Hi all... I'm curious about Artificial Sweeteners. There is a large school that think if you eat AS your body thinks it is eating sugar and you will have an insulin response same as if you eat carbs. This slows or stops weight loss in many.

Do you think there is any scientific basis for this, or has this been your experience.

Certainly Splenda, and some sugar alchohols does impact my blood sugar readings, however aspartame and others do not seem to.

Strangely enough, I'm just the opposite. Splenda and sugar alcohols have very little impact on my blood sugars but Aspartame makes them bounce all over the place (mostly high though).

Me too, Lisa. I'm okay with Splenda and SA's, except for the Laxitive Efect of some, Lactitol in particular. But whenever I have a product sweeetened with Aspartame, it will raise my BG about 10 pts....with no calories! I don't get it!

Best Wishes,
Sherry

Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates. They're absorbed more slowly than sugar but the "net carbs" bs on the wrapper is just that. I find that I can't subtract the sugar alcohol gram count from the total carbs listed. I can only subtract the fiber. So, whenever I eat an Atkins bar I count 14 grams.

Splenda is to my mind a gigantic boondoggle because it's adulterated with all kinds of bulking agents which are carbohydrates. Until such time as they reintroduce pure, no-carb Splenda I'll stick with my old reliable, peace of mind sweetener: STEVIA.

This is the only sugar substitute that Dr. Bernstein recommends (aside from Aspartame tablets). Has he ever steered us wrong? Think about it.

STEVIA hmmmm? Okay.

Or liquid Splenda is also totally carb free. That's what I mainly use.

Karen

Hi c6!

Stevia is the only allowed sweetener on the Schwarzbein Plan. I use it some but have not yet figured out how to bake with it. I mostly use the liquid form of it. What kind do you use and what are some of your favorite treats? Any advice would be appreciated!

Tig

I use Stevia Plus, it works great for baking and doen't have the aftertaste most liquid ones have. I order mine together with my supplements from Vitanet, they have very good prices, and they carry both the packets and the shaker. I have the packets because I keep a few in my purse in case of need when I'm out, but at home I use the shaker.

Hi Elisa!

Thanks! I'm going to check into it! Also, what are some of the things that you bake with stevia. I'm not much in the kitchen and I need all the help/ideas that I can get!

Thanks! Tig

Well, I'm not on maintenance yet, so I cannot bake using actual grain flours etc - I mainly make flaxseed crackers, "cookies" made with whea protein and eggs, and a spaghetti squash "pudding" similar to the one in the recipe section. I definitely want to get a book on baking with stevia when I get to maintenance, mainly for special occasions, as those are the times when I tend to fall back into the sugar trap