I still use sweeteners and sweetened products, although greatly reduced. I think occasional use of an artificial sweetener or sugar alcohol is less harmful to my health than refined sugar or products loaded with sugar and corn syrup. It's a trade-off .. instead of which is better, more like which is less bad.


Here's what I've used in the last year ...

- Now Better Stevia glycerite liquid drops (alcohol-free stevia extract, vegetable glycerin, water). Surprisingly no bitter aftertaste .. but .. it's messy to use, and imprecise to measure, I just add a drop at a time until it's "sweet enough"

- Swerve "brown sugar" .. erythritol .. because some recipes need that caramel flavour. I've used barely half since opened a year ago, and use a terracotta teddy bear from the dollar store to keep it soft and clump-free.

- I had a 10 oz pouch of monkfruit & erythritol blend, used maybe half over a year but had to toss in the garbage. It does have a "best before" shelf life, became less sweet over time, developed an unpleasant sour aftertaste and the colour darkened a bit, despite the foil pouch being sealed airtight. Haven't tried the liquid monkfruit extract .. yet.

- Occasionally use sucralose-sweetened condiments like sugar free ketchup or bbq sauce.

- also have some Canadian SugarTwin packets (cyclamate), used barely half the box in over a year. IMO, after decades of use, I think it has the cleanest sweet taste, no bitterness, and doesn't lose sweetness over time like Splenda does (ever notice when you cook with Splenda, the leftovers taste less sweet next day?). Unfortunately, SugarTwin in Canada is shifting toward sucralose and stevia products, and now only offer the packets of white cyclamate sweetener. They stopped making brown sugar and the water-based liquid sweetener several years ago, before covid.