Stevia sweetener now legal in the EU/UK.

**Bebop1980** · 24-01-2012 03:11 PM

That's great news. Due to the fact that nearly everything is packed with artificial sweeteners now a days.

**ben 21** · 24-01-2012 03:56 PM

off topic ever so slightly, how safe is sucron?

**NU_nutrition_TS** · 24-01-2012 04:08 PM

Quote

Originally Posted by ben 21

off topic ever so slightly, how safe is sucron?

Depends on how 'safe' you view table sugar (sucrose) and saccharin (sodium saccharin) to be - Sucron is just a mixture of the two!

**Zeigler** · 24-01-2012 04:44 PM

Quote

Originally Posted by hailtotheking

For cake cooking its not hugely expensive because to get the same amount of sweetness as you would from sugar you only need a third of the amount of stevia

This is true! Not 'expensive' by any means, but we're in hard times man, hard times!

I think most cake recipes would require a whole box though.

**hailtotheking** · 24-01-2012 05:47 PM

I find most cake recipes result in a product that is too sweet for my tastes, so i can get away with using less anyway.

**bigtanker198** · 25-01-2012 06:58 AM

just a quick question on this. im diabetic so i try not to use natural sugar i all ways used splender? whats the difference between splender and this? cheers

**NU_nutrition_TS** · 25-01-2012 08:27 PM

I had a look at this (Pure Via & Truvia) in Morrison's today. The granulated versions are bulked out with maltodextrin, which makes them both higher in sugar and calorie content (not huge amounts - significantly less than table sugar). The cube and 'stick' versions (of Pure Via) are bulked out with erythritol* (a sugar alcohol similar to xylitol) and are quoted as having zero calories and almost zero sugar. The other 'added natural ingredient' common to all is cellulose powder (basically plant fibre). If I do decide to use this stuff, I'll probably go with the 'stick' version of Pure Via.

* I posted some information on a thread on erythritol quite some time ago. As a natural sugar alcohol sweetener, I think most studies show it is less problematic (mainly gastrointestinal) than most other sugar alcohols in general use. That thread is here: http://community.myprotein.com/comme...-sweetner.html

@bigtanker198: The difference between Splenda and this (stevia-based sweeteners) is that the former is synthetically produced and has a chemical structure similar to weed-killers and pesticides, while the latter is extracted from natural plant sources**. There is a a fair bit of research out there on stevia use in diabetics and the products themselves are labelled as suitable for diabetics. They are also labelled with the warning (common to any sweetener containing sugar alcohols) 'excessive consumption may have a laxative effect'!

** The Pure Via & Truvia labels say that the stevia plant is steeped in hot water (like tea), which releases the natural plant sweetening agents and these are then extracted from the water (probably via some form of dehydration/distillation process).

**dayscott** · 02-02-2012 10:30 PM

will there be stevia on mp or not`?

**raceybaby** · 20-02-2012 01:00 PM

I've been using stevia and erythritol together for about a year now and have had great results with baking. Truvia does the same thing, but in a blend, but it would be great if MP could make these things available and also look at their flavoured products. Much better for you all round and very very lo carb!