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Nicole Tomlinson: I don't know about you, but I have a sweet tooth. Nirvana for me would be desserts 24x7 and I wouldn't get fat, or suffer for any of the other consequences of eating too much refined white sugar. Yeah, right, why if I told you there is a way we could satisfy our sweet cravings, and still avoid refined white sugar too. We will find some sweet alternatives on this episode of Zen living. I am here with Juice Maestro, Keith Wahrer of the Daily juice. What's up Keith?

Keith Wahrer: What's up?

Nicole Tomlinson: Cool, now we are here to talk about how to satisfy our sweet cravings and still stay away from sugar.

Keith Wahrer: Yes.

Nicole Tomlinson: Why is sugar so unhealthy for our us?

Keith Wahrer: It's been linked to various things including obesity, which is a major issue, as well as it causes problems like diabetes which is a growing epidemic in this country.

Nicole Tomlinson: Type 2 Diabetes is a trouble for a lot of people, they can't even have sugar anymore. So what can we do to satisfy our cravings and avoid too much sugar so that we can maybe stay healthier longer?

Keith Wahrer: Well, one of the things we can do is simply substitute sugar, in place use something more natural and something that would less effect our blood sugar levels.

Nicole Tomlinson: So all the things that we have in front of us are going to do just that?

Keith Wahrer: Yes.

Nicole Tomlinson: But this looks to me like this plain old white sugar, what is this?

Keith Wahrer: Actually this is -- it does look like white sugar, and it's something called xylitol, and it is a sugar alcohol. So it is a natural sweetener that does not spike your blood sugar levels and it's very low in calories.

Nicole Tomlinson: Let me take a little bit on my hand. Oh, it's pretty sweet. Yeah, it's like, tastes like candy.

Keith Wahrer: It does. It's -- maybe a little bit milder sweetened sugar, but it's a very nice flavor, so that's a useful product. Another good option is dates or date sugar. These are some dates right here. You've probably have seen dates before. Dates are great. You can put a date or a two in a smoothie and sweeten it. Another great thing about dates is it's a very high in dietary. So a lot of people will get their fiber from eating an energy product that might have dates in it. The next thing I would like to talk about is something as simple as fruit juice. It has lots of traced minerals and vitamins; this is apple juice. All of the smoothies that we make at my juice bar are sweetened with fruit juice. Another sweetener that I would like to talk about is Stevia. Stevia is also very low calorie, are safe for diabetics, extremely low on the glycemic count.

Nicole Tomlinson: So you said Stevia is an herb. Do you have Stevia growing around your backyard or?

Keith Wahrer: I do know people that grow Stevia, yeah.

Nicole Tomlinson: Well, what is the difference between the Stevia we grow and the Stevia that's in the bottle?

Keith Wahrer: This has pure grain alcohol and vegetable glycerine. My number one, all natural sweetener that I used the most is Raw Agave nectar. I use it in place of, let's say honey or maple syrup. It has a flavor that's somewhere in between honey and maple syrup

Nicole Tomlinson: I am going to take a big sip of this and hopefully I don't.

Keith Wahrer: You might want to take a small sip.

Nicole Tomlinson: Packed out from pleasured. Um! It does taste a little bit like honey, but not so much, and it's interesting.

Keith Wahrer: And Agave nectar has a wonderful flavor. It's very mild, it doesn't overtake whatever it is you put it in, it blends really nicely with things, it's great in smoothies, you can bake with Agave nectar substituting part liquids and part sugar.

Nicole Tomlinson: Well, thanks for showing us that we have so many choices.

Keith Wahrer: My pleasure.

Nicole Tomlinson: We can't deny our sweet cravings. I know I can't, and it's a relief to know that we don't have to. I am Nicole Tomlinson and from all of us here at Zen Living, thank you so much for watching. And we will see next time. Peace.

Nicole Tomlinson: I don't know about you, but I have a sweet tooth. Nirvana for me would be desserts 24x7 and I wouldn't get fat, or suffer for any of the other consequences of eating too much refined white sugar. Yeah, right, why if I told you there is a... click to read more