Hi David, I am on day 5 of my sugarless life and I am in the “bargaining stage.” What are your thoughts about alternative sweeteners in sugar free foods? Do you just eliminate all sugar like substances?
I am not into chemical sugar alternatives. Most of them have nasty side-effects like gas. I’ve tried sugar free cookies and products of all kinds sweetened with that stuff and it’s bad. For one thing, it doesn’t help you to get away from addictive sweets. It’s kind of like drinking alcohol free beer or smoking smoke free cigarettes. Gross.
The best bet is to find naturally sweet snacks. I personally will eat something sweetened with honey, agave, pure maple syrup, or fruit juice. Everyone is different, of course, but these types of sweeteners don’t seem to have an addictive reaction for me—although pure maple syrup can certainly pack a punch in terms of a sugar high. In fact, I’ve avoided it lately for this reason.
So if you are just starting out try some of them for yourself. If you don’t, you’ll always wonder about those sugar-free Murray cookies in the cookie aisle. Do beware and read the labels.
Related Links
· Sugar By Any Other Name Is Still Sugar - How to find hidden sugar on labels.
· Sugar Free Jell-O Review - A video review.
· I Ate Chocolate Chip Cookies - About eating sugar free Joseph’s brand cookies.
There are sweeteners from natural products that won’t give you those crazy feelings of a sugar high and some are safe for diabetics. You mentioned agave, which to me is about the same as honey, but I like to use Stevia to sweeten my tea. It’s made from an herb that grows in South America.
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I realized I had a sugar problem back in 2003 after a weekend-long binge on raw chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate covered pretzels. As a result, I began trying to quit sugar but kept failing. Finally, I figured out a way to stay off sweet junk food for good.
Don’t quit sugar. Stop Being Sweet instead! Questions? Please ask!
Monique
Sep 02, 2008