Sweeteners

I'm discovering I do not do well with a few sweeteners. Swerve, Splenda and stevia are a no go for me. Xylitol is also a no go. I find it makes my throat kind of clamp up and it makes me cough.

The only one I've got left to try is monk fruit. A friend is sending me some.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't use a ton of sweeteners but I'd like to find one that's ok for me to use. I may be stuck with cutting them out.

I have agave syrup that I use if needed for baking.

thanks!

I use monkfruit (erythritol). I order it in bulk from Germany (I'm in Ireland). It's a little less sweet than sugar, so you use a little more. You can also buy it in bulk on iHerb, which is probably more convenient if you're in North America.

Because it's less sweet than sugar, monkfruit is often sold with in mixtures that contain stevia. Although I dislike the taste of stevia, the amount that they mix in is not enough to bother me. Nevertheless, I prefer to buy pure monkfruit. If you do dislike or have problems with the monkfruit that you get from your friend, make sure that it doesn't contain stevia.

I did a lot of research a year or so ago, and decided that erythritol was the healthiest of the alternative sweeteners. Although it ends in '-itol', it's metabolised differently, so usually doesn't cause any digestive problems like the other sugar alcohols can.

I also sweeten some things with dates. I use it in moderation because the flavour can overwhelm the smoothie or whatever you add it to.

Something else I use at times is insitol, which is derived from chicory (or sometimes other plants). It has a honey-like consistency and flavour.

Stevia isn't my favorite either! Thanks for all the information! I appreciate it,

Monkfruit is not erythritol. Like stevia, monkfruit is often mixed with erythritol, but you can also buy it regular, without that.

Thank you for setting me straight on that! I don't know how I got the idea they were the same. I just ordered some plain monkfruit to try; I'm curious.

There are a lot of alternative sweeteners listed on iHerb, including some I've never even heard of! Might be worth a look.

If you're not keto, you might try mixing things with fruit. While fruit contains sugar, it's naturally combined with fibre that helps to prevent blood sugar spikes, and helps you feel satiated.

I tried pure monkfruit once and hated it. However, I've tried the monkfruit/erythritol blend and I like it fine. But if you can't do Swerve (which is just the brand name for pure erythritol), then the monkfruit blend probably won't work for you either.

You might want to try allulose. I like it a lot, and the only issue I have with it is when used in baked goods it makes your stuff brown faster so you have to adjust cooking times.

I will look into that allulose, thanks for the tips, I appreciate it!

I noticed you had a vsg to RNY revision surgery a couple of years ago. I may be faced with that decision due to GERD. My first appointment with a new bariatric surgeon is in three weeks. I was cash pay with the vsg., if the doctor does recommend revision, any idea about insurance? Our ins doesn't cover WLS, but if this is a medical reason surely they will. If you did it for the same reason, did it help? Did you lose additional weight. What were the main differences between sleeve surgery and RNY? Dumping? I think a deterrent might be a good thing for sweets and fatty foods. Any advice and details would be greatly appreciated. Is this going to be a process to get insurance on board? Any regrets?

Thank you in advance!

My insurance covered bot procedures but fought on the initial VSG very hard. They gave almost instant approval for the revision.

With the GERD it helped so much. The recovery for me from the VSG was harder than the revision. I got really bad nausea and threw up a lot right after the VSG. The revision was a breeze compared to it. It helped immensely with the GERD. I don't regret it at all just for the GERD.

I also had/have a pretty severe back issue(two surgeries for that so far) coupled with some mental health problems that swirled into a perfect crappy storm for me. So it's been a journey no doubt. Initially I lost a little with the revision. It won't come off as fast as it did with your initial surgery. I never have reached my goal weight and it's all my doing for not using the tool. I'm also hoping to become more active once my back stuff gets better. The key is to never give up!

as for dumping...I have never had an issue with it like most people do. I some times get a little sick feeling if I eat to many carbs or greasy food. I've had a few moments of RH where my blood sugar bombed after eating something I shouldn't of.

wishing you all the luck when you see the new surgeon!