Help!!!! New Year's Resolution Dilema! Vegan Crisis!?!
Answers: Ok. Ok. So I'm a vegan, and now I'm trying to totally leave sugar & salt alone for 2008. One problem though, I absolutely LOVE HERBAL TEA. I must drink at least four cups a day. Tell me there's another way to sweeten my tea. Don't mention honey (I'm vegan), is there another alternative?
STEVIA! Ever since I discovered this, it is the only thing I use to sweeten my tea and coffee.
Skully, please don't be so unhelpful and manipulative. Regarding the FDA, it didn't say that stevia was harmful. All it says is that stevia has not been proven to be harmless. There is a key difference between the two statements. For that matter, sugar, honey and aspartame have not been proven "harmless" either. No food is "harmless", except water.
http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/1999/69...
"And no one has ever provided FDA with adequate evidence that the substance is safe."
I have some more information here:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...
you can buy equal packets their not real sugar but taste like it
Some herbals are so flavorful that they seem "sweet". Sometimes they are called "infused". Try Bengal Spice or Apple Cinnamon from Celestial Seasonings. Maybe you won't even want sweetener.
Try stevia extract, it's pretty much calorie free and it's extremely sweet. You can get steevia at health food stores.
Here's some more info on stevia:
http://www.stevia.com/
STEVIA, made from plants all natural doesn't react like sugar or honey in the body. It's portable has both liquid & powder form ~ I have it in my purse. The cheaper stuff has a bit of a after taste but the better quality does not. I find it at my health food section of my regular grocery store. But I know for sure you can get in at your health food store.
Here's a site with more info ~
http://www.stevia.net/
Slainté (to your health)
You might look at the approved sugar substitutes like, Equal, Splendid, Sweet 'n Low as opposed to "Stevia" which has a warning letter issued against its use by your own FDA. Also there is another citing ....Toskulkao, C., et al. 1997. Acute toxicity of stevioside, a natural sweetener, and its metabolite, steviol, in several animal species, Drug Chem. Toxicol. 20 (31): 31-44 . . . related to toxicity in animal testing.
One must remember that just because indigenous people use a particular herb or food doesn't mean we will use it in the same way or have the tolerance to combat any ill effects.
Stick with the proven sugar substitutes and be safe since you don't see the ethical and dietary logic of eating that wonderful and complete food ... honey.
the body does need some salt and a little raw sugar for energy sake is ok....
do not go too far...and why not honey?? it is a perfect food that has many health benefits ....
You can try a little corn syrup. It's thick and sweet like honey, but it isn't an animal product. However, it is high calorie.
There are all kinds of sugar substitutes (as people have posted above).
I think it's a good idea to decrease salt intake, but it really isn't necessary to cut out sugar completely, especially with something as good for you as tea.