WEBlue

Back in the UK I used any/all the sugar-free sweeteners in my tea (Canderel, Hermesetas, Splenda, whatever was cheapest). But in this country I've dropped the other kinds one by one and switched over to Stevia exclusively. I'm not sure why, but the other types seemed to give me indigestion at times. So far Stevia hasn't....

I know I should give up sweetening my tea & coffee. I HAVE given up sweetener-enhanced cold drinks for the most part. I used to drink a lot of that no-added-sugar squash back in Blighty, but since it's not easily available here I gave that up. Still need just a bit of sweetness in my tea, though.

Also, I'm extremely annoyed at how hard it is to find sweetener tablets here in this country. SO much more convenient, and much less wasteful, than the stupid paper packets!

Pulaski

I don't like the taste of sweetners.

I have cut out most soda and sugary drinks (including juice), and reduced sugar in tea and coffee to ¼-½ a level teaspoon in a 10oz mug. I drink maybe 3-5 mugs of one or the other each week, and maybe 1-2 sugary drinks a month on average.

Everything else I drink is water, milk, or beer.

Bob

Stevia, is hit or miss. Some brands are better than others, especially for the raw stuff. A lot tend to use fillers.

There's a real fine point between them tasting sweet and suddenly tasting like a horrid vegetable.

They aren't fermentable though, so I've tried using it as a backsweetener in a ginger beer...very inconsistent. Found out that pineapple juice also isn't fermentable and quite a nice sweetner.

petitefrancaise

Nope.

You're much better off learning to enjoy your tea without sweetness. For all kinds of reasons.
Sugar we all know now is the bad guy. Sweeteners aren't far behind. Soda is bad for you, full stop. It's acidic and the artificially sweetened ones just stimulate your brain to get you to eat real sugar.
If I make a cake or dessert, then I'll use real sugar but 1/3 less than the recipe asks for. No one notices.
I also have never allowed fruit juices in the house. Milk or water for the kids. Wine and coffee for me! My kids have perfect teeth and they are not at all overweight.

Mind you, ex-dental hygienist. My kids now thank me but didn't when they were younger

AdobePinon

I rarely use any, but it's liquid stevia if I do. Everything else tastes weird.

ian-mstm

Sheila and I use Splenda exclusively at home and in restaurants if it's available. We haven't kept sugar in the house for years now... indeed, all we drink at home is water, coffee, or diet Canada Dry ginger ale. My mom and dad used Sweet 'n Low, but I didn't like the after taste. I don't notice any after taste with Splenda. Mom and dad are dead now - but it wasn't the artificial sweetener that killed them.

Ian

ChocolateBabz

Hi my name is chocolatebabz and I use sugar, butter and drink soda

WEBlue

Yep, I haven't had a soda in a long time. I never did like carbonated drinks much. Water's fine.

And the only juice I drink is V8 (--diluted with water it's good); fruit juices of any kind are waaay too sweet.

But I do like a bit of sweetener in my tea. *Sigh* The one I use--Stevia--seems to be the only one that they haven't found dire things out about....but they probably will eventually.

And yes, many Stevia brands have fillers. It's a pain to have to read the ingredients on every box to find a fairly pure one....

Rete

As a diabetic I thought sugar had to be completely eliminated from my diet ... wrong. Sugar is a carb and you just need to make the adjustment in the carb column of your meal to stay on track. I use one or perhaps 3/4 of a teaspoon of sugar in my tea. I drink iced tea without sugar. I rarely drink carbonated beverages but if I do it is Canada Dry - Diet. Never use sugar in coffee. BTW my A1C number is 5.7.

I had tried all the sweeteners but found outside of Splenda they all left an aftertaste and some upset my stomach.

I neither consume beverages, cookies, cakes or candy nor bake many sweets very often. I have a favorite apple pan strudel that uses only 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

Regular sugar works for me rather than artificial sweetners.

mrken30

Manuka or eucalyptus honey for me for additional sugar. I don't add sugar to much. Black coffee, fermented sugar drink, kombucha/beer . I gave up soda after moving to the US mainly because of HFCS. And of course water and milk/milk kefir

tom169

No teaspoons of sugar in coffee, but I like the French vanilla creamer... Which I assume has sugar.

moneypenny20

No sweeteners. They're feral. If something needs a 'sweetener' I use Sugar. 'Full fat' Ribena and Coke when I drink them, don't allow sugar free/diet drinks in the house. The obsession of sugar being the devil incarnate is just barking however I admit my obsession against sweeteners is possibly ott . Like everything else - moderation.

KK85

My husband introduced me to those flavoured creamers, which I'd never seen here in the UK, but perhaps they'd just not been on my radar. They are aggressively and unfortunately delicious! I'm sure they must be packed to the brim with sugar, as you say, Tom.

I don't add any sugar or sweeteners to any of my drinks, and live off little more than coffee, water and wine. If an occasion ever calls for a bit of sweetness in a cup of tea, I've been known to add a teaspoon of honey. With milk, of course.

kodokan

Sometimes it's luck of the genetic draw. I have one super lean racing snake child with great teeth, and another who was almost 10lbs when born and has remained large-framed and 'heavy' since despite excellent diet, and also had virtually all her teeth repaired under a general anaethetic at age 5 due to poor formation of enamel.

I knew all the rules about only water between meals, not drip-feeding snacks all day and allowing no time for the mouth environment to stabilize its acidity levels, raisins are terrible, no sodas ever, my oldest child had never had a filling, etc etc, so it was one of the most frustrating conversations of my life - in French - to be lectured in a disapproving, judgy way by a dental surgeon half my age telling me to start parenting by cutting out her Cokes and not let her suck lollipops all day.

moneypenny20

Don't you love dentists like that! My youngest has enamel issues and it's most certainly not because of diet. Some dentists who call themselves gentle need to look up the meaning of the word.