Stevia V Agave Syrup V Xyilitol

Pembily

K can I please get thoughts on the above!!!

I love to bake, I love sugar (try not to eat much of it) and bake only with one of the above (well not stevia as have never used it but would like to if its possible)!!

Which is the tastiest???

Which is the healthiest???

Which is the easiest to get (have gotten agave and xyilitol but not stevia)???

Which is the easiest to bake with???

I have used agave and xyilotol, the agave is like golden syrup and its fab on oat pancakes :)

I am not really worried about caloires as I prefer my treats to be healthy than low calorie :)

Thanks

sold

Why don't you want to use stevia?

Pembily

Oh I do, have only barely heard about it here and wanna know more about it!!!

El_Dangeroso

My ultimate vote goes to stevia, calorie free and you can grow it yourself for a limitless supply. Or nunaturals do the best refined stevia that doesn't have the bitter taste that other brands have. It's stocked at www.iherb.com

Xylitol is very good for the teeth I hear, hence why it's added to chewing gum. it isn't calorie-free but has a sugar texture so good for cooking where you need something to replace the texture of sugar along with the sweetness. It has a cool almost minty aftertaste which some don't like, didn't find it too strong myself. Also, if you consume too much it can have a laxative effect.

Agave syrup I would avoid. It's pure fructose and the only thing your body can do with fructose is store it as body fat. It also raises triglyceride levels in the blood which is bad news for the heart.

Erythritol is excellent, it's a natural occurring fibre in plants that is extracted and refined. I haven't found a non-internet source for it though and it can be pricey. No tummy effects and actually acts like a pre-biotic which feeds your stomach's good bacteria. It also has the most realistic sugar taste and texture of any sugar substitute that I have used.

EileenG

Is erythritol anything like inulin? I've got that here in Dublin.

El_Dangeroso

I think it's similar in the fact that they are both a polymer of fructose, but doesn't have the same effects on the liver as fructose dose. But they are distinct substances I understand.

Having said the above I'm not a big consumer of the sweeteners I recommended, even though we have some data showing their benefits, I don't believe in a free lunch and try and use sweeteners in moderation, if at all. It's a much better strategy long term to kick the sweet tooth, but there is the odd time that you want to make something junkfood-y and these fill the gap.

Sapsorrow

Stevias the best health wise but by far the trickiest to bake with, it's so easy to completely wreck your baking by putting a tiny bit too much in and it ends up bitter and tasting of liqourice. You'd want to get a book specifically on cooking with it and follow it to a t to get it right, it's fairly tricky. PLus you can only get it opnline I get mine from the states as it's been banned in Europe.
Xylitol is the best for baking, thats what I use anyway, 25% fewer calories than sugar, not bad for your teeth and not bad for blood sugar spikes either.
Agave whilst lovely is pure sugar so not really any better for your health than unrefined sugar.
A small amount of any of them the odd time as a treat isn't going to do you any harm but my number 1 choice for the best baking results is xylitol only difference with sugar is that it doesn't caramelise the same way so you won;t get the crunchiness in cookies etc..
You can sub xylitol in the same amounts for any recipe calling for regular sugar.

Pembily

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

I think it's similar in the fact that they are both a polymer of fructose, but doesn't have the same effects on the liver as fructose dose. But they are distinct substances I understand.

Having said the above I'm not a big consumer of the sweeteners I recommended, even though we have some data showing their benefits, I don't believe in a free lunch and try and use sweeteners in moderation, if at all. It's a much better strategy long term to kick the sweet tooth, but there is the odd time that you want to make something junkfood-y and these fill the gap.

I thought these sweeteners were better than sugar, that was why I was using them!!! But I still only use them in small amounts maybe once a week on a bad week!!! I get gluten free cookies but wanted to try make them sugar free to help curb the sweet tooth, I would have 2 a week max...

Thanks

Sapsorrow

Pembily wrote: »

I thought these sweeteners were better than sugar, that was why I was using them!!! But I still only use them in small amounts maybe once a week on a bad week!!! I get gluten free cookies but wanted to try make them sugar free to help curb the sweet tooth, I would have 2 a week max...

Thanks

Don't worry they are better the ones you mentioned aren't anything like as dodge as aspartame etc..! Once a week is fine!

goat2

khrystyna100 wrote: »

Stevias the best health wise but by far the trickiest to bake with, it's so easy to completely wreck your baking by putting a tiny bit too much in and it ends up bitter and tasting of liqourice. You'd want to get a book specifically on cooking with it and follow it to a t to get it right, it's fairly tricky. PLus you can only get it opnline I get mine from the states as it's been banned in Europe.
Xylitol is the best for baking, thats what I use anyway, 25% fewer calories than sugar, not bad for your teeth and not bad for blood sugar spikes either.
Agave whilst lovely is pure sugar so not really any better for your health than unrefined sugar.
A small amount of any of them the odd time as a treat isn't going to do you any harm but my number 1 choice for the best baking results is xylitol only difference with sugar is that it doesn't caramelise the same way so you won;t get the crunchiness in cookies etc..
You can sub xylitol in the same amounts for any recipe calling for regular sugar.

i have never heard of Stevias in the past, i have used xylitol and agave but did not know of the other
where can i get this

EileenG

goat2 wrote: »

i have never heard of Stevias in the past, i have used xylitol and agave but did not know of the other
where can i get this

Grow your own, or buy it on-line. You can't buy it in Irish shops.

I'm going to Budapest tomorrow, and I'm going to stock up on Stevia, you can buy it easily over there.

Sapsorrow

goat2 wrote: »

i have never heard of Stevias in the past, i have used xylitol and agave but did not know of the other
where can i get this

Me and my mum split orders for it from the states. I've grown it a few times but in my experience if you use it regularly its not a practical way to go about it unless you have plenty of polytunne space.

Pembily

EileenG wrote: »

Grow your own, or buy it on-line. You can't buy it in Irish shops.

I'm going to Budapest tomorrow, and I'm going to stock up on Stevia, you can buy it easily over there.

MMMM enjoy Budapest - loved the place - mmmmm the baths are heaven!!!:D

EileenG

Going to the dentist. It won't be fun.

Pembily

EileenG wrote: »

Going to the dentist. It won't be fun.

No but it will be very professional, my aunt and uncle had work done there and all the dentists are fully qualified doctors!!!! Very impressive!!!

EileenG

Pembily wrote: »

No but it will be very professional, my aunt and uncle had work done there and all the dentists are fully qualified doctors!!!! Very impressive!!!

It wasn't as traumatic as I was expecting this time. No stitches! But he did take about ten impressions and spent ages colour matching my teeth for crowns. I had to get bone graft and implant, which is almost impossible in Ireland.

Pembily

EileenG wrote: »

It wasn't as traumatic as I was expecting this time. No stitches! But he did take about ten impressions and spent ages colour matching my teeth for crowns. I had to get bone graft and implant, which is almost impossible in Ireland.

Yes defo, I had my wisdom teeth out by a Dr in a hospital as our Dentists are not qualifed enough:eek: Would love to have my teeth slightly straightened and whitened!!

I am trying my hardest to only eat xyilitol but I love icecream and tried the Booja Booja one with Agave syrup but it was ok, I love the Swedish Glace one, its got sugar but I would eat max once a month!!! All the rest of my sugar (max 4 times a week), will come from minimal xyilitol, is that good / bad??? I have even cut fruit to max 2 pieces a day and one is berries!! Thanks

EileenG

Make your own icecream! Freeze some berries, then pour some cream over them. As soon as the cream starts to harden and the berries start to soften, mash them, and you have instant icecream. You could add some sweetener if you like, but you probably won't need to.

Pembily

EileenG wrote: »

Make your own icecream! Freeze some berries, then pour some cream over them. As soon as the cream starts to harden and the berries start to soften, mash them, and you have instant icecream. You could add some sweetener if you like, but you probably won't need to.

Ah right, thought of that but thought you needed an icecream maker!!! Will do that when the icecream in the freezer is gone, probably won't have any until Easter again!!!

Thanks

Sapsorrow

Another good one is to freeze a couple of bananas and some berries, peaches or whatever fruit you like and blitz them in a processor with a tiny bit of xylitol, you can add a drop of cream in if you want to but not really needed imo, the banana is so creamy as it is.

EileenG

Pembily wrote: »

Ah right, thought of that but thought you needed an icecream maker!!! Will do that when the icecream in the freezer is gone, probably won't have any until Easter again!!!

Thanks

If you have an ice-cream maker, you can make low carb ice-cream using whey instead of the packets of stuff they give you. We have a kiddie one, that you fill with salt and ice cubes, and I use it to make whey ice-cream. But the berry one is much easier.

goat2

EileenG wrote: »

If you have an ice-cream maker, you can make low carb ice-cream using whey instead of the packets of stuff they give you. We have a kiddie one, that you fill with salt and ice cubes, and I use it to make whey ice-cream. But the berry one is much easier.

can stevia be grown in our gardens, and is it available in ireland

EileenG

I used to have a stevia plant growing inside my kitchen window, and just pulled off a leaf when I wanted to sweeten something. Haven't seen it available, but I'm sure it is.

Iristxo

It's not available in Ireland (something about it being banned or whatever). In Spain it is, though, which is weird.

Sapsorrow

Ya you see it the odd time in the better garden centres, you're probably better off jsut odering the seeds though. I'm not sure if you're a bit late in the year for starting seeds off, do you have a tunnel? I'd imagine it'd grow fast enough with a few feeds. It's a biennial as far as I remember so next year you'd have some good big plants.

goat2

Iristxo wrote: »

It's not available in Ireland (something about it being banned or whatever). In Spain it is, though, which is weird.

why does anyone know has it been banned, i was seeking it for health reasons, as i can not have sugar, shure it does not come under drugs, it is a sweetner

Iristxo

Has not been researched enough I think. And they allow Splenda, go figure!

RobAMerc

sorry to drag up an old thread, but can anyone twll me where I can get Xylitol in ireland ? or where is the best spot to get online.

many thanks
rob

Sapsorrow

You can get it in healthfood shops and maybe the odd pharmacy. I just got a tub of white stevia powder from my mum, it has the liquoricey taste removed and it' so insanely sweet, I made whipped cream for fruit salad yesterday when we had friends over and a tiny pinch sweetened 500ml of cream perfectly! I know this type if probably fairly processed but geez when you use such minute amounts I can' see any point fussing about it, I'm delighted. Oh and it's seriously lightweight (like splenda) which is good for ordering from iherb.com too.

qwas75

tried Splenda and almost got sick!
just ordered Stevia sachets from iHerb, will see... will see...:)

sobaga

robamerc - have you found xylitol anywhere (at a reasonable price preferably - I found one shop that sells it but they charge you like 4 euro for a 250g pack!!!)? I have noticed I have just run out of whatever I had at home (and was sure I had one 500g box left!) and cannot use anything else - all them splendas, aspartams or stevias taste crap while xylitol does not leave this awful aftertaste, it practically tastes like sugar. The pharmacies around my place don't have it and when I ask them they look at me as if I had two heads