Sisters, As the title indicates, please share your thoughts on using Sugar/Jaggery/Sweetener or even without any of them in Tea / Coffee. Recently in one of my husbands friends place the Coffee tasted bit different when I learned to understand that they use Sweetener instead of Sugar for every cup of coffee being served at home or guests irrespective of being Diabetic or not (or being healthy conscious) Please enlighten with your thoughts on the same... Thanks in advance Aum Sairam
Sis Dont understand why they use sweetner equally for all.? if its for health conscious they should have picked/ticked the natural substitute only???? its better to have control over the intake of normal sugar and tame it rather than substituting. Nowdays doctors never precribe artificial sweetners,instead they give a guide "how to over-ride/keep diabetic under control through food intake and physical activity" Rarely (on the interest of the patient who have utter sweet tooth) they recommend,but with a caution. My Dh-pre diabetic and for his daily evening 50ml coffee, I add 1/2 tsp original palm sugar,bought from dabbachetty shop (naattumarundu kadai) in chunks,pounded coarsely with pestle) For all other sweets I use either jaggery or table sugar,but less in quantity,ie only 50%. His sugar level always under control with regular walk. Personally I recommend only the natural one the palm sugar,jaggery,honey or even table sugar. Reason- sweeteners are artificial which are 100 -1000 times sweeter than table sugar with 0 Cal 0 health benefits. The below picture from Google speaks the comparison: Artificial sweetners are just like any artificial food alternative ie, flavoring,coloring which brings nothing but appeal to the food/taste. Artificial or Natural,crossing the limits are dangerous and unhealthy. Moderate use of sweetners were approved by FDA.Now the question is HOW much is TOO MUCH? Debate going on :On health basis are they safe??? ............So how do non-sugar substitute sweeteners compare to sucrose/HFCS in the acute or immediate metabolic phase? Most non-sugar sweeteners (e.g., aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia) are much more potent in their sweetness relative to sucrose, and therefore require a fraction of the amount to give the same “sweetness” as sucrose. So for these sweeteners, only a fraction of the substance is required for equal sweetness. That’s why when you look at a can of Diet Coke it has no calories in it. The amount of aspartame that’s used is so small (given its sweetness), it doesn’t even add a calorie worth of energy. Hence, we consume a fraction of them, relative to “real” sugar to get the same sweetness........read the full article HERE Please check these articles:the benefits and side efects disscussed. Artificial Sweeteners and Their FDA Safe Levels Artificial Sweeteners: sugar-free, but at what cost? Artificial Sweetners---Sweet or Poison?—The Need-to-Know QUALITY and QUANTITY more important. Go natural,a gift from mother nature.Calm Clean Way to keep fit and healthy forever. Thanks.
Artificial sugar is many times more harmful than normal sugar. not at all good for diabetic as advertised.
@Yashikushi, thanks for the detailed information. @Saisakthi, I also do not think its a good idea to substitute sweeteners in place of sugar. Gradually reducing the quantity of sugar is a much better idea. I used to have tea with 3 tsp of sugar, have reduced to 1.5 now. We also buy brown sugar (sugar which is not processed) here. In India there a many many natural options ranging from jaggery, coconut sugar, palm sugar, date sugar(its expensive though).
Recently had tea in one of my friend's place instead of sugar she added jaggery after removing the tea from the stove.It was excellent.Even I have heard from many people that sweeteners are more harmful.
In my opinion,It is better to avoid any thing that is artificial/replacements. Since consuming something that is available naturally in correct quantity will never hurt. Gradually we can stop using them as well. I for instance do not add any sweetener, natural or artificial to my milk. I like to eat raw whatever I could eat . I am a vegetarian. Being overly health conscious, we not only fail to live life in the present but also fear the unknown future. Love to eat, eat to Live ! Regards, Pavithra
+1 for being against artifical sweetners. Really bad stuff that even those diabetic should not use it.
@saisakthi sister, Using real sugar/jaggery/honey/raw sugar in limited quantities is better than using any artificial sweeteners. Even Splenda, which tastes closest to sugar and is in fact a derivative of sugar, is not advised by doctors. If we reduce the amount of sugar gradually it is possible to even take tea and coffee with minimum sweetness.