[noboat]

What's a good way to sweeten ice tea other than artificial sweeteners or sugar? Thks noboat

[Emland]

I've heard of people using honey, but that is just another form of sugar.

[firmbeliever]

-------------------
Sweet without Sugar
That list of the dark side of sugar was not supposed to discourage you from eliminating sweetness from your life. Nature has given us plenty of choices – sweetening alternatives to sugar. Choose from the list below to sweeten your coffee or tea. They even work well for baked goods.

Jaggery – is useful for curing problems like cough, constipation and indigestion. Jaggery, often called 'medicinal sugar' is also a good source of iron and helps prevent anemia.

Sugarcane Juice – contains Vitamins B and C and is rich in organic salts, calcium, iron and manganese. It is recommended for anaemia and jaundice.

Stevia with FOS – Stevia is a very sweet herb from South America that's available in powder and liquid form. FOS stands for fruit ogiliosaccharides, which are beneficial for and support healthy intestinal bacteria. Stevia has shown promise in medical research for treating conditions such as obesity and high blood pressure. It has negligible effect on blood glucose, which makes it attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carbohydrate-controlled diets. It contains zero calories.

Honey – can be used as a natural substitute for sugar in most recipes but as it is sweeter than sugar, less is needed. Similarly, as almost one fifth of honey is water, the liquid content of a recipe should be reduced by the same amount.

Honey also enriches and adds a subtle flavor to many savoury dishes such as meat casseroles, sauces and dressings. When used in a marinade, honey will help tenderize meat and while it is cooking, the honey gives a distinctive barbecue flavour to food as it caramelises.

Honey also strengthens the heart, and is a natural and gentle laxative. It is a blood purifier, prevents cold, cough and fever. Since, it is alkaline in nature, it does not produce acidity or flatulence.

Xylitol - known as birch sugar, can be used for baking and sweetening beverages. Xylitol is low-glycemic and healthy for you. It doesn't cause blood sugar imbalances or yeast overgrowth like table sugar. It's thought to promote bone health and prevent tooth decay and plaque buildup. The only drawback is that if you eat too much, you could experience gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea.

Apple juice concentrates – can be used to sweeten food.

Fructose - is a natural low-glycemic sugar that's found in fruit. You can also find it in granulated form at health-food stores. Fructose is sweeter than regular table sugar, so you need less. Research indicates that ingesting lots of fructose, as in drinking sodas and beverages sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, and using processed foods, such as syrups and candy that contain high-fructose corn syrup, can elevate the lipids that increase heart disease. So stay away from those syrupy and sweet processed foods. But you're fine eating fruit and using fructose sparingly as a sweetener and for baking.
----------------------------------

[firmbeliever]

------------------
Enjoy Natural Sweeteners with Your Tea

Why Use Natural Sweeteners for Your Tea?
The average American consumes 130 pounds of the white sugar per year – and other countries are not far behind. Excessive sugar consumption results in lowered immunity and can lead to increased rates of obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, candida, and a host of other degenerative conditions.


Artificial sweeteners can be just as unhealthy as sugar, yet there are many healthier alternatives in the form of natural sweeteners that you can use and enjoy.

Honey
This is bees' unique contribution to human happiness. Three times sweeter than sugar, pure, raw (unpasteurized) honey maintains its natural bacteria-fighting enzymes, is anti-fungal and anti-microbial, and offers many nutrients absent in processed honey.

As one of the most popular among natural sweeteners, it's a source of B-vitamins, iron, and manganese, and has recently been shown to contain a variety of antioxidants, substances that help the body fight cancer and degenerative diseases.

Honey is also easily digested by most people and has also been known to aid liver functioning, ease dryness and sore throat, and help heal stomach ulcers.

Molasses
Molasses is the residual product after sugar cane has been processed into cane (granulated) sugar. As a result, molasses actually retains all the nutrients which are removed when sugar is made; and the darker (or less sweet), the more minerals it contains.

Blackstrap molasses is the most nutritious form , with excellent levels of iron and calcium (a single tablespoon contains more calcium than a glass of milk!) and good amounts of magnesium, potassium, and B-vitamins. If you find the taste too bitter, blend with other natural sweeteners with it. Unsulphured molasses tastes best.

Maple Syrup
The processed sap of the maple tree has a sweetness comparable to sugar, fewer calories and more minerals than honey, and a distinctive flavor . It's an excellent source of manganese (a co-factor in many enzymatic actions in the body) as well as zinc (a key antioxidant vital to immune functioning and prostate health). The darker the syrup, the more its sugar has been concentrated.

Brown Rice Syrup
This mildly-flavoured, somewhat sweet liquid is made from sprouted brown rice. It is minimally processed and retains a high percentage of complex carbohydrates (unlike granulated sugar, a simple sugar) which means it is digested and absorbed more slowly by the body, preventing spikes in blood glucose levels and allowing a steady, longer-term energy source. It also provides potassium and some B-vitamins.


Date Sugar
Dates contain the highest natural sweetness of all fruits. Date sugar is dried, ground dates.

Though less sweet than sugar, it provides all the nutrients (such as iron, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin) and fiber you'd find in the whole fruit (10 per cent of the daily requirement from just 5 dates).

Since date sugar doesn't melt or caramelize like white sugar (helping a batter or dough to “bind” when baked), add other binders, such as additional eggs, when baking with date sugar. Or try experimenting with homemade date or other fruit purées, such as apple, prune, or banana.

Dehydrated Cane Sugar Crystals

Sucanat, a form of unrefined cane sugar, is made by crushing sugar cane, then allowing the juice to evaporate naturally.

The result is a dry, granular sweetener that can be used in the same proportions as sugar but which retains all of the original vitamins and minerals usually lost in processing, such as iron, calcium, vitamin B6, potassium and chromium (which can help to balance blood sugar).

Be sure to check for the word “unrefined” on the label; if the sweetener simply states, “evaporated cane juice,” it may still be highly processed or refined.

Agave Syrup

Derived from the juice of the agave cactus, agave syrup has been used for centuries South America and Mexico and is the basis for tequila. It's 50% sweeter than sugar, yet has a very low GI (glycemic index), so it doesn't cause the same spikes in blood glucose levels that sugar does.

In addition, the mild taste blends well with other flavors and natural sweeteners -- and won't overpower your recipes. Raw agave syrup contains inulin, a “pre-biotic,” or substance that helps to nourish the probiotics (good bacteria) in the intestines.


Stevia

The leaves of the stevia rebaudiana plant have been used as natural sweeteners for centuries in Latin America. Sold as an herbal supplement, stevia is 30 times sweeter than sugar, yet boasts a GI of zero (so it doesn't affect blood sugar levels).

You can buy stevia as a liquid or powder. While it adds great deal of sweetness to your foods, it cannot be substituted for sugar without greatly altering a recipe's texture.

Sugar Alcohols: Sorbitol, Mannitol, Xylitol

These sweeteners, technically polyols or sugar alcohols, are actually neither sugars nor alcohols. Derived from sugar molecules, they do exist naturally in small amounts in some foods.

However, the kinds we consume in sugar-free candies or desserts are produced in laboratories by adding hydrogen to sugar and are not truly “natural” sweeteners.

About half as sweet as sugar, polyols also contain fewer calories (about 2.6 per gram versus the 4 per gram of sugar) because they're difficult for the digestive system to process and aren't fully absorbed by the small intestine. And since they're not a source of fuel for the body, they won't contribute to dental caries (cavities).

On the other hand, their benefits come with a price. As far back as 1999, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) cautioned that amounts of sorbitol in excess of 10-50 grams could cause diarrhea.

This may also be true of xylitol, and in excess of 20 grams for mannitol. Because they aren't digested, sugar alcohols remain in the intestines and may cause gas and bloating as well.

This article on natural sweeteners was written by Ricki Heller, PhD, RHN, who owns and operates Ricki's Kitchen Cooking Classes and Bake It Healthy, Inc. devoted to delicious foods and baked treats free from wheat, dairy, eggs, or refined sweeteners.
--------------------------------------

[alkalineangel]

I brew my tea with sliced oranges and 1 clove. This gives it a sweet summery refreshing taste. Use as many oranges as you like - its to taste. I also like to throw out the oranges that brewed with the tea, and add new oranges to the pitcher when I let it cool... I just let them soak in the tea until its all gone.

[firmbeliever]

Al,
Did you know there are orange and strawberry and other fruity teas available?

Fruit teas - Orange, Passionfruit, Peach, Pineapple, Raspberry, Strawberry - Vanilla, Spice

[alkalineangel]

Yes, but they don't taste the same as mine ;)

[Emland]

Most of the natural sweeteners are still sugar - just in a different form.

[alkalineangel]

Very true...

[bushg]

Stevia is expensive, I paid 10.00 for 100 packets, but it works well and has no calories.

[nicespringgirl]

Just a fact, in Japan and China, the big tea countries that I've known of...
We don't put anything in the tea and it's always hot tea that we drink.

[lovelesspa]

Any fruit slices or sugar free additives, like cranberry juice, raspberry, etc.. Honey, of course blackstrap molasses, but all sugars are sugar, in fruit form or otherwise it's really up to your personal taste--experiment!!

[N0help4u]

Honey is good but the most natural sweetener is stevia you can buy it at health food stores.
Artificial sweeteners are really bad!