In my previous article HFCS sucks I wrote about Stevia and Agave nectar. Now I am going to expand on these two sweeteners (Agave & Stevia) to the regular nasty ass aspartame and sucralose.
What is Aspartame? And why is sucks.
- Aspartame is the consumer friendly word for the artificial sweetener non-saccharide, aspartyl-phenylalanine-1-methyl ester….if that right there does not tell you its bad, then you’re a lose cause. If you actually know what that is then you know you not to eat it.
- Secondly if you don’t know what that is, you shouldn’t be eating it.
- Aspartame is an artificial sweetener, I don’t know of much in the world artificial that is better than the real thing, if your eating anything artificial and you don’t have to…quit right now. As an example if you have ever had sex with somebody you love then you automatically knows it is a trillion time better than having sex with somebody you don’t love. In this case aspartame is the dripping faucet in the bathroom; it’s not even in the same room having sex.
- Aspartame taste disgusting – why eat something that taste disgusting?
- Aspartame is made in a lab, there is nothing made in a lab that you need to eat.
What is Sucralose? And why it sucks.
- Is the lesser evil of the artificial sweeteners, but no less horrific. It as first discovered by scientist from Tate & Lyle a UK-based agri-producer back in 1976.
- Again it was “discovered” by scientist. In this case “discovered” does not mean that scientists went off the coast of Angola and dung up the sucralose plant that was being hidden from modern thinking minds by Alexander the Great.
- Sucralose did not come out of the ground, and it was made in a lab…we already went over this.
- Sucralose is marketed here in the U.S. as Splenda and SucraPlus it is 600 time sweeter than regular sugar (sucrose) and is considered a sugar substitute. Now lets do some simple math here, if you know you shouldn’t be eating large amounts of sugar, why would you eat something that is 600x sweeter than sugar that’s a sugar substitute AND made in a lab?…think about it….Ill wait I got plenty of time. Answer: You shouldn’t stop today.
What is Agave Nectar?
- The first thing you should know about agave nectar is that it is not a sugar substitute. Agave is a sweetener that is made from….you guessed it the agave plant, most of which is currently produced in Mexico.
Organic Blue Agave Sweetner
- Agave sweetener in its common form is called Agave syrup or nectar. Although agave is marketed as a sugar substitute it is not a substitute. Actually agave has more calories than sugar ounce for ounce. Agave has 56 calories per table spoon versus regular sugar’s 50 calories per table spoon, however agave is much sweeter than regular table sugar, and so much less can be used.
- Commercial available agave nectar/syrup is composed of fructose and glucose. The ratio ranges of fructose (f)/glucose (g) is as follows: 92% (f)/8 %( g) ~ 56 %( f)/20 %( g) this large fluctuation is due to plant and manufacturing differences. In this case agave nectar is worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). The only redeeming fact is that agave is not genetically modified and refined like HFCS!
- To the right is my own agave sweetner, its really sweet stuff, I use it to sweeten plain yogurt.
What is Stevia?
- Stevia also comes from the Stevia plant also found in South America, are you noticing a trend there? It seems as all the “health” products are coming from South America. The acai berry, agave and stevia
- Stevia is 300 time sweeter than normal table sugar, notice it is not a sugar substitute, therefore much less can be used.
- This stuff has a taste you have to get use to, growing up in the USA I am use to just normal sugar, this stuff taste like powdered sugar with a hint of licorice. Jay Robb actually has a Whey Protein Supplement that I use to buy that uses Stevia that is good. Jay Robb is one of the companies that use stevia as a sweetener, and not sucralose, aspartame and now brown rice sugar.
- You can buy it at most “health” food store, you know a country has a problem when you cannot buy “health food” from a normal supermarket.
Of the bunch Stevia wins the charleslloydfitness shootout for best sweetener.
Aspartame: 0 out of 5 Charles’ Faces
Sucralose: 0.0000000000000001 out of Charles’ Faces
Agave:: 3 out of 5 Charles’ Faces
Stevia: 4.5 out of 5 Charles’ Faces.
4.5 Charles Faces'
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Aspartame is some nasty sh!t
Yes it is, taste like your being poisoned.
Some nice points here. Thought i’d drop this resource in to the conversation.
It’s a site that helps you to find foods containing Aspartame, HFCS, Sodium Benzoate, or any other ingredient, allergen, additive or nutrient.
Here’s an example…it’s a list of Aspartame containing and free Drink Mixes:
http://www.foodessentials.com/compare/Powdered_Drink_-_Mixed_Fruit_Flavor_containing_Aspartame/134805/0
Good work Anton and thats a good resource. Thanks
Thanks for the article. I use agave in all sorts of dishes, cakes and even drinks. I started with small bottles and now buy gallons at a time.
The last few times I ordered it online at Whole And Natural.com. They have all sizes at very reasonable prices and ship fast.
Debby
Stevia has been banned in Canada for 30 years because it’s nasty. Just because something is ‘natural’ doesn’t mean it’s safe. Just because something is made in a lab, doesn’t mean it’s unhealthy.
Haha, I can see Canadian officials 30 years ago with a packet of Stevia then putting it in their coffee and saying “bleh, BAN IT, ban it forever, I say!”
Actually Stevia is not banned in Canada at all. I buy it here all the time
Yeah I didn’t think so Geoff. Thanks
Hi, i just thought i’d post and let you that your blog looks a bit crazy on the Dinct browser. Anyhow keep up the good work.
Thx for your time of writing this informative blog
I’m wondering about something I heard – that stevia stays in your system and doesn’t fully metabolise. Have you heard that?
Nothing really stays in your system. Everything gets burned, then either turns into alkaline or acid and is either used, stored, or discarded. Stevia by itself does not just sit in your system.
“The only redeeming fact is that agave is not genetically modified and refined like HFCS!”
A variation of the agave plant, was already been patented in the US in 1998. If its been patented, then a bio-engineered change must have been made from the orginal plant (google “Kara’s Stripes”).
Agave syrup is indeed refined in similar fashion as HFCS: http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2007/065.html
Not only that, but it is primarily fructose, and 1) fructose is more easily converted to fat than glucose (therefore eating the same amount of calories will make you fatter) and 2) fructose is less satisfying than glucose because it doesn’t stimulate a rapid insulin response and increase cravings for sugar.
Good point, but agave is still not genetically modified….refined sure, but not genetically modified.
It is difficult for me to take anything on this site seriously. Educated people write well. Work on spelling, grammar, and punctuation. For example, Aspartame tastes disgusting, not taste disgusting. Use periods, not commas, at the end of sentences. Also, its is a possessive pronoun. It’s means it is. If you want educated people to heed your advice, then perhaps you should have someone edit your work.
Interesting response Kari, so I wrote a “real” article. I severely hope it passes the punctuation and grammar police. Have a look here. Please send me all your “educated” friends. I will be more than happy to provide a work cited page also.
Hmmm, interesting view, all of which I agree with. I just wish you had proofread before posting. I also love the fact that your points are pretty clear and simple to understand. Such as these things just suck plain and simple and here is why.
Your not the only one pissed about my writing Kelly! J/K