I’ve been thinking a lot about sugar ever since I made those awful cranberry sugar cookies for the work cookie exchange using stevia with whole-wheat flower and a reduced amount of butter. I’ve really started to have second thoughts about the use of stevia — which I use sparingly. I got started on using stevia over the summer for making low-calorie lemonade, but I really don’t like the taste of it, especially the after taste.

The truth is there is no free lunch, even if sugar alternatives claim to be low calorie. Stevia, while a natural “super sweet” plant, has that bad after taste. Monk fruit, another natural alternative, is often diluted down with erythritol, a sugar alcohol which has come under some controversy lately due to potential heart risks. Moreover, it’s not always clear that clear that low-calorie sweeteners are much better for you then high-calorie sweetners. Some say low-calorie sweeteners encourage increased “guilt-free” appetite, and some science suggests suggest that they still promote the overproduction of insulin and are nearly as bad for increasing the risk of diabetes.

I’ve come to the conclusion that non-fruit or vegetable-based sweetness, much like salt is something that should be enjoyed in moderation and occasionally. Sugar and sugar substitutes are on their face deprived of fiber and vitamins, which is essential for health. The fiber in fruits and vegetables makes the fructose digested much slower, it keeps you full longer, and you are guaranteed to be getting many important vitamins by eating real whole-fruit and vegetables.

When you want to bake cookies or make that occasional treat, maybe real sugar is the best option. Real sugar certainly is a cheapest and best tasting option. Maybe I should consider sugar combined with natural sugars like bananas and honey — so to moderate the amount of either cane sugar or sugar substitute used in food. Bake the cookies and desserts with whole-wheat flour, oatmeal, and other fruits and vegatables for flavor. All while noting that sugar is still high calorie and unhealthy, but it has a good cost-benefit ratio, for that occasional amount of sweetness used in baking cookies or that occasional treat.