Welcome to the first of my series I'm calling "the sweet truth." For the next few weeks every Wednesday I will be sharing with you the research I have done for my family, regarding natural sugars and sugar substitutes.
I never questioned using regular processed sugar in our diet until my third pregnancy when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. After going on a very strict sugar free diet for 11 weeks I was amazed at how much better I felt. Even at 40 weeks pregnant I could tell the difference. My body reacts strongly to sugar. I have always been prone to bouts of low blood sugar where I get shaky, weak and grouchy!
Of course going without sugar completely is ideal but who can completely cut out all of those delicious baked goods (if you can, I applaud you). I have such a sweet tooth and I love to bake so of course my next step was to search for the perfect sugar substitute. I have tried many different things and of course I get excited whenever anything new comes out.
I will tell you up front that I don't believe that there is a perfect sugar substitute. Every one has pros and cons. I also want to preface this series by saying that I am not a scientist or a medical professional. I'm just a mom who wants to feed my children the best diet I can!
The first sugar substitute I want to introduce yo you is Truvia.
BACKGROUND:
Truvia was developed jointly by the Coco-Cola Company and a company called Cargill. It came out in 2008 and since then has become the second-best selling sugar substitute in the US (right behind Splenda). It is made with three main ingredients:
1. rebiana
2. erythritol
3. natural flavors
Rebiana is made from the stevia leaf by soaking it in water. This seems like a rather simple process and on the Truvia website they compare it to making tea. If you read their
patent though, you will see that it is actually a 42 step process, which seems far from natural if you ask me!
The next ingredient is erythritol. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, which means that it has chemical properties of both sugar and alcohol. It occurs naturally in certain fruits. Unfortunately, the manufacuters of Truvia do not create it in a natural way. One
article I read described the process like this, " Cargill manufactures erythritol by chemically converting genetically modified corn into a food grade starch which it ferments to create glucose and then processes."
CONS:
1. Although Truvia does contain stevia or a by product of stevia it has several other ingredients that are far from natural.
2. It is a fairly new product and therefore the side effects have not been fully studied. Some people have reported nausea stomach discomfort, bad breathe and headaches when consuming Truvia regularly.
3. It cannot replace sugar cup for cup. In fact, when baking you must leave at least 1/4 cup sugar in your recipe in order to have any sort of positive result.
PROS:
1. Very low calorie. Can be a great solution if you are looking for a low calorie sweetener to help you lose weight.
2. No tooth decay. Truvia does not contain the bacteria attracting ingredients that sugar does.
3. Small impact on blood sugar. Very little research has been done on this at this point. But so far it looks as if Truvia has almost no impact on blood sugar levels.
BAKING WITH TRUVIA:
As I said earlier, Truvia cannot replace sugar cup for cup. Their
website includes a conversion chart which is quite helpful. If using the packets, it recommends that 1/2 cup sugar be replaced with 12 packets. I have found this to be an effective conversion in my baking.
The most important thing to remember when baking with Truvia is that it cannot be used as a sole sugar substitute. You must leave at least 1/4 cup of real sugar in your recipe. The real sugar will help with browning, spreading and structure of your baked goods.
Truvia also requires a cooler oven. I suggest turning your oven down by 25 degrees and adding 3 to 5 minutes to the bake time.
In order to compare and test each of the sugars I will be researching in this series, I chose a simple snickerdoodle recipe. I chose this recipe because it has only a few ingredients and calls for just one sugar. I think that it will really show off the differences in each sugar I study.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
- In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and remaining sugar.
- Shape dough into 1-in. balls; roll in cinnamon-sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.
To compare here is the recipe I created using Truvia:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
18 packets Truvia
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
1 packet Truvia
Directions
- In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and remaining sugar.
- Shape dough into 1-in. balls; roll in cinnamon-sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes. Yield: 20 cookies
The original cookies contained 81 calories and 12 grams of carbohydrate each. The Truvia cookies contain 58 calories and 8.6 grams of carbohydrate each.
THE RESULTS:
The cookies have a pleasant flavor and texture. They are soft and slightly fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. The Truvia does leave a slight after taste that is hard to describe. Maybe a tad bit minty or even metallic, but it is very slight.
My kids loved the cookies and none of us experienced any tummy discomfort or headaches after eating them.
CONCLUSION:
I don't think that Truvia is the right sweetener for my family, although I still prefer it over regular sugar. Ideally, I would choose something that is made in a more natural way. I feel that this product is just as processed, if not more processed than regular white sugar. I would also prefer something that does not require adding white sugar in order for successful baking. I do think that Truvia could be effective for someone who was trying to lose weight or watch their blood sugar.
RESOURCES:
