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Healthier Sweetener Resource List

Before detailing the sweetener resources, there are two general
points that are very important to consider.

General Sweetener Points
------------------------

1. I believe that it is helpful to get comfortable with a number of
different sweeteners. You can focus on one or two main sweeteners
and use others to add a little variety to your food. For healing
and disease preventation it is preferable to use the safer
sweeteners listed below in relatively *small* amounts and primarily
not near mealtime.

2. I believe that while it is very important not to be too
restrictive in a diet, it can be helpful to use sweeteners that
contribute to health-building.

I am a big believer in gradually and comfortably moving towards
a healthy diet and lifestyle. See the Food and Nutrition article
on the main web page for more detailed information:

http://www.holisticmed.com/

3. Toxic sweeteners to avoid: neotame, aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal),
sucralose (Splenda), acesulfame-k (Sunette, Sweet-n-Safe, Sweet
One). Use saccharin, cyclamates and sugar alchols only as
transitional sweeteners to those mentioned below.

**********************************************************************
* NOTE: If you are a diabetic, it is important to work closely with *
* your healthcare practitioner when you change your diet. *
* Diabetics can safely use STEVIA (listed below) and usually *
* small amounts of LICORICE ROOT and FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHRIDES. *
* Some diabetics who are allowed to use small amounts of *
* sugar can use small amounts of Sucanat or Florida Crystals *
* listed below. Please consult your healthcare practitioner. *
**********************************************************************

Specific Sweetener Ideas (some ideas excerpted from my resource guide)
------------------------

1. Sucanat -- Whole cane sugar with water removed. You can
get sucanat products mail order from Purity Foods
(800/997-7358). Nutra Cane (603/672-2801)
distributes sucanat in the US. Also, a company called
Florida Crystals seels this product. Still sugar as
far as diabetics are concered, but it contains a small
amount vitmins and minerals which helps reduce some of
the negative effects found in long term use of white sugar.

2. Barley Malt -- Sunspire (510/569-9731) sells a malted
barley product. Some people are sensitive
to barley malt. However, they may have been
sensitive to the malt because MSG is often
hidden in the "malt" in processed foods.


3. Stevia -- From a South American plant called Stevia.
It is 300 times sweeter than sugar so it is
used in extremely small amounts. It is used by
diabetics in many parts of the world. Stevia books
and cookbooks can be found at:
http://www.holisticmed.com/books/bk_food.html#stevia
You can purchase stevia from:

Consumer Direct
640 South Perry Lane
Suite #2
Tempe, AZ 85281
(800) 899-9908
(602) 921-2160
Sells liquid concentrate of Stevia
from Paraguay.

Body Ecology Diet
1266 West Paces Ferry Road
Suite 505
Atlanta, GA 30327
(404) 266-1366
(800) 896-7838
Sells Stevia powder from China.

Richters Herbs
Goodwood, ON L0C 1A0, Canada
Tel +1-905-640-6677 Fax 640-6641
Info: info@richters.com
Catalog Requests: catalog@richters.com
Sells stevia plants

Stephen J. Marsden
Herbal Advantage, Inc.
Route 3, Box 93
Rogersville, MO 65742
Phone: 800-753-9199 or 417-753-4000
Fax: 417-753-2000
Email: Herbal@dialnet.net
http://www.HerbalAdvantage.com
Sells stevia powder, extract, and plants.
(Can ship same day small orders or up to hundreds of pounds.)
Dealer inquiries invited. Custom bottling and labeling available.
Free Catalog of herbs and spices.


Sunrider Distributors (SunnyDew - sold as a
dietary supplement)
(my favorite for taste)
---------------------
U.S.A.
1625 Abalone Avenue
Torrance, CA 90501
310-781-3808

CANADA
Sunrider International Canada
1438 Broadway Street
Port Coquitlam, B.C., Canada V3C 5W2
604-464-5018
604-464-5888 (Fax)

EUROPE HEADQUARTERS
Sunrider Europe, Inc.
First Floor
195 Knightsbridge
London, SW7 1RE
United Kingdom
44-171-838-0900
44-171-838-0991 (Fax - Distributors)

AUSTRALIA
Sunrider Australia
810 Princes Highway
Springvale, Victoria 3171
61-3-9263-9999 (Main Phone)
61-3-9263-9933 (Distrib./Orders)

Please see the following web page for offices
in other countries:

http://www.holisticmed.com/sweet/sunrider.html


Produce ala Carte
3425 Foothill Blvd.
La Cresenta, CA 91214
818-541-0492
Liquid, capsules and bulk Stevia

Cheryl's Herbs
836 Hanley Industrial Court
St. Louis, MO 63144
(314) 963-4449
(800) 231-5971
(314) 963-4454 (FAX)
email: pawgep@aol.com

The taste of stevia can vary considerably from one vendor's
product to another due to different growing conditions, processing,
etc. Please try products from several vendors until you find
one that you like the best.

4. Xylitol

Health Connection of Pocatello
http://www.mysweetliving.com/prwolf
208-221-8327
(Bulk xylitol, gum, etc.)


5. Fruit Juice

If you shop at a natural foods store, you will notice that many
products are sweetened with fruit juice. R.W. Knudsen sodas for
example taste almost as sweet as junky soda, but are made with fruit
juice and carbonated water. So you get the vitamins and minerals and
avoid the junk that usually comes in typical sodas. (I know, a
little bit opinionated.)

Natural jellos can be made with water, fruit juice and agar-agar
as another example of using fruit juice as a sweetener.

6. Honey -- It may have contaminents, however, especially if
it is imported. Be certain of the source and
quality before using it regularly. Honey should never
be given to infant and very young children.

7. Rice Syrup and Yinnie Syrup are often found at natural food
stores.

8. Licorice Root

Licorice root is one of the most commonly used herbs in the world.
No serious adverse reactions have been published about licorice root.
*Single* chemical extracts have caused serious adverse reactions on
occassion when used in medicine or candy, but the whole root does not
cause these serious reactions. A single chemical extract of
glycyrrhizin from licorice root causes the blood level of this
chemical to rise dramatically. This does not happen to when whole
licorice root is taken in reasonable amounts. (See Environmental
Health Perspectives, Volume 102, Supplement 9, November 1994, 65-68.)
See the book, "The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine" by
Dr. Daniel B. Mowrey for a more detailed dicussion of licorice root.

Most herbalists believe that it is wise to avoid excessive and
long-term use of licorice root. Many herbalists believe that
long-term use can cause water retention and hypertension in some
people. I use it in tea and herbal formulas often, but it *always*
comprises less than 25% of the formula or tea (usually around 10% ).

Licorice root is safe for diabetics, but I would *not* use it as a
primary sweetener. Stevia is a better choice for diabetics, in my
opinion. As an example, you may want to consider using stevia and
also use fruit juice, small amounts of licorice root in tea, amasake,
etc. so that you get variety in your diet. Licorice root is best
used in small amounts to give herbal teas a sweet taste.

9. Amasake -- Made from sweet brown rice, brown rice and koji
(starter). The koji breaks down the polysaccharides
in the rice to disarracharies giving it a very sweet
taste. Most natural food stores have amasake drinks
which you can try -- or you can make it yourself.
Try to avoid drinking too much of the amasake drinks
made with almonds or nuts as they can be hard on the
digestion.

10. Other herbs -- There are a number of plants which can be used
as a sweetener. Stevia is just one of the more
popular ones. There are other herbs which are
sweet and safe for everyone which will be added
in the future as they become generally available.

11. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) -- Another very useful product
for Candida overgrowth patients as it supports
the growth of beneficial bacteria. It is a
little expensive to use in large amounts.
You can purchase it from:

Allergy Research Group/Nutricology
P.O. Box 489
400 Preda Street
San Leandro, CA 94577
(510) 639-4572
(800) 545-9960 (info)
(800) 782-4274 (orders)

12. Gradually reduce or eliminate:

White Sugar
Brown Sugar -- Brown sugar is usually white sugar mixed
with molasses or sprayed with caramel coloring.
Raw Sugar -- Raw sugar is often white sugar with coloring.
Fructose -- Betware the "natural" products with fructose.
It's not much better than white sugar (IMO).
D-tagatose -- Far safer than neotame/aspartame, sucralose,
etc., but best used as a transitional sweetener
to healthier ones listed above.
Corn Syrup
Dextrose
Artificial Sweeteners (Nutrasweet (aspartame, "contains
phenylalanine" on the label), Equal,
Spoonful, Neotame, Sunette (Acesulfame-k), Splenda
(Sucralose), Sweetener 2000 / NutraSweet 2000))
-- Avoid these like the plague. Please don't become a
guinea pig for another poorly-tested toxic sweetener
only to find out years from now that it contributed
to the destruction of your health.

Important Note: MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) has some of
the same toxicity mechanisms as the toxic sweetener
aspartame. In order to cut out MSG, you need to
remove foods with the following ingredients:
- Monosodium glutamate
- hydrolyzed proteins (any type of hydrolyzed protein)
- autolyzed yeast
- yeast extract
- caseinate (in many cases)
- "Natural Flavors"
MSG that occurs naturally in tomatos, cheese, etc. is
absorbed and metabolized differently (safely) due to
other factors in the food. See the following web page
http://www.holisticmed.com/msg/ for more information.

Important Note 2: Please print out, read, and share the
following web page about Genetically-Manipulated
Food Ingredients as it is the *most important* food
issue of the 21st century:

http://www.soyinfo.com/haz/gehaz.shtml