you may also be interested in this discussion - favorite LC sweeteners?

i am finding that mixing and matching works out well for me. the synnergistic quality of putting them together kind of balances out potential issues or something. i have stevia, but the ones i use most currently are fiberfit, SweetzFree and Erythritol. (a sugar alcohol that doesn't have the nasty side effects some of them do.) erythiritol especially helps with baking, and the sweetzfree is liquid splenda, so without the extra bulking agents, it adds no carbs and is very concentrated. (also pretty pricey, i'm afraid, but it's worth it to me as it goes a long way.)

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EatSmart Nutritional Scale Review

I use fructose for baking, as well as xylitol, but for some things they do not work right. Both have carbs but Xylitol and Fructose do not provide bulking as you use about half cup to one cup of sugar. If you have dogs I wouldn't reccommend that you purchase Xylitol for use in your house as it is deadly to them (we all know that they like to beg for table scraps). You can check this info out on snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp.

Xylitol is a type of sugar alcohol and can cause stomach and intestinal distress. Xylitol has about 1/3 less callories than sugar so there is some carbs associated but it has a much lower glycemic index than sugar. Below is a chart of different sugar alcohols and their calories and glycemix index. However I do not have all the info in regards to the postprandial blood sugar rise for diabetics. Almost all sugar alcohols will have some effect on blood sugar levels - the only 2 which do not are mannitol and erythritol.

Sugar/Sugar alcohol GI Calories/gram
============== ====== ========
Sugar (Sucrose) 59 4
Fructose 19 4
Maltitol syrup 48-53 3
Maltitol syrup (high-polymer) 36 3
Maltitol 36 2.7
Xylitol 13 3
Isomalt 9 2.1
Sorbitol 9 2.5
Lactitol 6 2
Erythritol 0 .2
Mannitol 0 1.5

Keep in mind that Fructose is almost twice a sweet as sugar so you only use half as much so the calories would be lower.

Someday I will have all this info in one place so that it is simple for everyone to acces. I will think about writing a paper in regards to all natural and artificial sweeteners when I have to write a masters thesis. This will be a few more years down the road.

-Connie

OK. I'll admit, I have an addiction to Diet Coke. I drink lots of it every day. I'm on day 12 of Atkins induction and have followed the rules very strictly except for the one about not drinking anything with Aspertine. Do I have to get rid of all my addictions at once? I read in the Atkins book that Aspertine makes you crave sweets. Well, I haven't had that problem at all. Maybe in the first three days, I had bigtime cravings but I have been pleasantly full since then. I'm trying to cut down considerably. I'm down to three cans a day (trying to get to two cans) which I'm sure still sounds like a lot to most of you, but I was up to 5-6 cans a day. So, I guess what I'm asking is...is the Aspertane a deal-breaker? Do I have to get rid of it all-together in order to succeed on this diet? I actually lost 9 pounds the first week (water weight I'm sure), but the scale hasn't budged in the past five days. I do feel a slight difference in my clothes, though.

It's just going to be soooooo much harder for me if I have to give up my beloved Diet Coke as the same time as I'm giving up those 250 carbs I ate every day.

Aspartame is certainly a YMMV (your mileage may vary) kind of issue. I don't use it because A. I don't like the taste and B. it doesn't hold its sweetness in cooking.

One of the things that the Atkins Nutritional approach teaches is how to observe and learn about one's own metabolism and how it reacts to various foods in various amounts.

Gratz! on the 9 lbs!

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Jody, I too was a Diet Coke addict when I started Atkins. Aspartame did not affect me the way it affects a lot of people. However, given the copious quantities of Diet Coke that I was drinking, the carb count of it was something I could not handle as it would take up all of my daily carb allowance. Consequently, I switched to Splenda sweetened diet cola and did not have to give up anything.

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Henry

I must have missed that in the Atkins book. It says "0" carbs on the can so I thought it was "free." No?

According to the Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, aspartame is not carb free and you should count 1 gram of carb per can/serving of aspartame sweetened diet soda. My suspicion is that the actual carb count on aspartame sweetened beverages is probably just below the level that they would have to show 1 gram of carb on the label. Aspartame is one of those additives that can unknowingly cause carb creep in your diet.

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Henry

Aspartame is a dangerous drug. Look it up on the internet, (try sweet poison as your search words) as far as Splenda, it is dangerous too. It's Stevia for me or nothing at all.

randysgrandma

http://form.douglassreport.com/reports/Aspartame.pdf

I got major sugar cravings when I drank a lot of aspartame in sodas and ice teas.

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Ilse

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