Sweeteners for all phases

I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners like aspartame and Splenda. If you wonder why just do a google search for dangers of using these products and you will most likely choose to never include them in your diet for life. Here is one article to get you started:

http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/sugar-free-blues

Stevia is my sweetener of choice. I really like the Sweetleaf brand. It has many flavors and can be purchased from amazon, vitacost, and other places for a reasonable price. My favorite flavors are Vanilla Cream, Cinnamon, and English Toffee. I have also tried the chocolate and chocolate Raspberry they are good too. I plan to make my own flavored soda with seltzer water and the Valencia Orange or Root Beer Stevia's from Sweetleaf. I use powdered stevia from Country Life Natural Foods when I want a plain stevia.

I have tried xylitol and am concerned that it too may turn out to be a nasty "natural" sweetener. I don't think the health food society has really decided if it is good or bad. Here is an article about xylitol and agave:

http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/agave-nectar-of-gods


I have found that if I have too much xylitol in a day it does a number on my bowels. I use it in some of my phase 3 sweet treats, but don't eat it daily.

Many people are pushing Agave nectar as the new healthy sweetener. I will not use it in my house. Here is an article you can start your research of agave with:

http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/agave-nectar-worse-than-we-thought

In phase 4 I hope to be able to incorporate real maple syrup and raw honey. Both of which we harvest here on the farm. During round 1 I was able to have a little each day without any effect on my weight. Round 2 did not allow me to have any at all without a gain. Hopefully Round 3 will end with me being able to enjoy using natural sweeteners in small amounts.

You may have noticed that all these articles are from the Weston A. Price website. My nutritional journey began about 6 years ago when a friend of mine told me about the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. After reading it we started to clean up our diets of the store bought, processed, nutrient deficient but commonly accepted foods our society says is "healthy". If you have not ever read the book, it would be an excellent addition to your library. It is an educational tool as well as a cookbook. There is great info in it on everything from sweeteners, fat, grains, starches, and a proper food balance.