Dori Zook wrote on topic Optisweet:


>A)  New sweetener is low-glycemic; sugar is NOT

>B)  May be 5g per tablespoon; lemme check

>C)  It's MANY times stronger than sugar; a mere 4 teaspoons gives the

>sweetness of a full cup of sugar.
>Even if it is 5g/tsp, a cup of sugar has
>far more than 20g carbohydrates.  Do the math.


Dori, I would like to mention a sweetener which looks very paleolike
because it cosists only from leaves: Stevia.
It's beeing sold as a tea, and the leaves can be used to make
other things taste sweet (much-fold sweeter than sugar).

But...
one thing i can't understand:
*Why* should one want to sweeten anything anyway?

The demand/lust/craving for sweet things is the expression
of the body *needing* carbohydrate fuel. The body carefully tries
to adjust the glucose level in the blood within a determined
range every minute of your live (homeostasis).

I think, if you answer sweet cravings
with non- (or low-) carbohydrate food,
only *tasting* sweet, then this will only increase
the cravings for sweets. And spoil your sense for food.
Better never sweeten anything, its extremely unpaleo IMHO.

I've too an explanation, why such sugar-cravings persist, even
after enough carbohydrates were eaten (IMO at least 500-700 kcal/day):
1.After sugar enters into the blood stream the body sets the signal
  for all cells to use it for fuel (burn it) and store it.
  The signal is insulin.
  After that *most* post-industrial western humans have a lack of
  thiamin and some other B-Vitamins necessary for *burning*, the only
  possibility is to store it as glycogen or as fat.
2.Since the body cells can't *burn* the fuel properly (because of
  B-vitamin shortages) the pathway to storage must be increased.
  Since burning doesn't help to lower the glucose levels in the blood
  higher insulin signals must be used to increase storage speed.
3.If the glucose levels come down, the brain (most expensive tissue, with
  priority and only living from glucose) has to signal further glucose
  intake -- sugar craving.
4.Proceeding with 1.

Foods with the ability to bring up glucose levels quickly (sugar,
white bread) will be preferred by the appetite, if the danger
of a hypoglycemic situation arises.
Too less sugar in the blood means brain cells are endagered to die.

Glucose levels going up quickly will result in a
quick and high insulin response.
This will accelerate the circle 1-4.

The only way out: a carbohydrate supply adequate at least for the brain
(500-700kcal per day) *with* the accompanieing B-Vitamin package.

All carbohydrate containing plants have (at least) adequate levels of
both,
when *unprocessed* (uncoocked), not leeched in water, not stored too long,
not genetically altered to contain maximum sugar levels
This is my supposition, and a number of tests showed it to be true.

Honey has zero B-Vitamins - probably they aren't vitamins for bees.

regards
Amadeus S.

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