Sweeteners ...Why I use Stevia and Erythritol

When I cook I and I need a sweetener, I try to avoid artificial sweeteners as far as practically possible. I always read the labels of any product that claims to be sugar free in detail. It is very seldom that one would find a product (especially mass produced) that uses erythritol or stevia and sometimes one compromises a little bit. In general, my rule is to avoid artificial sweeteners completely and my preference of use is stevia, erythritol and then xylitol if no other option is available. Stevia of course is risky, as it easily "tastes" artificial, so I generally blend stevia and erythritol to achieve my desired sweetness. A good ratio for me seems to be 1.3 cup of erythritol to 1/2 a tablespoon of stevia powder. This seems to prevent the food tasting like stevia-sweetened food.

Why do I prefer erythritol and stevia? Here is some of the pros and cons summarized.

• Xylitol is toxic for pets so I am always paranoid when using it that the dogs get hold of the bowls and the food. 
• Erythritol and stevia both have virtually no insulin response for people like me, this is important
• Xylitol tastes very much like sugar, whilst erythritol is slightly less "sweet" which is fine for me because we've been sugarless for so long now that really sweet stuff tastes nasty to me.
• Erythritol is more expensive than xylitol (and less accessible) so this is an issue for some people. Personally I try to limit my sweet stuff consumption to prevent us from falling into a sweet addiction again, so my consumption is limited to really just special treats. Stevia is generally fairly affordable, but I don't like using it on it's own in sweet dishes or baking due to the issue of the taste (It works fine when you want to cut the acidity of a tomato soup though). 
• Erythritol, unlike xylitol gives a "crunchiness" when used in baking. Rusks are a little bit more crunchy and it can be used to make meringues (Ta-Da). If you've tried to make meringues with xylitol you will know what I mean. Somethings in life should come with a CRUNCH.

 For those scientifically minded readers, I've put together from information obtained from the University of Sydney's website in a graph - looking at the Glycemic Index (GI) for common sugary substances and sweeteners.

I've left of all artificial ones as we try to avoid those. GI is just a way to explain a relative insulin response. 

Clearly, xylitol is still MILES better than most natural sugars; one can expect an insulin response when ingesting it though, even if mild and it greatly depends on your individual sensitivities. Small quantities of course is not going to be bad for you, but if you have a sweet tooth, it may be better to avoid using too much xylitol to bake with. 

(Link to raw data)

The data I used in table format below, for sake of completion.

So if you are like me, a tiny bit obsessive and like knowing about stuff, I hope this helps you.