I'll answer all questions/criticisms in one post. I've been using stevia for nearly two years. I use it more than the other sweetener. Stevia is good to my tastebuds, but when I have company over or something, I use OptiSweet since it lacks stevia's slight bitter edge. As for Splenda, it was good to see the response. Thanks especially to Ben for the technical info. I plan to do a story on Splenda for the LCG newsletter at some point, so I need to do some research. It does scare me somewhat. Still, I wonder if it isn't a little less evil than aspartame. I don't touch that stuff with a 10 foot pole! I'm curious; 500-700 kcal of carbohydrates equals how many grams? I don't know if that's close to what I eat a day or not since I count total grams minus fiber grams. The figure stated above sounds a bit like French to me. I may eat what you think is correct. >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. And here's my humble opinion. I gave up pizza, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, homemade bread, corn on the cob, potatoes, even the such paleo foods as like bananas and pinapple which would cause an insulin rush. Then I went paleo and gave up dairy and peanut butter, which I love even more than dairy foods. I'm not complaining, but think about it; I've made MAJOR changes in my diet. I've also enjoyed MAJOR benefits. But I like a tall, cool glass of stevia-sweetened lemonade or a nice coconut milk pudding every once in a while. Apart from lightly sweetened drinks (lemonade, natural tea), a glass of which I have once or twice a day, I have a sweet treat maybe twice a week. Two oranges in a week. I feel no need to apologize for that. And I DON'T go on binges. One helping and I'm happy as a clam. I'm clearly doing something right. Dori ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com