giving it all up and I can tell a difference. Now I use a 1/2 tsp of sugar and just getting use to the beverages being less sweet.

Re: Aspartame

HiLo — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 18:29:40 GMT

CAN CAUSE CANCER IN LARGE AMOUNTS WAS WHAT MY RESEARCH DR. SAID FROM N.I.H. HE ADVISED ME NEVER TO USE IT OR ONLY ON RARE OCCASIONS.

Re: Aspartame

Lipstickdiva — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 19:56:59 GMT

What about Truvia?

Re: Aspartame

kittymomNC — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 19:57:57 GMT

Has anyone tried Domino Light Sugar & Stevia Blend? It just has sugar, stevia (from the plant) and natural flavor. Compared to regular sugar, this has half - so 1/2 cup of Domino Light = 1 cup of sugar. It tastes like regular sugar, doesn't have anything artificial in it, but it does cut down on your sugar consumption. I used to use about 3/4 cup of sugar in 2 qts of iced tea--now I use less than 1/3 cup of this for the same amount of tea and it doesn't taste any different. Works great in coffee too. You can also bake with it, again cutting down on your sugar.

If you have a health reason for cutting out sugar entirely, this wouldn't work, but just to cut down on sugar/carbs/calories, it's great....

Re: Aspartame

Shelbelle — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:12:10 GMT

We like Truvia.

Re: Aspartame

bonnielu — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:38:37 GMT

Is Splenda aspartame. I don't drink diet soda. I don't like soda. But I like diet flavored tea.

Re: Aspartame

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:56:16 GMT

On 4/3/2014 bonnielu said:
Is Splenda aspartame. I don't drink diet soda. I don't like soda. But I like diet flavored tea.

No, Splenda is sucralose-based, so it's made from sugar.

Equal was the original brand name for packaged aspartame you could put in coffee. When you see Equal in its blue packet in restaurants, that's aspartame. It's also the sweetner used in many sugar-free gums.

Re: Aspartame

FunkyHulaGirl — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:19:54 GMT

I get packets of Stevia at Aldi - only $1.99 for 40. I avoid both Aspartame and HFCS, and the only sodas I drink are Stevia-sweetened - Blue Sky and Zevia are both excellent brands, and come in just about every flavor you could want. I often find them on sale at EarthFare, but I have my favorites on Amazon's Subscribe & Save, because I get 15% off the regular price, which is about the same as Earth Fare's sale price.

I used to drink Crystal Light because plain water gets boring; that's now been replaced with TrueLemon's drink mixes which are sweetened with Stevia. (I get them on Amazon as well.) They come in both individual packets and the pitcher-sized.

As for Truvia, it has chemicals and GMOs added to it.

Re: Aspartame

PINKdogWOOD — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:33:21 GMT

I agree with Ms ChynnaBell and Ms HiLo said here. Please don't use ANY of that fake sugar/sweetener items. They're all bad and cause cancers.

Re: Aspartame

Shelbelle — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:35:52 GMT

Walmart sells True Lemon in the Crystal Light section. mfg. right here in Baltimore, I know the family who owns it, very successful family of local caterers.

Re: Aspartame

Porcelain — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:39:24 GMT

Asparteme is bad news. I think you're right to quit using it. A little sugar or honey in moderation doesn't hurt anyone. But the older chemical sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup are really really bad for you.

I drink Diet Coke with Splenda as the sweetener. It's a little harder to find but the larger grocery stores have it. And I grind up Truvia into a powder and use it to sweeten my greek yogurt. That mixed with Splenda-sweetened strawberry or apricot preserves...yum!

Re: Aspartame

divine — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 21:47:15 GMT

On 4/3/2014 pink dogwood said:
I agree with Ms ChynnaBell and Ms HiLo said here. Please don't use ANY of that fake sugar/sweetener items. They're all bad and cause cancers.

(my bolding)

People can choose to eat, or not eat, whatever they please, but please don't spread inaccurate information.

According to the Mayo Clinic....

Artificial sweeteners have been the subject of intense scrutiny for decades. Critics of artificial sweeteners say that they cause a variety of health problems, including cancer. That's largely because of studies dating to the 1970s that linked saccharin to bladder cancer in laboratory rats. Because of those studies, saccharin once carried a warning label that it may be hazardous to your health.

But according to the National Cancer Institute and other health agencies, there's no sound scientific evidence that any of the artificial sweeteners approved for use in the U.S. cause cancer or other serious health problems. And numerous research studies confirm that artificial sweeteners are generally safe in limited quantities, even for pregnant women. As a result of the newer studies, the warning label for saccharin was dropped.

Read the complete article: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/artificial-sweeteners/art-20046936

Again, people can decide for themselves what they want to consume, but it's important to get the facts correct.

Re: Aspartame

chessylady — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 22:28:10 GMT

I use Splenda packets. You can also get it in bigger sizes for baking. I buy Shasta sodas at Winco. They use Splenda in the diet sodas.

Re: Aspartame

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 22:47:00 GMT

Go back to real sugar!

I've tried to stop all the fake stuff, but unfortunately Splenda/sucralose is showing up in things more and more and I'm not real pleased about that. Several years ago, I overdid it on the Aspartame - used it whenever I wanted to sweeten something; coffee, iced tea, on my cereal or grapefruit. I was consuming a lot of little packets in a day's time. One day I noticed pain in my knees when going up and down the stairs. I lived with the pain and attributed it to too much excess weight and getting older. Then I read something about aspartame. I gave it up and within a short time my knees were back to normal.

Re: Aspartame

Deadeye Daisy — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 00:07:24 GMT

Pick up some 'monk fruit' at any health food store; also, Trader Joe's. Also known as 'lo han guo' and can be found at any Oriental grocery. Comes both powdered and liquid form with a dropper. Doesn't have an aftertaste. It's about 160 + times sweeter than sugar.

Stay away from the 'orange' containers in the grocery store - these contain OTHER ingredients like dextrose and molasses. They add these things so you can use 'spoon' for 'spoon'. Not worth it. Even when the container says 'pure' monk fruit, it still has additives.

Alternately, grow some stevia. The plant grows ANYWHERE like a weed. Even I can make it grow, and I don't have the 'garden' gene. When they were giving out the garden and craft genes, my Mother was flirting with the lifeguards in the gene pool.

It will grow on a windowsill, if you keep in a smaller pot. You pick a leaf and rub it between your fingers; then swish in your coffee, glass of iced tea or lemonade. One 'swish' equals about the sweetness of a teaspoon of sugar. T

Re: Aspartame

Ibby114 — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 02:40:26 GMT

On 4/3/2014 LipstickDiva said:
What about Truvia?

Truvia has junk in it- erythritol is a sugar alcohol.