To sweeten or not to sweeten?

In my teens!
That's when I started consuming artificial sweeteners! Diet Coke became my favorite drink, and I had a passion for finding drinks and foods carrying the "diet" label on it. This was my effort to get in shape. I was mostly exposed to Aspartame (Equal) and Saccharin (Sweet'n Low). Sucralose (Splenda) came a few years later.

Well, forward quite a few years later, here I am today: I still enjoy my Diet Coke, although I may prefer Diet Pepsi. Not so hooked on artificial sweeteners at all, though. Nowadays I think a lot more about my health and the health of my family.

So I switched to Stevia!
Can't find Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi made with Stevia, but that's quite alright with me. I've been using Stevia to sweeten my coffee, occasionally to sweeten my hot tea, oatmeal, shakes, smoothies and sometimes fruit salads.

Do you know what Stevia is?
Have a look at the picture below:

Stevia is a plant grown in South America, which has been used by South Americans as a sweetener for hundreds of years! Before the FDA allowed it to be widely sold as we know it nowadays in supermarkets all around, it was sold and used mostly as a dietary supplement. Only in 2008 was Stevia granted the status of "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) by the FDA: mainly, one of the naturally occurring chemicals in Stevia, rebaudioside A, which plays a big part in "sweetening", was considered generally safe for consumption.

This sweetener is a non-caloric natural sweetener. It has a slightly bitter taste, but honestly, I don't mind it one bit. My quest is, however, to make sure I buy the purest form of Stevia available. And that's when marketing tricks us. Just because it's Stevia, it's not always all natural and pure. READ THE LABEL.

I used to buy "Truvia" (see picture), but switched over to Stevia in the Raw (also in picture), because Truvia contains an additional sugar alcohol that could have different (negative) effects on some people. It contains erythritol.
So, I immediately turned to the next available Stevia in my supermarket: "Stevia in the Raw".
Well, it contains Dextrose, a form of glucose, or, simply, a form of sugar. I thought this was at least better than a sugar alcohol like the one in TRuvia. Still not so satisfied with the lack of purity available, I researched online, and came across this option: "KAL Pure Stevia" (picture below).

I read many reviews and decided I will give this one a try. I will buy it at my local Vitamin Shoppe and will report back to you soon. Apparently, this is truly pure Stevia, sweetening more for less. Let's see! Bottom line is: Read the labels! My goal is to find good choices for my family! Not always is it possible to avoid Splenda, Aspartame or Saccharin, but we can try as much as possible. For now, I've been carrying little "Stevia in the Raw" packets in my purse, and use this in my coffees I get around town. At least it IS more natural than the other sugar substitutes, and that matters to me!