Splenda? Truvia? Sugar? Agave Nectar? So many choices!

What do you use to sweeted your food or drinks? And why please?

I'm trying to decide which is the healthiest for me.

Thanks!

Agave Nectar is just sugar. 

I prefer Splenda to most of the others, but everyone has a slightly different palate.  You could try a couple of different flavored waters that have different sweetners or buy a small package of a couple different ones. 

On the advice on my holistic nutritionist, I use Stevia or Agave Necter. I dont want to put chemicals in my body if I don't have too. I dont want to bash any of the other choices, these are the two I use. Agave Necter is great in cold stuff, protien drinks and iced teas. I use the little packets of stevia in my purse so I always have it. By the way I love the Stevia in the Raw brand best. They do taste different per brand so you might need to try several.

Dani

I use Splenda in my tea.  I found that sweet n low leaves a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.  Truvia doesn't quite cut it.  I don't like it but I don't absolutely hate it either.  Not sure about the rest.

I have always been a sweet n low person, but I bought some splenda today because most people rave about it.

Jenny

I've been doing some independent research on this too.  I've recently cut out ALL artificial anything from my diet and am eating all natural.  It I can't pronounce it or recognize it as FOOD, I don't eat it.  

Thought that stevia/truvia would be the way to go for sweeteners but found reports that is is processed using chemicals and can affect reproductive health.   In fact is has been used as a means of birth control in South America.   For the packaged Stevia/Truvia, they are only extracting Reb A, not using the whole plant as the indiginious people have been using in the anecdotal evidence for its safety.  For me, it just has not been on the market long enough for the long-term effects to be known and there are no long term studies available.  Same with agave - it is often chemically processed. Most available in the grocery store is refined in a way to produce fructose and processed through the liver, not through digestion.   There are some that are not processed in a way to form fructose so that they maintain the "natural" goodness of the plant. One is Madhava Agave Nectar.  It is not processed with high heat to change to chemical make up. 

A note on artificial sweeteners - they are not recogized by the body as "food" so instead of being processed through digestion, they are treated as toxins and treated by the liver. 

I use raw honey to sweeten my drinks.  It is natural and GOOD for you.  It has anti-bacterial properties and boosts the immune system.    

Let me also add that this move from artificial sweetners has not been easy.  The only way I was getting water was with Crystal light/no calorie drink mixes and was using lots of products with splenda.  Also note that I am not a scientist!  This are just my findings. 

 I use Splenda most often.

I love agave, but it is sugar.

I love Truvia, but it can cause gas.

I use Truvia or the generic Stevia...

Agave Nectar is the same as honey or sugar and can cause dumping or problems (if you've had an RNY).

Splenda is good for baking, but then so is Truvia/Stevia ;)

Warmly,
Jackie

 I use TRUVIA 
I can taste spleda equal all the rest of them esp, right after surgery now I can tolerate a package of splenda if I forget my sugar packets....

I purchased a cheaper version called Pure-Via  yuck.... 

If I were doing strictly healthy it would probably be Stevia.  Since I do definitely cheapest because flavor is not my prime concern, sweetening is my goal.  Sweet n Low has been cheapest so I vary between that and splenda.  Can tolerate any.  I like the taste of stevia the least but use it occasionally.  Go figure.  Never tried the nectar.
Z