Sugar Substitutes - Use natural sugar substitutes like Stevia for healthy baking

Hi, I am Raadhika. Let's talk about stevia & sugar alcohols. Stevia or Sweetleaf is the actual name of an herb, the stevia plant. Its leaves have twenty to thirty times the sweetness of table sugar. It is a safe, plant based natural sweetener with 0 calories and carbs and a 0 glycemic index. A few drops is enough to sweeten a cup of tea but you must like licorice as Stevia has an aniseed-like after taste. Just like everything, there are some concerns about using Stevia. Health risks like bloating, nausea, dizziness, muscle pain and numbness have been reported. There aren't enough tests to be sure that Stevia is safe during pregnancy. Sugar alcohols are not alcoholic. They don't contain ethanol. They are actually natural sweeteners made from plant and fruit extracts. Despite chemical sounding names like erythritol, xylitol and maltilol are safe sugar alcohols and great sugar substitutes. Erythritol and xylitol don't contain carbohydrates, so there's no danger of sugar spikes. So like stevia, they have 0 calories and carbs and 0 glycemic index. They may cause tummy upsets in some people. Maltilol, does actually contain carbs and has a glycemic index of 35 which is actually higher than another natural, low glycemic sweetener, which is coconut sugar. So you might be better off just using coconut sugar instead. Let's take a quick look at artificial sweeteners as well. Like sugar alcohols and stevia, they have 0 calories and carbs and 0 glycemic index. But they are artificial and can cause sugar cravings. The well known artificial sweeteners are aspartame and saccharine. Aspartame has to be avoided by phenylketonuria sufferers and saccharine was once thought to cause cancer. Why use artificial sweeteners when there is so much doubt surrounding their safe use, especially when there are so many safe and natural sugar alternatives out there? Thank you so much for listening. I hope you found this tip useful. I'm always happy to hear from you. So please contact me by clicking on the link below and I will send you my free book of easy health tips and delicious recipes for quickly-put-together meals. These easy dietary changes have made a huge difference in my life and that of my family's. I have a load more healthy eating tips to share with you so that you too can enjoy a healthier and more energised lifestyle. I'm really looking forward to sharing with you so much, much more. So click on the link below. Thank you, again, for listening. I really appreciate your time. Take care and bye for now!