STEVIA.......Peeps please educate me ?
 

So I had never even heard of stevia let alone used it before. I think I am pretty all or nothing when it comes to sugar so its sugar or nothing else. Now that I am using this diet to wean myself off sugar-crack I need to consider alternatives.

Stevia seems to be all the rage here and is even used in P2.

So my concerns are:

1. If I have never used stevia and am not using in now in P2 will it cause me problems in P3

2. Is it easy to cook or bake with stevia?

3. What is the advantage of sugar over stevia?


Thanks in advance for all your help.

Sugar has no advantages, ever.... it just tastes good.

Finding a stevia you can tolerate might be a challenge... I have tried 3 different ones and can only barely live with one type. I hate the aftertaste, but I am sure it also depends on your taste and getting used to it. Stevia has no impact on your insulin, which is why it is such a great alternative - many of the regular sweeteners might not have calories, but the body is tricked into thinking it is sugar, with all the bad reactions.

I wouldn't know about baking, since I plan on going paleo... And you know you cannot do carbs in P3, right? I know there is some stevia in sugar-like consistencies, but I would check what else they put in their to get that mass. You might have to experiment with the lost mass of the not-added sugar otherwise.

The only one I can stand is the KAL brand. It's pure stevia. You have to use a TEENY amount. And I mea teeny. Once I get to P3, I use xylitol though. It tastes just like sugar. http://hcgdietinfo.com/hcgdietforums...lies/smile.png but again, it must be pure xylitol.

I use the stevia from Walmart in the green box. I also use sweet leaf stevia drops...root beer flavor is my favorite. I don't notice an aftertaste, but I put them into really strong, and I mean strong iced coffee. The root beer flavored ones I put into Perrier water.

I use the sweetleaf brand, it's better than the other ones i've found. I bought it originally in single use packets online because i couldn't find it in stores, found it in a shaker at Whole Foods later on. I also bought the root beer flabored sweet leaf stevia and i love it! I followed a suggestion and also use it in Perrier, also in fairly large quantities (like 3 dropper fulls) and it tastes like diet root beer. I would imagine that the other flavors would sweeten things similarly.

Just make sure whatever you are using is PURE STEVIA. Many of the others have other sweeteners in them and they can stall people. Plus they just aren't healthy. Stevia is an herb so using it isn't harmful.

Yes,I agree with it.

If you haven't tried it, you might want to taste it before buying some. It is expensive and I think it tastes just absolutely horrendous. I've been pretty happy not using artificial sweetener in P2. After a couple weeks, regular food starts to taste really sweet by itself. You've no idea how sweet fruit, vegetables and even water can taste when your taste buds get a break from all the sugar and sweetener we often eat.

Stevia is a plant. You can buy real stevia which is a green powder. You can also buy liquid stevia extract. Most of the stuff you'll find in the grocery store is not really pure stevia. It is a mix of artificial sweeteners and stevia and is highly processed. Truvia, for example, is not a healthy choice, although it may not affect your losses.

One of the best advantage of sugar and stevia; sugar is chemical sweetener but stevia is natural sweetener.