Splenda or Agave

 i'm so confused. people will argue about artificial sweeteners but i've read countless articles stating that splenda is ok. only bad for you if you eat huge huge huge amounts.

some people rave about agave. but from what i've read agave isn't much different from honey in terms of sugar/carbs. now, i like the taste of agave. but i avoid it because it is like sugar. 

so i'm just curious what you or your doctors think. i'm gonna ask my doc next time. he better not say neither because thats just not realistic.

what do you guys think? splenda/artificial sweeteners or agave?

i use stevia . . . it's the best out there. you can buy it in a bag, or in packages. we buy it in a bag and spoon it into whatever we need. you can cook with it, or put it in your coffee. it's actually better than splenda. it's not aspartame. it's all natural.

 stevia is great for cakes or baking or in chocolate stuff. but i find that taste doesn't work in everything. like fruity things or teas and such.

I love sweet leaf liquid stevia,  my favorite is the chocolate raspberry.  I only use it in my coffee.  No other sugar in my house right now.  It's all natural :o) jeani

After years of trying everything from honey to saccharine, my taste buds have settled on Truvia.  I think it is better for you because it is all natural.  And it is made from the tender part of the stevia plant, the leaves and so does not have all the bitter taste like some of the other stevia sweeteners that I don't like.  It is better than honey or agave because it only has 3 g of carbs.  I felt it was important to find a healthy alternative to sugar without all the chemicals of other sweeteners and yet also low in carbs.  For me, it is the whole package.  Like someone else said on an earlier post, you can get 40 different answers though.  It's worth a try in my opinion and you'll find the right product for you.  I'm just afraid if I started ingesting the carbs in something like agave, I would soon be out of control however.  Good luck.  Let us know what you choose.

 its worth a try. i prefer the taste of splenda over the stevia sweeteners though.

My new favorite is actually a sweetener called Ideal, made from xylitol.  It tastes so much like sugar, I love it!  It's kind of hard to find in stores, but I got it on Amazon.  My NUT recommended it, and it's supposed to bake really well too.

 yeah i love that stuff. i use it in my baking. but because its so expensive i don't use it for day to day stuff.

 Splenda is an artificial sweetner and agave nectar is natural. A lot of people get confused because they read the label for splenda and its 0 calories and then they read the labels for honey and agave nectar and it has carbs and sugar. So it really comes down to a personal choice. Artifificial sweetners are made from CHEMICALS that our bodies don't recognize. These things are HARMFUL to us.. they may help us lose weight in the short run but have long term affects in the future. 

I personally advocate for natural foods. Honey comes from the earth.. yes if you drink a gallon of honey I assure you that it wont help with weight loss. But adding a couple teaspoons of honey to your tea or oatmeal really isn't going to break our weightloss and honey is actually good for you. Its a healthy carb that provides energy when used in small portions. If we want to keep track of our carb intake we should track everything we eat.


My recommendations for sweetners are:

Stevia (All natural)
Honey 
Sugar in the Raw (unprocessed sugar)
Brown Sugar
Truvia ( I heard this is all natural as well)

Please stay away from any type of DIET DRINK as they are full of harmful chemicals and artificial sweetners. Also be aware of HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP its the devil. =)

I hope this helps. =)

 just curious, what would you reccommend to a diabetic? i see people advocating for natural sugars all the time but some people simply cannot eat sugars. can diabetics have honey?