Good news for diabetics and those trying to lose weight.

[RickN]

I know we have a few diabetics here and probably several trying to lose some weight or control it. Anyway the FDA finally approved Stevia as a sweetener for the US market.

Stevia is a natural sweetener that has been used in S America for hundreds of years and Japan for over 100. It does not raise blood sugar and has zero calories. It also does not tear up the stomach like Splenda and many other artificial sweeteners can.

The FDA blocked it sale as a sweetener over 20 years ago at the request of the company making Nutrasweet.

While still expensive, it will come down as more people use it and more farmers start growing it.

There are many recipes coming out for it including cookies, cakes, and pies.

http://www.steviashop.com/additionaluses.php

[Panther_99FS]

A quick read on the Stevia link & this appears to be good news for everyone!

[NCGent]

Sounds great to me. As a diabetic I buy sugar free candy and some of it will really mess your belly up. I bought some chocolate candy the other day and made the mistake of eating half the bag and ended up in the bathroom ...many times over the rest of the night. I just love how big biz runs everything, runs our elections and almost controls our lives.
Large pharmaceutical firms are the reason we don't have cures for a lot of the diseases in this world, like diabetes.

[Moparmike]

Good find RickN! I saw that on one of the diabetic forums I've been lurking around recently too.

NCGent,
As you've found out, that sugar-free candy can be just as bad for ya as the "real thing". Mostly because of the sugars being replaced by sugar alcohols or other nasty chemicals...which can wind up biting you in the butt just as bad as "ODing" on sugar does if not worse.
BTW, not sure if it's a "per person" thing but I don't have too many problems with straight chocolate (compared to real sugarry candy). Chocolate is more fat than sweet so it'll sneak up on me pretty slowly. I usually sneak that stuff in for energy while I'm out exercising.
Yes, I've still got an occasional sweet tooth too. Just had learn to limit myself and dial it in with the rest of my food...which gets pretty hard some days!

[Willy]

I watch my sugar intake fairly close, but I keep a bit of chocolate around too (mostly dark chocolate). I just keep it down to a piece or two at time and it doesn't seem to effect my blood sugar that much.

[hey_moe]

Being diabetic sucks. Everything you like to eat is bad. I also hate needles...so tired of these injection it's enough to drive ya over the cliff...Mike

[rpjkw]

Fortunately I keep my diabetes under control with diet alone.

NC, I, too, learned the hard way about the sugar free candies. The sugar alcohol can really make one miserable.

Bob

[yank51]

Also guys, understand many of the dietetic candies are sweetened with "sorbitol", which is a sugar alcohol that in spite of what people think, still will raise your blood sugar, albeit more slowly. One of the unfortunate side affects is that it is also a laxative, which many have found out by eating too much cany sweetened with it. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbitol
As a long term, type 1 diabetic (over 53 years now) I can tell you when I was a kid, I had some run-ins with this sweetener.
Mike, get in touch with me about your shots. Have you given any though to a pump?? If you are on a regular shot regime, you might be a candidate for one. I know many type 1 as well as type 2 diabetics now on pumps. They make life much easier, and control much better, period.....

[Jagdflieger]

What ever happened to "left-handed sugar?" In the early 80s it was supposed to be the best thing under the sun. It had a mirror image molecule that could be tasted as sugar, but could not be digested. It was in the national media a couple times and then disapeared.

[yank51]

What ever happened to "left-handed sugar?" In the early 80s it was supposed to be the best thing under the sun. It had a mirror image molecule that could be tasted as sugar, but could not be digested. It was in the national media a couple times and then disapeared.

I believe that's what "Splenda" is... My understanding of Splenda is that one of the carbon molecules has been modified, so you can't digest it, it just passes on through... I'm sure there is much more to it than that, but it's a simple explanation of how it works anyway.

[RickN]

I am a type 2 ( found out last year ) and have tried several sweeteners with bad results. Most will put me in the bathroom cussing out the fools that made it. Splenda being the worst for me.

So far Truvia and Stevia have not given me any problems. Truvia is made from Stevia and is being marketed by Coke. They plan to use it in a new line of diet drinks.

I bought a box of Truvia packets at the grocery and it is pretty nice getting to drink sweetened ice tea again with no effects on my blood sugar.

[rpjkw]

Splenda, the pink stuff, etc. have never bothered me. I haven't heard of Truvia and Stevia. Are they available at most stores, Rick?

Bob

[RickN]

They should be Bob. I bought both at a local grocery chain. Things like Walmart may not have them yet but check your local stores.

[Drake]

Never had Splenda mess my stomach up. My mom and my aunt even bake with the stuff now. I even buy the Diet Coke made with Splenda. It is so much better than regular Diet Coke.

[AER_DaddyO]

hey_moe,

My wife is a brittle class one diabetic, and had to take 2 + injections per day. Got her a pump last year, and it has really made it easier on her. It's kept her in better control, and cut way down on the 24-7-365 bloodsugar crapshoot. We were very fortunate that our Med insurance picked up all but $1K, or so. I would strongly agree with yank51 that it might be worth your while to look into a pump.

RickN... THANX for the info and thread on this subject.

AER_DaddyO

[yank51]

For those who might be considering a pump, read this article. It's a compare/contrast upon the 2 most effective ways of good diabetes control:

http://rn.modernmedicine.com/rnweb/a....jsp?id=168165

It demonstrates that a pump is statistically the best way to go, but not without it's issues either.

[Navy Chief]

I use Stevia quite often. Matter of fact, I just drank a cup of instant coffee with some added to it. Sugar gives me energy, but then the "crash" afterwards isn't too welcomed.

Coffee, unfortunately, really messes my stomach up. I guess after 20 yrs of drinking the stuff in the USN did the damage. I treat myself to a cup about every six months or so. Mostly I drink tea....caffeine free.

NC

[RickN]

Drake, Splenda and others do not mess up everyone. If they did they never would have made it to market, but for those of us it does mess with, it can be pretty rough. Picture eating a gallon of ranch style beans with an e-lax cake for dessert. Not a pleasant experience.

[Moparmike]

Picture eating a gallon of ranch style beans with an e-lax cake for dessert. Not a pleasant experience.

LOL Yup, I know a couple folks that it just plain doesn't agree with!

I don't have too many problems with Splenda (sucralose) but am still unsure about the long-term effects of it on the body.
Aspartame I try to avoid at all costs (except for the Diet Dew that I still drink way too much of)...it just doesn't agree with me some days and there's quite a bit of info on what it can wind up doing to your body in the long run.

I try to stick with as much natural stuff as I can...and was doing that even before I found out in '07 that I'm Type 1. I try to use as much natural sugar as possible as opposed to processed sugars. Honey or orange juice is a good substitute for sugar and water in recipes for me...learned that one from my Grandpa who was Type 2 for quite a few years and was lucky enough to be able to control himself by diet.

[RickN]

I wanted to update this a little.

We went to a health food store tonight an bought a 3.5 oz jar of pure Stevia powder to try out in recipes. For the fun of it I tried it in a pitcher of Mango Koolaid. I like the fruit taste but not all the sugar in regular Koolaid and after finding out I was type 2 I could not have it at all.

Anyway the Stevia powder works great in Koolaid. The jar cost $11.00 which seems a lot, but 1/3 tsp sweetened a 2 qt pitcher of Koolaid even a little more then I like. Next time I will try 1/4 tsp.

We also tried making fudge with Stevia but screwed it up. Burnt fudge really sucks.

We will try this one again when there are no distractions.