Artificial Sweetner of any kind....

mrsprincess07 said:
Raw sugar and raw honey have nutritional benefits as well; ranging from B Vitamins to anti-Fungal, anti-Bacterial, and anti-viral properties. Not all sugar is toxic. I wish that falsehood would die already.
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True! Also, raw honey (must be raw) will help desensitize you to certain environmental allergies. My dog suffers with environmental allergies and his holistic vet suggested I give him honey from local bee farmer. We get ours straight from the hive!;) The reason for local, is that the bees are collecting all the pollen my dog is breathing in everyday.
I'm not sure, but I don't think stores sell true raw honey. I think they have to heat it to a certain degree to kill bacteria.
 
And just to remind you all - the benefits of raw honey are destroyed over 38C (ie body temperature) - so don't put it in your tea or porridge! Save it for yoghurt etc - you want the enzymes intact.
The best honey is also unfiltered, so that you get the pollen as well.
 
Justinef said:
And just to remind you all - the benefits of raw honey are destroyed over 38C (ie body temperature) - so don't put it in your tea or porridge! Save it for yoghurt etc - you want the enzymes intact.
The best honey is also unfiltered, so that you get the pollen as well.
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Wow, thanks for this reminder, I did not know this about raw honey. I'm loving all the info & tips on this thread.
 
I also get our raw honey locally; she even makes soaps, lotions, candles (birthday candles too) from her honey and beeswax. I love all of those products!!! I love the beeswax candles so much I donated every non-beeswax candle when we moved. They smell amazing and are great if you are sensitive to scents. The beeswax furniture polish is fabulous too!

I eat the honey by the spoonful, especially when I have a cold, FMS flare up (twice daily) and when seasonal allergies act up. Our toddler although at home with me, occasionally gets a cold. She too now gets a small spoonful daily when she's sick or has a sore throat. It also does wonders when you have a sugar craving sneak up on you, dip in your spoon and enjoy!

I really enjoy Holistic Health and it's benefits! I am able to manage my FMS naturally without meds, periodically a tylenol for pregnancy back issues. Scatch cooking, baking, and soon gardening and canning along with keeping as much as possible local and whole has made leaps and bounds of a difference! in the next yr or two we're looking into keeping backyard chickens and a beehive or two.
 
fit44 said:
True! Also, raw honey (must be raw) will help desensitize you to certain environmental allergies. My dog suffers with environmental allergies and his holistic vet suggested I give him honey from local bee farmer. We get ours straight from the hive!;) The reason for local, is that the bees are collecting all the pollen my dog is breathing in everyday.
I'm not sure, but I don't think stores sell true raw honey. I think they have to heat it to a certain degree to kill bacteria.
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Most stores now only sell something called "Honey Sauce". There has been some movement in regulation as to what can be called honey and what is to be labeled "honey sauce". So many are watered down with corn syrups, sugar, colorings, etc. And like you said, many are heated to ultra-pasteurize them. Killing all natural health benefits.

Note to anyone that didn't know- Honey, true honey, lasts forever. there is no expiration date. Honey has been found in tombs from ancient Egypt AND it's still quite edible! It will crystalize, but if you gently heat it in warm water it will smooth out once more. It doesn't get much better than that!
 
mrsprincess07 said:
Scatch cooking, baking, and soon gardening and canning along with keeping as much as possible local and whole has made leaps and bounds of a difference! in the next yr or two we're looking into keeping backyard chickens and a beehive or two.
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That's how we started on our journey over 10 years ago - we now have a smallholding / homestead and we're 90% self sufficient!
To misquote Dickens -it's been the best of times and the worst of times ;)
Enjoy your harvest.

xx
(I'm off to help with the lambing now....)
 
vbrady said:
FYI, researchers at the Univ of Illinois found the antioxidant power of clover and buckwheat honey decreased by 30-50% after six months.

When Do Nutrients in Food Expire? (Page 5) | Eating Well
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Clover Honey and Buckwheat Honey are not the main sources any longer for most of the Honey crop. The state in which I live is the second largest producer of honey and the pollens come from the crops, fruit trees, and wild flowers. Some farmers have also had honey produced from sunflowers and flax. Clover is a dying, in many times, rare natural wild flower. It's been long considered a weed and has been treated as such.

However, antioxidants and "anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal" are two different things. You can get antioxidants from any number of fresh produce. It's the allergy prevention and healing powers in addition that raw honey provides.

Here's a great article about the numerous benefits of Raw Honey:

http://www.naturalnews.com/035493_raw_honey_health_benefits_antibacterial.html
 
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vbrady said:
Unfortunately, news has come out that agave is not a healthy alternative to sugar. Below is one of the news reports:

Agave: Why We Were Wrong | The Oz Blog
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Great article vbrady, thank you for sharing it. Quoting Dr. Oz: "When you eat fructose-rich agave, your body does not release nearly as much insulin as it does when you eat regular sugar. This can affect how your body releases a hormone called leptin, which helps to control appetite. At the same time, experts believe that fructose is converted into fat more rapidly than glucose is. This can lead to several alarming consequences."

I have found this to be true in my experience with all artificial and some natural sugar substitutes that are fructose rich including agave and stevia. I stopped using all of them and I either try to enjoy food with its natural flavor as much as I can and when I want to sweeten something my alternatives are brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, and molasses. Our bodies are made to process glucose better than any other sugar, it is the excessive amounts that make us gain weight and have blood sugar related illnesses, but like I said in my previous post glucose the main source of fuel for our brains, we just have to consume moderate amounts.
 
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MelanieC said:
I also just use Stevia because I thought its natural. I cut out splenda/equal etc and would never go near anything with maltodextrin. I thought Stevia was a good substitute. I'm so confused.
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Yes, it is confusing. Here are a couple of links to help explain more about stevia. I use it to make lemonade a few times per week, and I don't have any kind of negative reactions to it, but that isn't the case for everyone. I've also not had any negative reactions to aspartame or splenda, so maybe I'm just not as sensitive to artificial sweeteners as others. Stevia, in its raw state, is natural. It's the processing that makes it "unnatural". I don't know a single person who eats perfectly, so if stevia is one of my few "bad" choices (and that is debatable), and I have no negative reactions to it and am over-all very healthy, then I'm good with it. But its important to have as much information as possible so that I can make the best decision for me & my fam.

Sweet As Sugar Health Benefits Of Stevia And Xylitol - Life Extension

Is Stevia A Safer Sweetener? | Yahoo Health
 
vbrady said:
Another article about sweeteners, including honey, stevia, agave, etc. Dr. Mercola is controversial but worth considering in the debate over sweeteners.

Dr. Joseph Mercola: This Sweetener Is Far Worse Than High Fructose Corn Syrup
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That was a very interesting read! I learned a lot more about agave and think that regardless of someone's feeling about this Dr., he did a nice job of presenting the information and facts. I found it especially interesting that pregnant women should not consume agave due to an increased risk of miscarriage. I've never had agave and this is certainly something I didn't know. Sucanat however was something I was told to never consume in pregnancy because of the miscarriage risk it has; something similar to agave. Very interesting stuff!

I'm all for natural and whole. But it is also true that just because it's natural, doesn't mean it's safe!
 
Justinef said:
I guess the take home message from all of this is that we should all try to lose our sweet tooth!
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We should try really hard but still treat ourselves with sensible portions and make better sugar choice (glucose) venturing in the kitchen, instead of buying prepacked so called "low carb" snack:mad:
 
Baobab powder

While we are on the topic of sugar substitution.

I do use Baobab powder in my smoothies and sometime sprinkled over my cooked oatmeal. I will be using it to make an energy drink (with water and coconut milk yum) cause it does improve my energy. A teaspoon per day contain minerals I need for the day. It's 100% organic and not known in fitness industry as yet:cool::cool:

Here is the link:
Baobab: The ancient African fruit that fights diabetes | Health | Life & Style | Daily Express

Baobab: The sub-Saharan superfood taking Britain by storm - Mirror Online

Baobab health benefits » Superfoods and Supershakes

Oh I may add that a teaspoon is 4kcal ;-)
 
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