Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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In weaning myself of all refined carbs I find that sugar in my coffee is the hardest. I have cut sugar in coffee by half and recently switched even that to using Truvia instead. It is supposedly half stevia and half sugar alcohol. Is Truvia ok to use as an intermediary between no sugar and several teaspoons a day or is it bad for you and to be avoided completely in favor of a little real sugar?

edited Mar 12 2010 at 16:52

Ed♦
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asked Mar 9 2010 at 16:32

Cee Mathers
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	@Cee -- why not try quitting cold turkey? – Patrik♦ Mar 9 2010 at 18:07
	Patrik's idea sounds the best to me- I used to take a scant spoon of sugar and some cream in my coffee. Then I figured why wash the spoon over so little sugar, so I stopped that. Then I had pills that couldn't be taken within so many hours of taking cream, so I quit that. It really wasn't too hard at all. – henny Mar 13 2010 at 2:32

PortlandAllan · Accepted Answer · 2010-03-09 19:18:57Z UTC

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Um, how much sugar (and how often) are you talking about?

If you're talking about a teaspoon or two once a day, I'd not worry about it from a health standpoint. If you are doing it for more psychological reasons, then I'd say you need to quit any sweetners cold-turkey and go for milk, cream, or black.

answered Mar 9 2010 at 19:18

PortlandAllan
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Lets see. . . 1 packet of truvia (half erythrirol half stevia) equals two teaspoons of sugar so I'm substituting 3 packets of Truvia for 6 tsp. of sugar per day in 3 cups of coffee a day. – Cee Mathers Mar 9 2010 at 19:24

6 tsp (or 24g) of sugar would be too much for me. But then, I think 3 packets of artificial sweetener would be too much too. I used to drink about 40z of Diet Coke each day and weaned myself off that. I relapsed over the holidays and got back on, but I plan to get off it again soonish. Really :). – Beth Mar 9 2010 at 19:36

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Without knowing more of your situation and goals, it's hard to say definitively, but 6 tsp. is ~30 grams. If it's spread equally through the work day, meaning your pancreas is always "on", I would try to reduce it to 10-15g. YMMV. :-) For reference, most soft drinks have about 35-40g per 12oz. – PortlandAllan Mar 9 2010 at 19:36

Ed · Answer 2 · 2010-03-09 17:23:11Z UTC

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Hi Cee. I would recommend that you change the associations that you have with coffee in your mind. You probably now associate the smell, caffeine buzz, and flavor of coffee with sweetness. I wouldn't substitute another sweetener for sugar. That doesn't change the unhealthy associations. What if you made coffee your intermittent fasting beverage? Then you would have to drink it black. After a few weeks, you would associate black coffee with the feeling of well-being you get from fasting. Also, you would habituate to the taste of black coffee, so that black coffee would now be the norm, and sweetened coffee would no longer taste as good. An alternative, if you're lacto-paleo, is to use heavy cream in your coffee instead of sugar. After a few weeks, you would associate coffee with creaminess instead of sweetness. Yummy!

answered Mar 9 2010 at 17:23

Ed♦
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I have used heavy cream with the effect of needing less sugar. However, heavy cream is pasteurized whereas my raw milk with significant amounts of cream in it is not. Since this is my only sugar (outside of what is endogenous to food) I'm happy to reduce it to a minimum. Just wondering if erythrirol is bad for you. I don't like stevia alone--it adds an aftertaste. – Cee Mathers Mar 9 2010 at 17:46

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@Cee, pasteurization of dairy products mainly affects B-complex vitamins and denatures some of the proteins. Since there is very little protein in heavy cream, it would not be as adversely affected by pasteurization as whole milk. In fact, cream may be better preserved after pasteurization, because the native lipase is denatured-- medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/… (pages 1 and 2). As far as eliminating sweeteners or not, if you're disciplined enough to only use sweeteners when you drink coffee, it's probably not enough to hurt your health. – Ed♦ Mar 9 2010 at 19:55

I agree. I don't use any sugar; I do use coconut milk (the kind that comes in a can), and it tastes good and cuts down on the bitterness. Maybe you could also brew milder-tasting coffee; that way, it's easier to drink without sweetener or with less sweetener. – Shilpa Nicodemus Mar 12 2010 at 18:24

Mikael Jansson · Answer 3 · 2010-03-09 17:30:44Z UTC

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Erythrirol and Stevia seems to be your best bet right now. E. has the advantage of having the same texture as sugar (at 60-70% the sweetness) which makes it suitable for baking with e.g. almond flour.

answered Mar 9 2010 at 17:30

Mikael Jansson
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That's what I'm using. The erythrirol seems to neutralize the after taste of stevia. . . but was wondering if using 1/2 teaspoon of sugar plus stevia would be the same for far less the cost. – Cee Mathers Mar 9 2010 at 17:50

Suzan · Answer 4 · 2010-03-09 17:33:36Z UTC

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I use pure stevia. KAL brand. It comes powdered in a small jar, or liquid in a dropper bottle. Nothing else added.

answered Mar 9 2010 at 17:33

Suzan
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Jay · Answer 5 · 2010-03-09 18:11:36Z UTC

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You can try brown rice syrup - it's sugar but is basically all glucose.

answered Mar 9 2010 at 18:11

Jay
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yoda · Answer 6 · 2010-03-12 01:05:51Z UTC

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Fyi, Truvia is not half stevia and half erythritol. It is 99.1% erythritol. The rest is Rebiana, a chemical derivative of various stevia glycosides, (which is not found in nature) and masking agent.

edited Mar 12 2010 at 1:05

answered Mar 12 2010 at 0:52

yoda
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Okay. . . but is erythritol bad for consumption on a comparative basis with other derived sugars. It doesn't seem to cause an insulin spike and since I can substitute one packet of it for two teaspoons of sugar it seems ~ half as harmful. Three packets a day on average is a significant reduction--heading in the right direction IF IT's NOT HARMFul. So it's only less than .9% Rebiana (which I thought came from stevia leaves). What is a "masking" agent? – Cee Mathers Mar 12 2010 at 8:21

juurti · Answer 7 · 2010-06-30 16:29:57Z UTC

shouldnt be there more sugar substitutes? There are much sweet things, beside sweet they lso taste bitter or herb. Sweet is also a way of tasting things. Focus on tasting sweet can increase ure tast of sweet thing. Stevia will have also a negative sideeffect. nothing is without sideeffect.

Arjuna · Answer 8 · 2012-11-29 01:21:31Z UTC

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you dont need sugar if u use organo gold http://mycapturepage.com/cp23.php?id=470

answered Nov 29 at 1:21

Arjuna
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james · Answer 9 · 2012-11-29 02:58:55Z UTC

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2 tspn's of sugar is 30 calories. Just use sugar or honey if you like the taste.

answered Nov 29 at 2:58

james
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Sugar substitutes

9 Answers