Alternative Sweeteners ... Are They Worth Trying?

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Have you noticed there is a sweetener revolution going on? A friend stopped by my office recently and asked, “Have you heard about the controversy about agave – that it might not be as healthy as we thought?” Another friend emailed me about stevia, Reb-A, asking me if I thought it is safe to eat.

These questions aren’t new. When I first published my book (Eating Between the Lines) and was on tour, the most common question from the audience was about alternative and artificial sweeteners. Invariably one passionate person (bordering on heckling) steamed up if I didn’t place NutraSweet on the same order as nerve gas.

Personally, I avoid the stuff, but at the time and as an investigative journalist my experience found the damning evidence suspicious and muddled, but not undoubtedly proven ... yet. And rather than fight city hall, in my opinion, the best way to get ingredients like these off the market is to develop better ones.

What to look for on store shelves

That was 2007 and a lot has changed. I recently worked on some new recipes for a healthy foods magazine, played with a few new sweeteners and some old standbys that were surprisingly fun and easy to work with. While I can’t yet reveal the recipes, I can give you a few tips and new ingredients to look for on store shelves. For more on the scientific side of alternative sweeteners, see this article by my friend and functional-ingredient expert, Todd Runestad.

Kimberly Stewart can be reached at eatingbetweenthelines@gmail.com

Read Kimberly Stewart's next blog, Will the Health Reform Bill Reform the Health of the Nation?, here and the rest of her blogs here.

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