Sugar substitute erythritol
Jan 30, 2021 | 11:51 am
#1
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Sugar substitute erythritol
About a year ago, I tried a sugar substitute for the first time, Swerve Confectioners, to add to my carafe of lime or lemon water when I craved lemonade or limeade. When I ran out last week, I bought a different brand without reading either ingredients list. I used the new erythritol sweetener in my hot chocolate today - big mistake - it didn't sweeten and I ran to the bathroom about 45 minutes later. I get that same effect when I juice any fruits other than lemon, lime, or apple into my veg juice. I assume I'm sensitive to the sugar alcohols. When I get the chance, I will do some research on fructooligosacharides vs oligosacharides.
Anyone else have these side effects? Any food scientists out there?
Anyone else have these side effects? Any food scientists out there?
Jan 30, 2021 | 3:29 pm
#2
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Sugar alcohols have a laxative effect for most people when consumed in sufficient quantity. Never used the "e" one straight but my wife uses one that appears to be almost all "e" with monkfruit extract for baking, and it works quite well (we don't like N. American levels of sweetness) in baking.
Jan 31, 2021 | 6:51 pm
#3
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I braved adding the new sweetener to my lime water today, two spoons in a liter of water with four tablespoons of lime juice (big lime), and all was well. I think I added 4 or 5 spoons to my hot chocolate (32 oz carton almond milk), because it didn't sweeten at all and I added more. Does the hot beverage affect the ability of erythritol to sweeten? I dunno.
Feb 19, 2021 | 11:45 am
#4
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I went to replace a supply of Stevia this morning and read most of the boxes before purchasing. Some call themselves a stevia blend some just say stevia. Most had erythritol as a second ingredient. I didnt see any that were pure stevia. I ended up selecting one with dextrose as the second ingredient, mostly because I remembered this thread and didnt want to be running to the bathroom 45 minutes after finishing my iced coffee. Isnt dextrose sugar? How do they stay at 0 calories per serving? Why cant I find a box of pure stevia?
Feb 19, 2021 | 12:08 pm
#5
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I went to replace a supply of Stevia this morning and read most of the boxes before purchasing. Some call themselves a stevia blend some just say stevia. Most had erythritol as a second ingredient. I didnt see any that were pure stevia. I ended up selecting one with dextrose as the second ingredient, mostly because I remembered this thread and didnt want to be running to the bathroom 45 minutes after finishing my iced coffee. Isnt dextrose sugar? How do they stay at 0 calories per serving? Why cant I find a box of pure stevia?
2. Pure stevia is extremely sweet- something like 200x more than sugar. It's "bulked up" with starch or sugar so that it measures more-or-less the same as sugar. People are generally not interested in doing the math when they sweeten their coffee, not to mention that it's hard to measure out 25 mg (vs. 5 g of sugar)
Feb 19, 2021 | 8:01 pm
#7
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I went to replace a supply of Stevia this morning and read most of the boxes before purchasing. Some call themselves a stevia blend some just say stevia. Most had erythritol as a second ingredient. I didnt see any that were pure stevia. I ended up selecting one with dextrose as the second ingredient, mostly because I remembered this thread and didnt want to be running to the bathroom 45 minutes after finishing my iced coffee. Isnt dextrose sugar? How do they stay at 0 calories per serving? Why cant I find a box of pure stevia?
Do you use it in hot beverages?
Feb 19, 2021 | 8:12 pm
#8
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Feb 20, 2021 | 3:40 am
#9
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Thinking (way) back to my teens, I recall a brand of mint, sweetened with erythritol that had that cooling effect on the tongue. I dont think it stayed on the market long.
Feb 20, 2021 | 3:43 am
#10
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1. If something has less than 5 calories per serving, the manufacturer can round it down to 0.
2. Pure stevia is extremely sweet- something like 200x more than sugar. It's "bulked up" with starch or sugar so that it measures more-or-less the same as sugar. People are generally not interested in doing the math when they sweeten their coffee, not to mention that it's hard to measure out 25 mg (vs. 5 g of sugar)
2. Pure stevia is extremely sweet- something like 200x more than sugar. It's "bulked up" with starch or sugar so that it measures more-or-less the same as sugar. People are generally not interested in doing the math when they sweeten their coffee, not to mention that it's hard to measure out 25 mg (vs. 5 g of sugar)
Feb 23, 2021 | 6:41 am
#11
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I went to replace a supply of Stevia this morning and read most of the boxes before purchasing. Some call themselves a “stevia blend” some just say stevia. Most had erythritol as a second ingredient. I didn’t see any that were pure stevia. I ended up selecting one with dextrose as the second ingredient, mostly because I remembered this thread and didn’t want to be running to the bathroom 45 minutes after finishing my iced coffee. Isn’t dextrose sugar? How do they stay at 0 calories per serving? Why can’t I find a box of pure stevia?
As far as pure stevia extract, I would imagine that it's not as prevalent anymore because pure stevia has an unpleasant chemical-y taste. You may still be able to find pure stevia extract in liquid form (in a bottle with a twist off dropper) in the vitamin section of your grocery store.
Feb 23, 2021 | 11:33 am
#12
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About a year ago, I tried a sugar substitute for the first time, Swerve Confectioners, to add to my carafe of lime or lemon water when I craved lemonade or limeade. When I ran out last week, I bought a different brand without reading either ingredients list. I used the new erythritol sweetener in my hot chocolate today - big mistake - it didn't sweeten and I ran to the bathroom about 45 minutes later. I get that same effect when I juice any fruits other than lemon, lime, or apple into my veg juice. I assume I'm sensitive to the sugar alcohols. When I get the chance, I will do some research on fructooligosacharides vs oligosacharides.
Anyone else have these side effects? Any food scientists out there?
Anyone else have these side effects? Any food scientists out there?