Stevia
Yep, use stevia. Here's an article I ran across a year and a half ago that I archived about stevia:
We are all aware of Aspartame (NutraSweet or Equal), Sucralose (Splenda), But have you ever heard of Stevia an all natural plant which is just as sweet as the two mentioned above but has no known toxic properties. Why has the government made it illegal to sell Stevia as a sweetener but it can be sold as an ingredient for health support?
The reason being that Monsanto, and Johnson & Johnson cannot patent something natural although Monsanto will probably figure a way to patent genetically modified versions as they have with almost all of the Soya bean crops. When you can’t patent something you can’t control the global profit of that market.
What about Equal? Aspartame (NutraSweet) breaks down into methanol (wood alcohol). Methanol quickly converts to formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde causes gradual and eventually severe damage to the neurological system, immune system and causes permanent genetic damage at extremely low doses.
I personally developed neuropathy in my feet from Aspartame (NutraSweet). After being off of that stuff for three months I never had neuropathy again. Remember, as a diabetic we use more then the typical consumer.
What about Splenda, also known as sucralose, an artificial sweetener which is a chlorinated sucrose derivative? As an organic Chemist I know of no known molecules, which have, a chlorine atom attached (covalent Bond) to an organic molecule with out the molecule being toxic. Here are some typical Examples. Trichloroethylene the now a banned chemical that the dry cleaners use to clean your suites and contaminate our drinking water, methylene chloride – paint stripper, Do you remember carbon tetra chloride – It causes brain and liver damage. The manufacturer tries to compare it to salt, Sodium Chloride. But salt is an ionic bond, which is very different. There are many molecules that are safe with chlorine as a chlorine ion.
Here is another problem with both products. The government says that if a serving size has something in it that is less than a gram, the manufacturer does no have to consider its properties as long as it is a safe item. Both products have dextrose and or maltodextrin as the Filler. Both are safe to anyone but a diabetic. Dextrose and maltodextrin both have a glycemic index of 105 in comparison to table sugar which has a glycemic index of 59. The higher the index number, the higher your blood glucose level will rise. Fortunately, its just a little under one gram. But what if you had two cups of coffee in the morning and in each cup you used three packets. This would be equal to almost 6 grams of sugar but a sugar that is almost twice as strong as regular sugar. Have you ever had your morning tea or coffee and noticed that your blood glucose was a little bit higher than it should be? This is why. Fortunately this only happens with the packets. Sodas do not have the added filler. But is it good for you? Did you know that the person who developed sucralose was working on developing insecticides? Interesting!
Now, Stevia is a plant that has been used for thousand of years with no known negative effects. It is 25 times sweeter than sugar. Even with Stevia you have to watch whose packets you are buying. Most companies introduce the same problem. That is, they use dextrose and maltodextrin as a cutting agent. Personally, I use the pure extract or a liquid version of the pure extract, which is made by mixing vegetable glycerine in the presence of water. This is a good cut. All natural with no known issues. Make the change.
