Re: Xylitol / alternative sweeteners

[Guest guest]

Leann,

I'm sorry to learn about your issues with sugars, and glad to learn that

good old maple syrup works out so well for you. However, if you want other

alternatives on occasion, I have two to suggest. Have you experimented with

Lo-han type sweeteners? We combine Slim Sweet with other regular sugars, to

reduce the carb count / glycemic effect. I sometimes use it alone, like

when I'm sweetening whipped cream " a bit " . www.iherb.com has a good

selection / prices on it. They also have other lo-han products, but I

haven't tried them.

Also, have you looked into WheyLow? http://www.wheylow.com/ it's a

low-carb combination of " normal " sugars that are said to " interfere "

constructively with each other's absorption... I've been meaning to get

their ice-cream-specific version to try this summer.

re: coffee sweetening. My dh has recently switched to adding (organic)

chocolate syrup to his coffee, in a effort to reduce the carb count without

having to go to drinking it black... Neither lo-han nor stevia work for him

in his coffee.

--

[Guest guest]

I am curious where these sweeteners originate from? (What are they

made of?)

Leann

--- In , " CF Beaver " <fletcher@w...>

wrote:

> Leann,

>

> I'm sorry to learn about your issues with sugars, and glad to

learn that

> good old maple syrup works out so well for you. However, if you

want other

> alternatives on occasion, I have two to suggest. Have you

experimented with

> Lo-han type sweeteners? We combine Slim Sweet with other regular

sugars, to

> reduce the carb count / glycemic effect. I sometimes use it

alone, like

> when I'm sweetening whipped cream " a bit " . www.iherb.com has a

good

> selection / prices on it. They also have other lo-han products,

but I

> haven't tried them.

>

> Also, have you looked into WheyLow? http://www.wheylow.com/ it's

a

> low-carb combination of " normal " sugars that are said

to " interfere "

> constructively with each other's absorption... I've been meaning

to get

> their ice-cream-specific version to try this summer.

>

>

> re: coffee sweetening. My dh has recently switched to adding

(organic)

> chocolate syrup to his coffee, in a effort to reduce the carb

count without

> having to go to drinking it black... Neither lo-han nor stevia

work for him

> in his coffee.

>

> --

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>> I am curious where these sweeteners originate from? (What are they made

of?)

>> Leann

As I understand it, lo-han is (from?) a Chinese fruit called " bitter melon " .

Here's what one of the product promos says:

" Lo Han Kuo is the fruit of Momordica grosvenorii, a plant cultivated in the

mountains of southern China. Mogrosides, which are water extracted from the

Lo Han fruit, offer a pleasant, sweet taste without elevating blood sugar.

Lo Han Kuo Mogrosides are up to 250x sweeter than sugar. "

I have seen, from promoters and not unbiased sources, references to

traditional Chinese uses of " bitter melon " for sweetening. Kinda makes me

wonder about the name though... If this were true, I have to believe it was

not in the potent extract form being sold now. I don't know how it was used

or whether it really is / was at all.

Slim Sweet says it is: " Ingredients: Fruit sugar, all-natural, low-glycemic

fruit glycosides, silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent). "

I remember seeing somewhere (maybe a label) that Slim Sweet was / is / used

to be made from an extract of kiwi fruit.

The gist of this " natural " sugar alternative is that it is essentially

zero-calorie, _very_ sweet for its volume, it's not a sugar-alcohol like

manitol, and that it has very low glycemic impact. However, the study

mentioned by Heidi about fooling the body with low-calorie sweets and

messing up hunger / satiety signals is important to note. I try to use

these sorts of things in place of regular sugar in baked goods and high fat

foods like whipped cream. I do sometimes make lemonade using it, but just

as one of the sweeteners, not the only one.

WheyLow is a combination of lactose and fructose and something else (I

think) -- all " normal " (except for having been isolated...)-to-the-body

sugars...