canefan17
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 22149
posted
Someone emailed me this.... (I asked them about hypoglycemia and stevia)
canefan17,
I have struggled with hypoglycemia off and on since I was in my 20's. I find the best sweeteners are those which come from densely nutritious sources.
Using stevia *extracts*, I have found, tends to mess with my blood sugar as well. I feel that this is because most of the value of the herb is lost when it is refined.
Yes, just like white sugar, most of the stevia on the market today is highly refined or even synthetic.
So, when the sweet taste hits the taste buds, the brain is expecting some sort of nutrition, including some sort of sugar to meet its energy needs - then nothing delivers. So it acts like it is starving (because, in a very real way, it is).
Most of the early literature on stevia recommended using stevia *along with* other sweeteners. You can use a lot less of the sweetener, of course.
And I suggest hunting down a whole stevia product. You will know that it is whole stevia because it is green, not white. The whole leaf is very complex chemically. The extracts isolate one or a few of the sweetest chemicals (stevoside and rebaudioside).
Much like the issues with white sugar, white stevia extracts throw the body's systems out of balance - in the opposite direction. While this might seem attractive to those with high blood sugar, it is not helpful in the long run.
I will get off my soapbox for now. ;-)
Maryann
Posts: 5394 | From Houston, Tx | Registered: Aug 2009
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MariaA
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posted
Yes, stevia is known to lower blood sugar. I'm not sure it has anything to do with extracts or not, though- and the effect is modest, nowhere near the amount of change that you get (in the other direction) from consuming sugars.
Also, the effect is not about the sweet taste- because other sweeteners (like lo han guo) don't lower blood sugar and they are of course also sweet.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
canefan17
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Member # 22149
posted
What "densley nutritious sources" is she referring to?
Things like agave syrup?
Which I'm sure is totally off limits to lymies dealing with yeast.
Posts: 5394 | From Houston, Tx | Registered: Aug 2009
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MariaA
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posted
yeah, agave is pretty worthless- a friend of mine did a really rigorous experiment on his fasting blood sugar, and agave and pure sucrose (like from a chemical company) both raised his blood sugar the same amount. MAYBE it'd be different if he wasn't fasting or if there were a little fiber involved with the sugars, but I can't imagine that to be the case.
Anyway, the writer is probably referring to eating whole fruit or something- which IS a little different from a blood sugar spikes perspective, since you have the various forms of fiber to slow down your body's usage of the sugar (and fruit juice without the fiber is not the same thing) but from a candida perspective that probably won't help anyway.
She's off-base on at least that 'sweet taste' issue- I know of a few tests that invalidate what she's saying there.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
canefan17
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posted
Awesome. Thanks mariaA.
So is eating fruit with almond butter bad for candida?
I know sugar, fruit, yeast... but I mean a few slices/day? really?
Posts: 5394 | From Houston, Tx | Registered: Aug 2009
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MariaA
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Member # 9128
posted
Here's a blog that talks about this sort of issue- while this wasn't a super rigorous test (and he didn't test any 'whole leaf' stevia) it showed that in his case (he's diabetic) the change in blood sugar was slight. http://www.healthyfellow.com/255/the-luo-han-guo-stevia-experiment/
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MariaA
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posted
well, depends on how bad the candida is. Ideally you'd avoid fruit, but it's hard to do that and there are a lot of other good nutrients in fruit. there are lists of lower-sugar fruits (like some berries) out there in candida cookbooks and sites.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
MariaA
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posted
also, I don't know how accurate blood sugar meters are, but they're under $20 at wal-mart and on amazon. I've often thought about getting one just to keep tabs on the sugar content of some of the foods I'm playing with. My friend's agave experiment was a good example of a way to help sort out claims about 'safer' sweeteners, for example.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
djf2005
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11449
posted
Agave may raise blood sugar as much as refined white sugar but it comes from an all natural source and is better for the body; no doubt.
Cane- Just mind what you eat, but don't obsess about it. Your body needs sugar, candida or not.
Also, I recently came across some interesting literature which makes sense to me where a Dr is describing why it is *not* important to avoid foods w/ "yeast" in them when one is dealing w/ "candida" since most candida is not closely related to the "yeast" that is added to most floury foods.
Personally, I do not feel worse when eating pretzels, triscuits, and other flour based foods w/ added yeast and I am still battling candida I know....Sugar though, such as soda, etc, is an immediate flaring of symptoms.
If you want to read the book, it has a wealth of info in it and is actually one of the best books I have read the past 3.5 years.
"From fatigued to Fantastic".
Best
Derek
-------------------- "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."
posted
I have read somewhere (sorry I can't cite the source) that anything with a sweet taste has the potential to cause your body to release insulin. The existence and size of the effect varies from person to person. That would cause a drop in blood sugar that may or may not be noticeable.
It recommended that anyone with blood sugar issues should either avoid artificial and noncaloric sweeteners, or check their blood sugar to find out how it affects them.
-------------------- Don't forget to laugh! And when you're going through hell, keep going!
Bitten 5/25/2009 in Perry County, Indiana. Diagnosed by LLMD 12/2/2009. Posts: 756 | From Inside the tunnel | Registered: Jan 2010
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posted
I just saw an ad in Reader's Digest for Sweet Leaf stevia and it said it's the only one that has no additives.
here it is:
"Sweet Leaf is the only zero-calorie, zero-carb, zero-glycemic index, 100% natural sweetener there is."
"It's made by taking the highest quality leaves of the stevia plant and extracting their naturally sweet taste with only cool, purified water. No chemicals. No alcohols. No additives that cover up the great taste nature created."
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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MariaA
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posted
Actually, agave is no more natural than white sugar, and is sometimes produced in a process just like high-fructose corn syrup. It's mostly marketing that says that its 'agave juice boiled down' or whatever- the reality is quite different.
quote:Originally posted by djf2005: Agave may raise blood sugar as much as refined white sugar but it comes from an all natural source and is better for the body; no doubt.
-------------------- Symptom Free!!! Thank you all!!!!
djf2005
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Member # 11449
posted
quote:Originally posted by MariaA: Actually, agave is no more natural than white sugar, and is sometimes produced in a process just like high-fructose corn syrup. It's mostly marketing that says that its 'agave juice boiled down' or whatever- the reality is quite different.
quote:Originally posted by djf2005: Agave may raise blood sugar as much as refined white sugar but it comes from an all natural source and is better for the body; no doubt.
It all depends on the source then, like everything else. There is agave nectar that is easily located that is organic, and in a pure source.
-------------------- "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- canefan17 / maryann,
Someone emailed me that, too. It had no source link. No author. No documentation. Anonymous emails cause a lot of worry.
I checked it out for the person who sent me that - and it's not accurate. Unless you see exactly who the original author is, toss anything you come across. Even then, you'd want to know more about the author and their research methods.
The artificial sweetener companies right now want to discredit stevia.
I found some tests regarding blood sugar stability and stevia neither raised nor lowered it. Besides, if it does it for one person, you have to ask what was that person putting it on, that might have been the problem for them, not so much the stevia.
And, still, even with broccoli, not everyone can eat it. By the way, there are some good stevia brands that are not green. The green ones tend to taste "gamey" and the white works perfectly well for me in tea.
In my experience, Sweet Leaf liquid and also Trader Joe's pure stevia extract work very well. And I have a very low tolerance for anything that will swing blood sugar either direction.
As far as the comment that " the brain is expecting some sort of nutrition" - well, if we keep a balance of nutrition with complex carbs, fats and proteins, our bodies will have stability and should not be seeing stevia as food. In moderation regarding amount and frequency, it goes WITH food or tea (or lemonade, etc.). If blood sugar is getting too low, it's time to consume some good food. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
I'm sticking to my Sweet Leaf... but was curious about where in the world you would find GREEN stevia. I doubt it even exists and would be difficult to use in your tea! ( sure, I know Sweet Leaf comes from a green plant )
just don't think it's available to buy at a grocery store or online
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Oh, early on I got green stevia. It was sweet, but also horrid. My local health market had it as a supplement before the FDA approved it as a sweetener. This is a case where the green's gotta go. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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'Kete-tracker
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Member # 17189
posted
The local NatFood store carrys powdered green stevia. I bought some. It does have a strongish leafy flavor, but was told it works well for baking. I tried it in a good brownie recipe I like. (I used unsweetened Ghirardelli powdered cocoa) Came out pretty well. :-)
Posts: 1233 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Sep 2008
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