General Sweetener Points

1. I believe that it is helpful to get comfortable with a number of different sweeteners. You can focus on one or two main sweeteners and use others to add a little variety to your food. For healing and disease prevention it is preferable to use the safer sweeteners listed below in relatively *small* amounts and primarily not near mealtime.

2. I believe that while it is very important not to be too restrictive in a diet, it can be helpful to use sweeteners that contribute to health-building. I am a big believer in gradually and comfortably moving towards a healthy diet and lifestyle.

3. Toxic sweeteners to avoid: neotame, aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal), sucralose (Splenda), acesulfame-k (Sunette, Sweet-n-Safe, Sweet One). Use saccharin, cyclamates and sugar alchols only as transitional sweeteners to those mentioned below.

* NOTE: If you are a diabetic, it is important to work closely with *
* your healthcare practitioner when you change your diet. *
* Diabetics can safely use STEVIA (listed below) and usually *
* small amounts of LICORICE ROOT and FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHRIDES. *
* Some diabetics who are allowed to use small amounts of *
* and also use small amounts of Sucanat or Florida Crystals *
* listed below. Please consult your healthcare practitioner. *

Specific Sweetener Ideas

1.

Sucanat -- Whole cane sugar with water removed. Still sugar as far as diabetics are concered, but it contains a small amount vitmins and minerals which helps reduce some of the negative effects found in long term use of white sugar.

2.

Barley Malt -- Some people are sensitive to barley malt. However, they may have been sensitive to the malt because MSG is often hidden in the "malt" in processed foods.

3.

Stevia -- From a South American plant called Stevia.
It is 300 times sweeter than sugar so it is used in extremely small amounts. It is used by diabetics in many parts of the world.
The taste of stevia can vary considerably from one vendor's product to another due to different growing conditions, processing, etc. Please try products from several vendors until you find one that you like the best.

4.

Fruit Juice

If you shop at a natural foods store, you will notice that many products are sweetened with fruit juice. R.W. Knudsen sodas for example taste almost as sweet as junky soda, but are made with fruit juice and carbonated water. So you get the vitamins and minerals and avoid the junk that usually comes in typical sodas. (I know, a little bit opinionated.)
Natural jellos can be made with water, fruit juice and agar-agar as another example of using fruit juice as a sweetener.

5.

Honey -- It may have contaminents, however, especially if it is imported. Be certain of the source and quality before using it regularly. Honey should never be given to infant and very young children.

6.

Rice Syrup and Yinnie Syrup are often found at natural food stores.

7.

Licorice Root

Licorice root is one of the most commonly used herbs in the world. No serious adverse reactions have been published aboutlicorice root.
*Single* chemical extracts have caused serious adverse reactions on occassion when used in medicine or candy, but the whole root does not cause these serious reactions. A single chemical extract of glycyrrhizin from licorice root causes the blood level of this chemical to rise dramatically. This does not happen to when whole licorice root is taken in reasonable amounts. See the book, "The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine" by Dr. Daniel B. Mowrey for a more detailed dicussion of licorice root.

Most herbalists believe that it is wise to avoid excessive and long-term use of licorice root. Many herbalists believe that long-term use can cause water retention and hypertension in some people. I use it in tea and herbal formulas often, but it *always* comprises less than 25% of the formula or tea (usually around 10%).
Licorice root is safe for diabetics, but I would *not* use it as a primary sweetener. Stevia is a better choice for diabetics, in my opinion. As an example, you may want to consider using stevia and also use fruit juice, small amounts of licorice root in tea, amasake, etc. so that you get variety in your diet. Licorice root is best used in small amounts to give herbal teas a sweet taste.

8.

Amasake -- Made from sweet brown rice, brown rice and koji (starter). The koji breaks down the polysaccharides in the rice to disarracharies giving it a very sweet taste. Most natural food stores have amasake drinks which you can try -- or you can make it yourself.
Try to avoid drinking too much of the amasake drinks made with almonds or nuts as they can be hard on the digestion.

9. Other herbs -- There are a number of plants which can be used as a sweetener. Stevia is just one of the more popular ones.
There are other herbs which are sweet and safe for everyone which will be added in the future as they become generally available.

10. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) -- Another very useful product for Candida overgrowth patients as it supports the growth of beneficial bacteria. It is a little expensive to use in large amounts.

11.

Gradually reduce or eliminate:

white Sugar

Brown Sugar -- Brown sugar is usually white sugar mixed with molasses or sprayed with caramel coloring.

Raw Sugar -- Raw sugar is often white sugar with coloring.

Fructose -- Betware the "natural" products with fructose. It's not much better than white sugar (IMO).

D-tagatose -- Far safer than neotame/aspartame, sucralose, etc., but best used as a transitional sweetener to healthier ones listed above.

Corn Syrup

Dextrose

Artificial Sweeteners (Nutrasweet (aspartame, "contains phenylalanine" on the label), Equal, Spoonful, Neotame, Sunette (Acesulfame-k), Splenda (Sucralose), Sweetener 2000 / NutraSweet 2000))

-- Avoid these like the plague. Please don't become a guinea pig for another poorly-tested toxic sweetener only to find out years from now that it contributed to the destruction of your health.

Important Note: MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) has some of the same toxicity mechanisms as the toxic sweetener aspartame. In order to cut out MSG, you need to remove foods with the following ingredients:
- Monosodium glutamate
- hydrolyzed proteins (any type of hydrolyzed protein)
- autolyzed yeast
- yeast extract
- caseinate (in many cases)
- "Natural Flavors"

MSG that occurs naturally in tomatos, cheese, etc. is absorbed and metabolized differently (safely) due to other factors in the food.

See the following web page
holisticmed.com

Critic Eye

In 1998 the EC Standing Committee for Foodstuffs concluded that Stevia, the plants and dried leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni was a novel food under EC Regulation 258/97. An application to market Stevia was evaluated initially by the Belgian authorities who recommended that the product should not be approved. The product was then considered in the UK by the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) as part of the approval process for novel foods. The ACNFP agreed with the opinion of the Belgian authorities and recommended that the product should not be approved due to lack of information supporting the safety of the product. This view was also supported by a number of other Member States.

The application was subsequently referred to the SCF who concluded that insufficient information had been submitted on the plant products with regard to specification and standardisation and that it contained no safety studies. There was no satisfactory data to support the safe use of these products as ing In December 1999, the Government wrote to companies known to be trading in Stevia products to inform them of the SCF's opinion and to advise that these products are not permitted for sale in the UK.

So, when it comes to aspartame and nutrasweet where the are at least hunderds of commonly known problems, everything is OK, and they can sell it. You know who. But when it comes to selling / importing a harmless herb, you can't.

This problem is getting Global and it is not only the UK or US that will loose this great herb because of greed (and probably other reasons) but soon the rest of the world too.


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