sweet, but sugar-free's topics - tribe.net

carob

2007-02-23T22:41:39Z

Does any of you have experience of carob? I know people use it instead of cocoa because it doesn't contain theobromine, but I've heard that it's kind of sweet. So what does all ye sugar addies and other sensitive people here say about the sweetness? Does it affect you?

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 2 replies

No sugar for 20 days

2007-02-13T22:46:47Z

Does anyone have any advice for giving up sugar? By sugar I mean the processed kinds we normally have at home like white, brown, etc. Also the additvies in most everything like corn suryup, etc. I am going to try it for 20 days starting on Jan1. Oh yes, the sugar in fruit, alcohol, and other natural sugars are ok.

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 15 replies

Ice Cream

2007-02-08T23:37:29Z

There is an awesome brand of ice cream here in Eugene (and beyond I imagine) called Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss. Lots of totally delicious flavors. (They are also at the Oregon Country Fair). Anyway, I would exclusively eat their ice cream (all organic) but it's very expensive (for me). I have an ice cream maker and they only use coconut milk, agave nectar, and whatever the other 2, 3, or 4 basic/natural ingredients are necessary to acheive their fantabulous flavors. For some reason my consistency is off when I've tried to reproduce. The coconut milk freezes so hard. What am I missing? Is this the appropriate tribe to discuss this with?

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 0 replies

agave!

2007-02-04T23:10:15Z

i just got back from rainbow co-op and made an agave nectar purchase. i am going to make vegan brownies. can i substitute the sugar with the agave?
thanks.

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 7 replies

Good sugar substitutes

2006-11-27T01:12:56Z

Anyone have any advice for good sugar substitutes, especially for maple syrup and honey. Good stuff to sweeten up waffles and put in tea? What about that sevia stuff?

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 7 replies

eat more carbs!

2006-04-28T13:47:43Z

I made the title to get you to read it...
I posted this elsewhere in this tribe but it's so important I will say it again.
Eat whole grains! They are so good for you!
They have been unfairly lumped in with processed foods for a long time. It messes up those poor Atkins and South Beach dieters... what they don't realize is that if you constrict yourself to only Whole Grains you will not overeat them, because they fill you up properly, give you lots of energy and even parts of whole proteins- important for vegetarians!
Beware the trap of "brown rice" because not all contain the germ and so on... look for grains that say "whole grain" or so on. Watch out for Wheat Bread! Some of those are 'enriched flour' which is a crock of @$#%. You can't properly absorb what they stole out of it when they try to sprinkle it back on as a chemical.
Eat lots and lots of whole unprocessed grains; lots of whole rice, whole grain pasta, amaranth, quinoa, whatever you like! You don't need Atkins. You merely need balance. Yummy!!

Sugar addicts fall into the trap of trading sugar for white flour because they don't realize that it is also an empty food that your body whizzes through... eat whole grains, and only whole grains, and you will be amazed at how you feel. I used to not know or care; now I care, I don't eat sugar or refined foods, and I am slim without trying because real whole food makes you feel full and satisfied. go whole!

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 21 replies

sugar addiction

2006-04-27T21:04:25Z

hi there, i'm new to this tribe. i'm hopelessly addicted to sugar and sweets. i find that thats all i want to eat. i've been off "the white stuff" for three days now but i'm still craving it (although not as badly) and i've been having trouble because sugar is in places i wouldnt think of normally (pizza sauce, protein bars). why am i so addicted to this stuff?!

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 32 replies

Recipes?

2006-04-26T18:49:00Z

I've been working on a few and I've got a couple to share.

Fresh juice of one medium sized lemon.
1 tbsp of dried hibiscus, or 2 bags of red zinger tea.
32oz or more of refrigerated water
10-30 drops of stevia.

Make the tea with about 10oz of hot water, squeeze the lemon, mix it all up with cold water and sweeten to taste.

Very similar to the one above;

Fresh ginger or ginger tea.
Refrigerated water.
Fresh lemon juice,
Stevia.

Make a strong ginger tea and mix it all up.

Sweet toasted pecans:

1/2 lb pecans
1/4 cup of unsalted butter
cinnamon
vanilla extract
stevia
sea salt

Melt the butter over low heat put in cinnamon and stevia to the point where it is almost too sweet, add 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract and let the alcohal simmer off. Set aside

Toast the pecans in an oven at 300 degrees F, takes from 5-20 minutes depending on your oven and the moisture in the nuts. You must watch the toasting process about every 2 minutes or less, to check if they are done take one out and break it you will be able to tell by how it breaks how much moisture there is in it. once there is no or almost no moisture left they are done.

Put the pecans in a large bowl while they are still hot, pour the butter etc over them and toss to coat, add salt to taste. Let it cool and you're done.

Xylitol Halva

This actually worked very well though the lack of a candy thermometer made for experimental alternative.

This is the recipe;

1/2 cup water
1 cup xylitol
2 1/2 cups tahini

mix xylitol with water and boil to 235 degrees F

with the tahini in a glass brownie pan, poor the hot xylitol and water slowly into the tahini while constantly mixing, then toss it in the fridge and wait 36 hours for awesome halva.

you can mix chopped nuts, cacao powder etc into the mix too.

This is what happened to me.

Not having a candy thermometer I tried my hand at guesstimating and missed. The xylitol has to get hot enough to re-crystalized when it gets stuck in the fridge, that is what will give the flakey texture to the halva. It didn't harden so I stuck it in the oven at 250 and as soon as it was hot all the way through I put it back in the fridge and it worked. Interestingly enough it actually takes 36 hours to harden into halva, there are several very tasty softer variations on the way but eventually it does get there.

I tried The Stevia Cookbooks stevia sweetened chocolate truffles. It didn't turn out that well. I'll work on the recipe and get back to everyone with it in a working form.

Tomorrow I'm trying xylitol candied pecans.

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 4 replies

I don't like sugar

2006-04-23T20:20:44Z

I have never liked sugar or sweet.
Cheese has been my weakness, and my desire for meat has greatly diminshed.
I have never really liked chocolate, found it too intense a drug. I like it occassionally as a decadent treat.
I have had more of a taste for sour fruits and candy, mixed with sweetness.

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 16 replies

baby treats

2006-04-08T15:10:55Z

my daughter (2 years) is developing a demand for candy and i'd like to know how to dry and prepare fruit to replace candy...will the fructose be a problem even though it' s better than sugar?

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 13 replies

xylitol

2006-04-07T16:46:31Z

Has anyone heard of this substance/know anything about it/have personal experience?

I have a friend who was recently raving about it and am curious.

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 33 replies

Some thing more to think about besides sugar

2006-03-14T02:14:30Z

Hi all! Just something to add to the mix of things and it may have been said before (if so please forgive us). Simple starches become simple sugars in our bodies from McD's to Wonder bread and it's not just processed foods also. So what have you found that sets your body sugar off the fastest? And remember it's not just lintel soup!

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 3 replies

it has been said...

2006-03-09T22:32:03Z

¨you have a great diet..for a hummingbird.¨ yes, that was an observation of me, and although many years and habits have passed and changed since then, i do love sweet. even the word.

and so, i join this tribe in hopes of gleaning sugar-alternative recipes from all of you sweet sweet people.

in love and light,
karin

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 3 replies

without sugar is death?

2006-03-07T12:13:12Z

hey, i don't understand why you'd be wanting to go sugar free..... it seems like your body is going to take everything you eat and convert it to sugar anyways...... what is it...there's fructose, sucross, glucose, sogross, and toogross...

i've discovered the perfect solution. my guru told me that activating the salvatory glands in my mouth will you know, just ruin my teeth, so i've decided to stop ingesting everything through my mouth. I use the iv drip method for easy digestion, etc.

the best part is, i save time. all i do is order my needles online, and invest in saline solution, you know....and if i'm feeling sick or anything i just throw in one of those vitamin c packets.

now, i don't eat anything, i just inject it directly into my vains. woo-whooo!!!!

and the saline solution makes a perfect bong water

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 6 replies

yikes!

2006-03-04T11:03:21Z

i have been eating sweets like mad the last couple weeks. the other day i ate a whole chocolate bar. it was so good!

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 2 replies

sugar alternatives

2006-02-22T18:01:43Z

well, there is love. that is a good one.
succanot
jaggery
maple syrup
dates
fruit
stevia
grain sweetened
honey

i am not sure about all of these in terms of where they come from and what they are made of, and i am sure there are more, but i wanted to start a list.
what else do you know of?

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 32 replies

a very techinical account of how the body reacts to processed sugar versus fructose (natural fruit sugar)

2006-02-18T11:23:41Z

Processed Sugar Can Cause Addiction and Depression

Annette Nay, MS

Copyright © 1997

Processed white sugar has no nutritive value left. White sugar has been distilled from brown sugar which was distilled from molasses. The molasses came from sugar cane or sugar beets (Whitney, Cataldo, & Rolfes, 1991). Processed white sugar is an addictive chemical (Sheppard, 1993). Processed sugars such as white, powdered, brown, molasses, and even honey have had some or all of their chemical bonds broken down between their basic components due to the amount of processing . Processed sugars present as a simple potent sugar which is easily and quickly absorbed by the body.

Processed sugars and carbohydrates, which turn into sugar, cause a rise in the insulin level of the blood. This also raises the serotonin level, a natural mood upper in the brain. These sugars causes the body to have a chemical high, mentally, which results in a lift in mood. .

Continuous large doses of sugar and/or carbohydrates, overtime, usually cause the brain's serotonin sites to slow production or close sites to regulate the amount of serotonin in the brain. When the body cuts back on serotonin production it reduces the amount of serotonin available in the body at any given time. The lack of enough serotonin in the brain causes slight to deep depression.

To maintain a normal level of serotonin in the brain the individual must eat more sugar and/or carbohydrates to get out of depression and maintain a normal mood level. This causes a vicious cycle of addiction, physiologically (Nay, 1996). This is also directly comparable to the cycle that is developed after excessive dopamine is released into the body from the use of alcohol. Excessive alcohol usage causes many of the dopamine sites to shut down. To get the natural high given by dopamine the alcoholic must drink more alcohol to get the same effect (Shkurkin, 1994; Sheppard 1993).

Physically, the body has been given a massive dose of sugar that goes straight into the blood system. It is the bodies business to keep the body's blood sugar stabilized. The body injects a massive dose of insulin. Insulin tries to neutralize the sugar by acting as a downer.

The sugar's effect on the body is short lived and wears off within an hour. The effect of the insulin has greater staying power. It is there long after the sugar wears off. This causes another mood swing. This time the mood is one of depression. Physically the body experiences lethargy. This usually causes the individual to use sugar to feel better (Whitney, Cataldo, & Rolfes, 1991).

In conclusion, when processed sugar is stopped there are two chemical related reasons for the resulting depression. There is the glut of insulin depressing the system and the lack of serotonin in the brain.

Continued abuse of the body in this way can cause physical and/or mental problems such diabetes and some bi-polar disorders (Whitney, Cataldo, & Rolfes, 1991).

The difference between fructose, that is the natural sugar in fruit, and processed sugars is that fructose still has its chemical bonds intact. This causes the body to take a longer period of time to break down the different chemical bonds. As the body dissolves each type of sugar it is releases a moderate amount of sugar over time. This gives a continuos energy boost to the body and a slightly elevates mood (Whitney, Cataldo, & Rolfes, 1991).

To get away from sugar craving, or sugar fits, individual's can use fructose, fruit's natural sugar, to mediate the effects of the processed sugar or sugar substitutes. Natural sugars are not as potent as the concentrated processed sugars or sugar substitutes. The lack of concentrated sweetness causes people to favor processed sugars or sugar substitutes over fruit in sweetening food (Nay, 1998; Sheppard 1993).

After an extended use of fruit and an elimination of processed sugar or sugar substitutes from the diet, the body becomes more sensitive to the sweetness or the fruit. The fruits blandness gives way to enhanced sweetness as the effects of processed sugar dissipates from the body. The brain will usually register the withdrawal of the concentrated processed sugars as the fruit having increased in sweetness (Nay, 1998: Sheppard 1993).

The benefits of using fruit instead of processed sugars and sugar substitutes is that the body does not have to work so hard to control the mood high's and lows. The body is not addicted to the chemicals in processed sugar. This causes less chance of overworking the system which leads to body breakdown and illness (Rememington & Parent, 1983).

Chemical sugar substitutes are not good substitutes for processed sugar. They, like the processed sugars retard the bodies ability to lose weight. They stimulate the body's metabolism to crave more sweets (Baker & Baker, 1987; Rememington & Parent, 1983).

REFERENCES

Nay A. (1998). A Holistic Approach to Weight-loss. Unpublished manuscript.

Rememington, D., Fisher, G., & Parent, E. (1983). How to lower your fat thermostat. Utah: Vitality House

Sheppard, K. (1993) Food addiction. (2nd ed.). Dearfield Beach, FL: .Heath Communication, Inc.

Shkurkin, K. (1994, December). Master's class in Substance Abuse. Presented at University of La Verne: Elmendorf A.F.B., AK.

Whitney, E., Cataldo, C., & Rolfes, S. (1991). Understanding normal and clinical nutrition. Saint Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Company.

Annette Nay, MS

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 8 replies

Why sweet and sugar-free matters - to you

2006-02-17T17:14:54Z

Quick observation here, we are not all here with the same background, maybe not for the same reasons even. My personal interest in this comes from having looked down the barrel of the diabetes gun. When I realized I am predisposed to a high risk of adult onset diabetes and that I have all the symptoms of sugar addiction, something had to give. When a friend educated me on the low-carb path to breaking the cycle, I finally found a method that actually works for me. Having a reasonable sugar alternative plays a role in long term success of that for me, by reducing any feeling of deprivation in the satisfaction food provides other than functionally ingesting nutritional substance.

What I have found solace in, where I have found solutions, obviously illicits a completely contrary response by some based on their experiences and information. I do recognize there are other reasons to have interest in this subject. There is always information I don't have, there is always more to learn. Maybe my own preferances seem naive, even ignorant. The popular hostility to low carb is something I've learned to accept from the media at large (funded heavily by the trash food industry) and by most vegetarians (because of the obvious meat-as-food connection), however I was innocently surprised to find it so predominant here. The very people who have the most urgent need to think sweet and sugar-free also are likely to get the most benefit from understanding the whole carb connection.

So I am curious. What brings you here? Why are you interested in sweet and sugar-free? What does the subject mean to you?

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 4 replies

sugar's effect on health and immune system

2006-02-16T22:35:04Z

this site gives a really good overview of the glycemic index, how sugar affects the immune system and the body's production of insulin to neutralize the intake of sugar. most of it is geared toward people with high refined-sugar lifestyles, but i did not know a lot of the physiological reasons why sugar was bad for us. this helps explain it. and also that it is not a good idea to eat sugary food when sick, it also contributes to causing diseases. and honey is not much better than traditional white sugar. Wow.

sorry if i post a lot. when i get onto to a new thing i start to research it like crazy and want to learn everything about it and share what i find. hope you can appreciate such a thing. :)

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm

posted in sweet, but sugar-free - 6 replies