Is Stevia the best sweetener? I am looking for a sweetener which doesn't raise blood glucose,for cooking and treats.

[beaton]

[PeteX]

I don't know there is such a thing as 'best'. It depends what you're looking for. If you particularly want something that started out as a plant, Stevia might be a good choice. On the other hand, it's quite new. People have spent decades looking for health problems resulting from aspartame, so perhaps that's safer.

One possible problem with artificial sweeteners is that they might lower blood glucose. The sweet taste might cause your body to increase insulin levels in anticipation of a sugar hit, but then no sugar arrives. As far as I know, this has never been tested in a scientific study, but it would be an interesting thing to try with a blood sugar meter.

[beaton]

Hi Pete,thanks for your quick reply. I am trying to get my body happy. I have a sluggish liver due to an under-active thyroid. So having cut out gluten,and feeling better for it I thought I would try to give up sugar. But I do miss the occasional treat. We are going away later this month and with the colder weather I was looking for some hot chocolate for night times. This seems impossible. x

[PeteX in reply to beaton]

I used to have an under-active thyroid (for some reason it seems to have got better, which I thought wasn't supposed to happen). If you get it treated, you'll be basically back to normal, and you just have to take one synthetic thyroxine pill each morning.

I found it was well worth getting the treatment. Hypothyroidism has lots of symptoms, and none of them are very nice. I particularly noticed the tiredness. I always felt sleepy during the day, but after starting the treatment it went away.

[beaton in reply to PeteX]

Hi Pete, I'm on a T3/T4 combo for six months now but weight is not coming down regardless of exercise. Perhaps my next visit to endo. will help. Last time they sent me to a dietitian class,six of us spent the morning being told how many calories were in foods,no other advice. That is how the NHS wastes money.x

[PeteX in reply to beaton]

Hi Beaton, I'm sorry your treatment isn't working as smoothly as mine did. When I had my treatment it was simpler: you got thyroxine and you were never given triiodothyronine. I was one of the lucky ones who got a complete cure from thyroxine on its own.

If you don't mind me asking, do you have the genetic variation that means you need both drugs? I find that pretty interesting, it's the same disease but it needs to be treated differently in different people, depending on their genetic make-up.

[beaton in reply to PeteX]

Hi Pete,I don't know of any genetic variation. I must admit to feeling better on the combo but feel like I've had a cold and just need a few days more to get right,but those days are taking their time coming. x

[decadesofun]

How about 'Options'? I have hypothyroidism as well. Interesting about the gluten

[Hidden]

After hearing all the advertising about Truvia, at HUGE expense I bought some: I thought it quite horrible! I prefer the Canderel type myself, much more acceptable.

[beaton]

Thanks to both Decadesofun and Gardengnome, unfortunately "options" is still quite high in sugar and canderel is made with aspartame,wich is a nasty chemical. But having looked on the canderel web site,I see they have a new one out made with Stevia. Might try that.

[Penel]

Be careful of artificial sweeteners if you have a sensitive digestive system. The one I tried gave me a bad stomach ache. There are reports that Stevia can cause migraine in susceptible people. Check out any side effects.

[beaton in reply to Penel]

Thanks Penel,I shall look into this.x