I have a few questions about ingredients.

Are artificial sweeteners (Splenda, etc) vegan? My doctor wants me to cut my sugars (pre-diabetes) and use Splenda, so I just wanted to check before really using it.

Next - Luna bars - they look vegan to me, but state "may contain traces of peanuts, other nuts & dairy" - are they vegan? Are all flavors vegan?

I was going through my cupboards, reading ingredients of all items, removing non-vegan items from "my side" of the cupboard - it looks to me like Jello-O cook & serve sugar free/fat free pudding *might* be vegan, but I don't know enough about hidden ingredients to tell...

I'd like to list the ingredients and have someone who has experience tell me please! :)

Cornstarch, Cocoa process with alkali, modified cornstarch, salt, contains less than 2% of natural and artificial flavor, calcium carrageenan (thickener), fumaric acid, aspertaime and acesulfame potassium (sweeteners), polysorbate 60 (prevents scorching), red 40, yellow 5, blue 2

Is it vegan? (I would of course prepare with soy milk, or another vegan milk)...and if not, what ingredient am I not noticing?

Thanks everyone!!!

In a techincal way artificial sweetners are not vegan because they were tested on animals. Other than for that reason, I don't see why a sugar substitute wouldn't be vegan. I don't even think they're found in nature.

There are other things you can do for your pre-diabetes, a low fat, low protein, high fiber diet (i.e. a balanced vegan diet :lol:) and exercise.

Your luna bars say it may contain trace amounts of dairy probably because it was processed in a plant that makes other things with dairy. Some people are so allergic that even that small amout of contamination can cause a reaction. As long as dairy isn't listed on the ingredients you're not directly supporting the dairy industry.

As for the pudding, check this list.

http://www.vegfamily.com/lists/animal-ingredients.htm

Thank you!! That link is AWESOME! THanks! :)

I definitely agree with you about the vegan 'diet' being great for my health. I'm seeing a nutritionalist due to my weight (I have about 120 lbs to lose!) and she told me that calories are NOT the biggest issue - food choices are. I can't BELIVE how many of my favorite foods are vegan. Like Peanut Butter - yea, I knew it was vegan, but didn't eat it much due to calories and fat - today I'm enjoying a snack of 1/4 CUP of Simply Jif (lower sugar), 10 saltines and 1/2 cup baby carrots, along with a cup of chocolate soy milk - YUM!

Thank you again!!!!!

Crystal

try stevia (http://www.stevia.net/) insted of splenda.

Since you seem to be worried about health... the kind of peanut butter you mentioned contain hydrogenated oils, which are absolutely horrendous for your health. Consider trying a natural peanut butter... they don't even have sugar added. Maranatha creamy is very similar to the name brand kinds I've tried in the past, without containing hydrogenated oil, added sugar etc.

Since you seem to be worried about health... the kind of peanut butter you mentioned contain hydrogenated oils, which are absolutely horrendous for your health. Consider trying a natural peanut butter... they don't even have sugar added. Maranatha creamy is very similar to the name brand kinds I've tried in the past, without containing hydrogenated oil, added sugar etc.

Uggh - It's so sad that we even have to check ingredients on peanut butters!

I'm making a trip to Wild Oats on Monday - I'll pick up some natural pb then.

Thanks!

try stevia (http://www.stevia.net/) insted of splenda.

Cool! I'll try it! Thanks!!

Just something I picked up from a book:

Splenda, It's 98 percent pure chemically altered sugar as FDA approved. That other 2%? It can contain by products of heavy metals, methanol, and arsenic. this "substance" is called sucralose and has side effects including diarrhea; organ, genetic, immune system, and reproductive damage; swelling of the liver and kidneys; and a decrease in fetal body weight. Fun-fun huh? :/

It's better to just go natural with fruit juices and stevia as mentioned above are better choices in my opinion...

If ya want to look up my sources, here's the references...

"The potential dangers of sucralose" by Joseph Mercola, You can find this article and similar articles on vitaminlady.com

Or you can always just jeeves or google it :)

-C

Oh...and don't even get me started on products containing aspertame...

Just stay away...they are evil..

-C

http://www.recoverymedicine.com/hydrogenated_oils.htm
http://www.recoverymedicine.com/hydrogenated_oil_containing_foods.htm

It's better to just go natural with fruit juices and stevia as mentioned above are better choices in my opinion

Which sort of fruit juices do you use as a sweetener?

"A 1995 industry-sponsored review concluded that there was insufficient evidence to take action and that further research was needed."

There's a big surprise. :rolleyes:

Agreed about the hydrogenated oils. Recently, I've read two health articles in very mainstream magazines (Glamour and Oprah) where "experts" both picked trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup as their biggest dietary concerns. They said overall fat, calories, protein/carbs...all that was inconsequential next to the other two things.

I've never actually gotten Jello cook and serve puddings to turn puddingy with either soy or rice milk. (Instant? FORGET ABOUT IT!) :P

Okay - y'all convinced me! No more Splenda. I used it in Kool Aid - I don't like water much (I don't know why!) but decided that as a health concious vegan I NEED to like water - I gave up the kool aid this morning (I was drinking a 2-quart pitcher a day - but mixed it with either 1/2 cup sugar or 1/3 cup of Splenda instead of the 1 c sugar called for). I didn't drink *much* water today - tomorrow will have to be better! :-/

Rabid_child - thanks for the info on pudding - I won't count on it coming out! I may not even try - I've found that I surprisingly am liking Soy products quite well....and I found a couple of FANTASTIC vegan candy bars at my local healthfood store the other day...Green & Blacks Dark Chocolate w/mint (the only flavor they had) and 2 Tropical Source (Rice Crisp/Dark Chocolate and Toasted Almond/Dark chocolate).

I'm making a trip to Wild Oats tomorrow (it's 65 miles each way, so I can't go too often) - going to stock up on lots of goodies!

I found a couple of FANTASTIC vegan candy bars at my local healthfood store the other day...Green & Blacks Dark Chocolate w/mint (the only flavor they had) and 2 Tropical Source (Rice Crisp/Dark Chocolate and Toasted Almond/Dark chocolate).
Not sure where you live and if formulas vary, but the Green and Blacks isn't vegan here :( It's got honey in it :mad: which SUCKS beacuse it's the BEST chocolate Green and Black's makes, in my opinion and with glucose syrup AND sugar, WTF is HONEY needed for??? :stinkeye:

You don't have to go to a health food store to get Green and Blacks... I know that Target sells it, and some other mainstream stores might sell it too.

Not sure where you live and if formulas vary, but the Green and Blacks isn't vegan here :( It's got honey in it :mad: which SUCKS beacuse it's the BEST chocolate Green and Black's makes, in my opinion and with glucose syrup AND sugar, WTF is HONEY needed for??? :stinkeye:

Honey isn't listed on this one (at least this flavor!). I will be sure to check others tomorrow before I buy any more!

Thanks for the heads up!

You don't have to go to a health food store to get Green and Blacks... I know that Target sells it, and some other mainstream stores might sell it too.

That's good to know. The problem is I live in rural Maine - the local health food store (a small town co-op) is about 10 miles away, Wild Oats is 65 miles from me, but the closest Target is about 75 miles! lol....we have Wal-Marts closer, but I *really* don't want to go there....I may check Shaws (local supermarket) - they have an okay organic section...and my local Hannaford's is in the process of expanding and are suposed to have a nice organic section when they're through....

Thanks!!

In defence of aspartame (just because you need to look at more then one side to every story): http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp

As for fruit juice - it has sugar in it too. If you are trying to reduce the sugar in your diet, don't drink fruit juice.

i had to quit using sugars and artificial sweeteners and fruit juices due to candida about a year ago, to start with it was hell- it seems like sugar is in everything, and its hard to avoid, especially while you still crave it, and if you use a lot of packaged foods.

but you really do loose the sweet tooth if you stick with it. in my pre-sugar free days, i'd only ever drink apple juice, 7up, or ribena (a stupidly high sugar british blackcurrant juice drink), and now i quite happily drink hot water with a squeeze of lemonjuice, veggie juices, plain ricemilk, and fruit herb teas with a few drips of stevia, and i really don't miss the sugar half as much as i though i would. i wouldn't believe it if you'd told me i'd be doing this a year ago, but i can even munch on unsweetened carob drops like they're chocolate chips nowadays, lmao.

i'd definately give stevia a shot, while its not the same as sugar, its d@mn sweet in its way, lol, and i'd really watch out for those sugar alternatives- chemically altered sugar isn't a good thing for loads of reasons. regarding fruit juices, i'd say sugar is sugar, and many fruits are high in sugar. myself, i wouldn't use fruit juices in place of sugar, they still break down the same way as table sugar in your body, and affect your blood sugar levels similarly- i guess using applesauce or bananas in your baked goods is better than high fructose corn syrup though, if you're going to use one or the other.

stevia doesn't affect your blood sugar levels like sugar, making it rise and then drop, and i'm pretty sure some studies have actually shown it helps keep them balanced- it takes some getting used to, but i like it.