Many of us are so attached to sweetness that it is almost like an addiction. While a dash of salt or a sprinkle of sugar can improve the overall flavor of our food, heaping it on is usually unnecessary and it can be deadly. It's easy to "sit on the sidelines and throw rocks" (Translated: it's easy to criticize.) The difficult thing is to offer a reasonable solution.

For people who want more sweetness there are ways to reach the goal without adding toxic chemicals or processed sugar. Here's a simple list of some relatively safe sweeteners on the left and those that you should try to avoid at all cost on the right.

Sweeteners to Use

• Stevia *
• Other Low Carb Sweeteners
• Evaporated Cane Juice
• Fruit Juice
• Rice Syrup
• Honey
• Licorice Root (small amounts)
• Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
• Amasake
• Vegetable Glycerin
• Sugar Alcohols (xylitol, sorbitol) **
• Maple Syrup (Without Added Sugar)
• Barley Malt 

Sweeteners to Avoid

• Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, Canderel)
• Neotame
• Sucralose (Splenda)
• Acesulfame-K (Sunette, Sweet & Safe, Sweet One)
• Cyclamates
• Saccharin
• Refined Sugar
• High Fructose Sweeteners
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (often found in soft drinks)

* Safe for Diabetics

** Use in Small Amounts & avoid if you have bowel disease.

Read the labels!

Processed white sugar is readily available and inexpensive. The more you use it the more you seem to want it. I don't recommend that people use white sugar. But, compared to the chemicals in the list above sugar is definitely safer.

The BEST solution is to NOT add sweeteners.

If you MUST, choose from the items at the top.