Do you use Agave or Stevia?

I use Stevia and it doesn’t seem to affect my blood sugar much.I put it in coffee :)

Both, but I like the taste of agave better.

I’m not sure that I trust this , but maybe it will help.

I don’t know about the sugar content, but I just switched to agave. It’s yummy.

I have used agave and did not like it. The recipe called for it. The next time I made the cake I used sugar and it was much better.

I use Agave regularly in my coffee, and like it just fine. It’s sort of like honey, but doesn’t have quite as distinctive a taste, it’s just sweet. I’ve also used stevia, which I don’t really care for, if you use too much, it has a VERY strong background flavor, at least to me, that I find quite bitter. There is a new product on the shelves called Truvia, which is made from stevia, and it seems to be much better than the stevia I’ve used in the past. I’m not 100% sure if it’s pure stevia, but you might check that out, I had it on strawberries and it was pretty good.

Another alternative is Xylitol…that is a natural sugar alcohol made from bark and corn cobs. It’s a nice sweetener and is getting easier & easier to find. I don’t think it has any off flavors (like aftertaste), although I do find that it reminds me of sugar free gum!

I love agave nectar.

I’m not on a strict diet, just felt like trying it. I’d use it more if it weren’t so prohibitively expensive.

@Seek_Kolinahr
You can get Agave at Costco or amazon.com. Costco price is best.

I use Stevia and have for a year or so. And like it.

I do not use a lot of sugar products of any kind normally (except to feed the hummingbirdss ;-) ). I have also heard Agave was good and low in glycemic index and I believe it is compared to others. Recently I also read that it was not so great to use.

Stevia seems to work fine for the few times I sweeten lemon juice mixed with sparkling water. Or on cereal. I like it alot. But Yes, at a higher concentration it does seem to have a bitter component. Like many things, it seems good in moderation and so far I like that I can sweeten something a little without the calories and the negative impact of sugar.

I use Stevia, and I have been using it for about six years now. But, the one thing I did learn the first time I tried it, is that it’s not meant to be used with Kool-Aid. So, now I don’t drink kool-aid. But I have yet to try agave.

I have used Stevia for years in some things and I like it. I use the liquid form. It is recommend for Diabetics so it wouldn’t have a negative effect on blood sugar levels. I don’t know what you think of Dr. Oz, but he recommends both of them. I haven’t tried Agave, but he says he prefers it for the taste.

“Many people interested in staying healthy have switched to agave as a safer “natural” sweetener. They want to avoid well documented dangerous sweeteners like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) but are unaware that most agave is actually WORSE than HFCS.”

—Dr. Jospeh Mercola

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I use good old fashioned cane sugar. In moderation.

@robmandu

Interesting article. Too bad the guy uses phrases like While agave syrup does have a low-glycemic index, so does antifreeze—that doesn’t mean it’s good for you. and Most agave syrup has a higher fructose content than any commercial sweetener—ranging from 55 to 97 percent, depending on the brand, which is FAR HIGHER than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which averages 55 percent.

The sheer idiocy of those two statements (what makes comparing nectar to antifreeze a valid argument? how exactly is 55% higher than 55%) makes me not want to listen to another word this guy says.

Which is a shame, because he makes some very good points later on in the article. Too bad a lot of other people won’t suspend their annoyance at the first few sections to read that far.

@Seek_Kolinahr, yah, seemed a bit preachy to me, too (otoh, it is on HuffPo)... but very informative on several points.

I got the following email from the ultrawellness cite. This Dr. Hyman’s cite.
Thank you for contacting us.

There are many mixed reports regarding Agave Nectar. Agave is still suppose to have less of an effect on blood sugars for those who are diabetic or insulin resistant and want a natural sweetener. Local organic honey is often a better fit for most people.

If someone knows they are sensitive to fructose (such as fructose malabsorption) this wouldn’t be a good option.

All sugar is potentially bad no matter the source. It is the dose that is the poison. Less is better with any sugar form.
Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Jody