In all my experiments with artificial and natural non-sugar sweeteners I've yet to find one that didn't:
1) leave a bitter after-taste in my mouth (that lasts for hours); and/or
2) give me severe (!!!) gastric distress.
I'm trying a new brand of stevia (Sweat Leaf) and it's almost as bitter as all the others.
I've begun to wonder if this is genetic, similar to the hate/love camps for cilantro or the hate/love camps for Brussels sprouts and other high-sulfer foods? Apparently not everyone thinks that cilantro tastes like soap the way I do?
The only artificial sweetener I ever liked was sodium cyclamate (the one calorie-conscious people went crazy over in the 1960's -- marketed as Sucaryl and in my favorite soft drink back then, Fresca) and of course that one was banned and despite serious questioning of the science behind the ban, is illegal to use in food production in the U.S. -- go figure. I could get sodium cyclamate in Canada, but the ban still makes me nervous.
As for the sugar alcohols (sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, etc.) anything ending in -tol is guaranteed to make me ill for 24 hours...or more!
I alternately accept my fate or experiment, depending on my mood.
Have you tried Truvia? It's been reformulated with erythritol. I can't handle sugar alcohols, but erythritol is different. Malitol, appropriately named, makes me ill. The others I metabolize as sugar & BG soars. Wasn't a fun lesson to learn. I've used erythritol for years with no problem. Stevia's so intensely sweet & bitter on its own & better combined with Splenda or erythritol. Erythritol isn't overly sweet & is 70% as sweet of sugar, so it needs a bit of extra kick from stevia or Splenda.
The only sugar-free chocolate bar that actually tastes like fine chocolate with no nasty after-taste is ChocoPerfection http://chocoperfection.com/. The company makes a sugar substitute called SweetPerfection http://www.lowcarbspecialties.com/sweet_perfection.html# that must be good, but it's $42.00 for two lbs.! Made from chicory root & a small amount of stevia.
What does aspartame do for you? Is that the one that leaves the aftertaste?
As for the "aftertaste", if I ever accidentally end up with non-diet soda, that's the stuff that leaves the aftertaste in my mouth. Ugh, that regular soda tastes disgusting. Probably has something to do with me being T1 diabetic since a kid and only ever being allowed the regular sugar-and-corn-syrup-packed type of soda when I was having a hypo!
LOL- a friend and I were just talking the other day about cilantro.. and how she thinks it tastes like soap, and I love it! Just made me laugh when I read that.
I love Stevia. I use the liquid form that is vanilla flavored and find that it tastes pretty good. I have never been a huge sweets person (probably because I was raised under the no-sweets-exchange-diet regime in the 80s). But I like the vanilla flavored stevia in my coffee.
That said, I also love cilantro and brussel sprouts.
I just don't like any of the arrtfinial sweethers (or for that matter sugar) I just don't use anything to sweetne anything I know I'm crazy on that. When I 1st got the D the drs back in the 70's told me to stay away from anything with sugar in it and I find that I still stay away from any sweetner too. Just habit to me now. Oh well.
I have to agree with the artificial and natural non-sugar sweeteners debate. First I bloat, and then it gets really ugly! I also cannot stand cilantro and parsley. They both leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
Yeah, aspartame makes my mouth feel bitter and metallic for four to six hours after I eat or drink something containing it. It persists even after brushing my teeth (haven't tried mouthwash yet.)
It must do a number on my taste-buds or it wouldn't persist so long. Maybe it's more of a food sensitivity or mild allergy?
I'm also histamine sensitive, so I'll get weird mouth sensations and my throat will swell up inside to the point that it's difficult to swallow from things like high-quality red wine (aged in casks), hard, aged cheeses, aged or cured sausage like pepperoni, tuna and other fish, eggplant, spinach -- I even have a mild allergic reaction to packaged eggs (like EggBeaters.) If I go to any traditional American food joint for breakfast (someplace like Denny's or Pancake House) I can't get omelets or scrambled eggs anymore because they use the cartons of pasteurized eggs. Two bites and my throat swells shut. Not good.
Well, let's add inulin (aka oligofructose or FOS) to the artificial or natural sweeteners that make me ill, Gerri. I'm not kidding, girlfriend. This stuff is like gut warfare!
I found a ChocoPerfection bar at the fancy gourmet grocery store on lower Queen Anne hill yesterday afternoon. I ate one after dinner and proceeded to have severe (!!!) gastric distress for 18 hours.
Ahem.
Yeah, I'm dumb as a box of rocks. I should have known better than to even try.
I'm not fond of cilantro (!!!) but I have the opposite reaction to the Brussels sprouts side of the debate. I love Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, collard greens -- lots of the high-sulfer veggies that other folks hate -- heck, I even like turnips, rutabagas, fried okra and grits.
But most artificial sweeteners just don't like ME.
I'm with LaG on the SA's. Aspertaine has always made me sick as well. NOW brand stevia extract has little or no aftertaste. The best by far is the chicory root blend. This same type of product is available at LC Foods for less than half the price.
I love Brussels sprouts and all of their veggie kin, too!
I don't have trouble with most artificial sweeteners but I don't consume much of any of them except in things like Diet Coke. I have used Splenda in baking and it tasted fine to me. I haven't found a supplier of Erythritol, though I've been looking for it.
My understanding is that there's a lot of pressure in the States to have cyclamate un-banned, Jean. In the meantime, if you come to Vancouver to buy it, let's meet for coffee, okay? :-)
