Stevia

[Verbohol]

Yes I read the book throughly... I am not sure if I understand about stevia.... I am aware that stevia is processed etc... but what about organic stevia leaf cut. I used that to help stop craving... I use to sweeten tea or whatever.

[Johnny M]

All nonnutritive sweeteners are out as they promote metabolic dysfunction. Unfortunately substituting sweet with sweet won't help you get over sugar cravings. It's out for 30 days. Other things will soon taste very sweet to you like carrots and strawberries!

[Lyn1]

I know. I'm also trying to wrap my head around the no stevia thing.

[Robin Strathdee]

This one is hard for many already "clean eaters" to get used to. Aside from any actual physiological issues that may occur, the bottom line is that stevia is used to either a) make things sweet that shouldn't be sweet or 2) make things sweeter than they are in nature. And, since one of the purposes of the Whole30 program is to reacquaint your taste buds with the flavors of real, whole foods, Stevia doesn't exactly fit the bill.

I hope that clears things up a bit!

[karacooks]

Stevia is no different from honey. It makes perfect sense to me. If you're not allowed honey, then why would you be allowed stevia?

[kayell]

Other things will soon taste very sweet to you like carrots and strawberries!

This is so true. I had half a Korean sweet potato (the starchy ones) last night and it tasted almost too sweet. Others confirmed ordinary sweet potato flavor. Eating this way wakes your taste buds up.

[Lyn1]

Okay, the re-training your tastebuds thing makes sense to me.

[Johnny M]

There is a roasted cumin carrots recipe in the well-fed cookbook. THe first time i made it a couple weeks into my whole30 i couldn't believe how sweet the carrots were. Amazing.

[1Maryann]

I had a handful of shelled almonds for a snack midway through my Whole30. I was stunned to find that almonds are sweet!

[Mare Bear]

I had no fruit for the first 8 days then nearly melted when I tasted a grape tomato!

[Amy]

There is a roasted cumin carrots recipe in the well-fed cookbook. THe first time i made it a couple weeks into my whole30 i couldn't believe how sweet the carrots were. Amazing.

Today is my Day 30 and I had this carrot recipe for lunch. I've had it several times the last month, but I kept telling my coworker how much sweeter it was today. She tried a bite and thought I was crazy. "They're carrots. They're not sweet." she said.

[Bucket]

oh crap. I just discovered that the tea I love lists stevia leaf as an ingredient. 

[jstutesmun]

I have a difficult time with this one but know it's a must! I have stevia in my tea for years and that's about all i drink. It's gonna be the toughest for me to overcome!

[WarmSocks]

I'm confused about why stevia is classified in Whole30 as a banned artificial sweetener. Some people have compared it to honey, which I do not understand, since the glycemic load of stevia is zero, while the glycemic load of a tablespoon of honey is 10. Our bodies don't process them the same at all. Our bodies don't metabolize stevia as a sweet.

Although I know that stevia is available in a refined, processed form, it's also available as a houseplant to just snip a few leaves off the herb and toss into your recipes with all your other herbs. There's nothing artificial about an herb.  If it's the fact that it's sweet that puts it on the banned list, then it seems as if other sweet herbs (ie angelica, lemon balm, violet, and bee balm) should be banned, too, but they're not. 

So from what I understand, our bodies don't process stevia as a sweet, it is a natural herb, and other sweet herbs are allowed but this particular one is not. Can someone explain to me what I'm missing?

 

 

[kirkor]

No one is baking paleo muffins with angelica or bee balm. You can't sugar coat the fact that stevia is a sugar substitute.

[WarmSocks]

But people do stew rhubarb with angelica.

And fruit juice is also used as a sugar substitute, but it is allowed.

[ArtFossil]

20 minutes ago, kirkor said:

No one is baking paleo muffins with angelica or bee balm. You can't sugar coat the fact that stevia is a sugar substitute.

You can't even stevia coat it! 

@WarmSocks, read Melissa's Sugar Manifesto. 

Quote

Artificial sweeteners are also commonly problematic, as they are hundreds of times sweeter than the sugar found in nature but lack any genuine nutritional qualities.

http://whole9life.com/2012/08/the-sugar-manifesto/

[manley0702]

On 2/4/2017 at 8:55 PM, WarmSocks said:

I'm confused about why stevia is classified in Whole30 as a banned artificial sweetener. Some people have compared it to honey, which I do not understand, since the glycemic load of stevia is zero, while the glycemic load of a tablespoon of honey is 10. Our bodies don't process them the same at all. Our bodies don't metabolize stevia as a sweet.

Although I know that stevia is available in a refined, processed form, it's also available as a houseplant to just snip a few leaves off the herb and toss into your recipes with all your other herbs. There's nothing artificial about an herb.  If it's the fact that it's sweet that puts it on the banned list, then it seems as if other sweet herbs (ie angelica, lemon balm, violet, and bee balm) should be banned, too, but they're not. 

So from what I understand, our bodies don't process stevia as a sweet, it is a natural herb, and other sweet herbs are allowed but this particular one is not. Can someone explain to me what I'm missing?

 

 

1. People stress things like "glycemic load", but that's pretty irrelevant for the purposes of Whole30. I mean, practically if you're trying to lose weight, you should limit your sugars, but that's not a Whole30 concept. That's a concept you structure your Whole30 around.Both honey and stevia are used specifically for sweetening food that isn't naturally sweet so they're treated equally.

2. I actually agree with you on the fruit juice though the Hartwigs seem to admit that fruit juice as a sweetener is more of the exception than the rule. In other words, they're throwing you a bone with that. Instead of asking for more bones, just be happy they gave you something    Personally, I don't use fruit juice as a sweetener (except that I drink LaCroix) because it feels like cheating to me.

[Haystackcabin]

You know, if you eat stevia on Whole 30, it’s not like you forfeit your tax return for the next 10 years. I enjoy whole 30, but I don’t need the Hartwigs to “throw me a bone”. You are in charge of your own well being, after all. I’d rather not have dates and fruit juice and use stevia instead, and that’s what I will do on my tweaked Whole 30.

[SugarcubeOD]

2 minutes ago, Haystackcabin said:

You know, if you eat stevia on Whole 30, it’s not like you forfeit your tax return for the next 10 years. I enjoy whole 30, but I don’t need the Hartwigs to “throw me a bone”. You are in charge of your own well being, after all. I’d rather not have dates and fruit juice and use stevia instead, and that’s what I will do on my tweaked Whole 30.

If you choose not to follow the rules of the program, you're an adult and that's your prerogative but please don't come on the main boards and encourage people to rebuff the rules because you don't like them.

[laura_juggles]

You don't need to have dates or fruit juice or stevia to do a really successful Whole30. 

Cut out the stevia and other sweeteners for 30 days and see how your tastebuds change. It happens (happened to me); look at the people posting in the thread above you who said the same thing. Your body may not process stevia like it does sugar with the corresponding blood sugar spike and whatnot, but your brain processes it the same as sugar. It's sweet, I like sweet, give me more.