Sugar is bad for us, honey is bad for us because of the fructose, artificial sweeteners are bad for us because they cause all kinds of ailments so what the heck are we supposed to add to our coffee or what the heck are we supposed to add to food to make it a little bit sweeter when we don't want to add the extra calories.
In this article I will explain the difference between two of the most popular healthier alternatives to artificial sweeteners.
So let’s get started!!!!!
Stevia vs Truvia which one to choose?
Stevia and truvia they get kind of intertwined and people get them confused. So I wanted to explain the difference; so that you’ll be able to choose which one you want to lean towards.
Stevia:
So stevia is a plant extract it's not an artificial sweetener; in Brazil and some of these other South American countries stevie has been used for hundreds of years.
It hasn't just been used as an sweetener but it's been used to treat colic and digestive issues, as well it's been around for a long time it's nothing really new.
It's about 200 times sweeter than sugar and it also has a lot of other medicinal properties that sugar certainly doesn't have. But the thing is we're not getting true stevia extract here in the United States you see true stevia extract from the plant itself hasn't gone through the stringent FDA approval process yet; it's still in the making.
So what we get is something called rebaudioside which is basically a portion of stevia that is still sweet but it's not the actual plant extract, it's a small portion of the plant that still gives us that sweet like feeling.
Now rebaudioside is still fine and is a good ingredient, it's still natural and derived from the plant.
I just don't want you to think that you're actually getting the true plant extract.
But what's kind of cool is this recent study in a 2010 study by the Journal of appetite it was found that test subjects that consumed stevia were much less likely to overeat and had lower blood sugar levels than those that consumed other artificial sweeteners or traditional sugar.
Truvia:
About truvia there's a lot of confusion because truvia is not just a brand of stevia; a lot of times people think that truvia is its own thing and what truvia is it’s a trademark name for a blend of erythritol; which is a sugar alcohol, stevia extract and then natural flavour.
So what that means is it's a blend of ingredients, and not just one extract like pure stevia.
The primary component within truvia is erythritol which is that sugar alcohol and not the stevia.
Now sugar alcohols are all fine and dandy; they're really not that bad for you but the issue is it's hard for the body to break them down.
That's exactly what it is a sugar alcohol the body doesn't register it as a sugar but it still registers that sweetness.
What this means is it's hard for the body to break down so if you're someone that likes your coffee really sweet, you're not going to add a lot of packets or truvia to it.
You want to be aware of that because a lot of truvia can actually cause them to stress in the digestive system you might feel a bit bloated and worst case it'll make it so it's harder to absorb your nutrients and we don't want that.
So at the end of the day which one should you pick?
Well here's what I tell you if you like your food extra sweet or you like your coffee extra sweeter with stevia it's a pretty safe bet.
And if you're not going to have the digestive issues with it and you're going to feel pretty darn good and don’t really have the negative benefits or at least none that we know of yet now with the truvia; it does have a little bit of a richer fuller bodied taste and good for those of you that just like a little bit of a mild sweetener.
So there you have it stevia vs truvia you pick the one that's best for you!!!!!!
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