Has anyone used the sweetener Truvia and what did you think?

I haven’t used it but it contains Erythritol and I have tried another sweetener that contained that ingredient. I couldn’t stay off the toilet. Apparently it’s a sugar alcohol and can cause diarrhea. I know it did for me. I use pure Stevia from Trader Joe’s and I love it. It doesn’t seem to have any side effects either. It’s a plant extract that’s been around for hundreds of years.

Ah, thanks for the heads up. Compared to Maltilol, I can handle Erythritol, but I like to avoid sugar alcohols if possible.

I didn’t like it. Then again I don’t like any of those kind of “sweeteners.”

@Facade Just Tootsie Rolls, right?

@TheIncomparableBenziniBrothers Yes! :)

Is there a reason why you don’t want to use Splenda? I ask because my dad is diabetic and uses Splenda every day.

@poofandmook Splenda gives me headaches. Migraines actually. I even had to take a day off work after drinking something that had Splenda in it. No kidding.

I’ve tried it, and I didn’t end up on the toilet all day, but it does have an odd after taste. I prefer Splenda, or real sugar.

@poofandmook I do use Splenda. Because Truvia is based from stevia, a natural plant substance, which has no side effects or contraindications by itself, if it was not bitter, I would have been willing to try it.

@Marina: ah, okay.

I use both Splenda and Stevia. I grow and dry my own Stevia – it is quite simple. Stevia originating in China (the world’s biggest supplier) often has a slight “aniseed” taste – which is why I began growing my own. With regard to Splenda and some comments, I have seen here about people having diarrhea etc., in regard to any of the sweeteners – it is not an unusual reaction – for a day or two. Your body quickly adapts and is goes away. Animals experience the same thing when some things in their diets are changed. I like Splenda for taste – it is identical to sugar.

Aspartame is the one I avoid, it does not have a natural sugar taste and in me seem readily capable of triggering a migraine. It also has some very heavily disputed carcinogenic claims made about it – sufficient to have caused some governments to ban it.
As Aspartame is ubiquitous it was hard to avoid, but often when hit with a sudden migraine I would analyse my recent intake and discover that I had eaten or drunk something containing it. I now take great pains to avoid it. It does not affect my wife or daughters that way, but did affect my mother in the same manner.

@DarkScribe Where does a person get stevia seeds? Is it difficult to grow?

@Dog Where does a person get stevia seeds? Is it difficult to grow?

I buy it from nurseries that specialise in herbs etc., it comes as a seedling not in seed form. Its is as simple to grow as mint or basil – though it grows much larger. Once you have it, if you break off a small sprig and put it in hormone treated water for a few days, it will start to root and you can then plant it. You can buy it from eBay etc., but I have not done that. The source of my stock was South American – where it originated. It has been used there for centuries – back to Aztec days. Danish tests – small but still empirical – indicate it having very positive effect on type 2 diabetic blood sugar control.

(It is even sold here in places like Woolworths among their potted herbs.)

@DarkScribe That’s fascinating. I’ve been using it for years without ever hearing of anyone trying to grow it. Very cool.

I tried it and did not care for it. I have no problem with the taste of saccharine or aspartame, but I did not like the aftertaste of Stevia. I also don’t care for Splenda, though.

Are you saying that Truvia is not straight Stevia? I never knew that. I have tried Stevia from Trader Joe’s and by the Sugar in the Raw company and found it bitter in coffee and sprinkled on fruit, but it tasted OK in tea. I found the same to be true of Sun Crystals which is a sugar/stevia blend. I wonder of the tannins or another substance in tea removes the bitterness… :-/

@hearkat found it bitter in coffee and sprinkled on fruit, but it tasted OK in tea.

Stevia from different sources has distinctly different aftertastes. That is why I grow my own – I think that it is the way it is treated once harvested as much as the variety. Japanese Stevia and South American Stevia is tasteless – like sugar, many of the others have a salty-acrid or aniseed taste.

I ordered a jar of Stevia years ago when I was trying to get off sugar. I found that, like aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, it had an unpleasant aftertaste. Instead, I’ve learned to reduce my sugar intake.

I paid a lot for that damn little tub of Stevia too.

@DarkScribe: But ALL 3 brands tasted OK in tea, but not on fruit or in coffee, so that was why I wondered if there were something specific to tea that tempers the flavor/ aftertaste.

@hearkat that was why I wondered if there were something specific to tea that tempers the flavor/ aftertaste.

Probably the tannin. It is tart, but you expect it. If you pick up a cup thinking that it contains coffee and it has tea – it is about the only time you will really notice that sharp taste – because you weren’t expecting it.

i tried it too and found it bitter ; did not sweeten my coffee or herb tea the brand i tried was pyure stevia sweetener, it says its all natural and calorie free,, i’m type 2 diabetic..