Sweeteners?
- Thread starter skoot
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
I would imagine you need something that has a higher temp or it will just get burnt.
The Flavor Apprentice makes those flavors that you can use to sweeten your mix. There's also Ethyl Mathol, Cotton Candy and Sweetener (which is usually Sucralose), that would serve you much better.
No questions are stupid, sweetie, it can be confusing...stick around, and you'll learn a ton
No questions are stupid, sweetie, it can be confusing...stick around, and you'll learn a ton
Here are some links regarding health concerns of sucralose:
The Secret Dangers of Splenda, an Artificial Sweetener
The Potential Dangers of Sucralose -- Dr. Joseph Mercola
Sugar substitutes and the potential danger of Splenda
Sucralose (Splenda) Toxicity Information Center
Sucralose dangers facts | SteadyHealth.com
Granted, much of this falls under the category of "not enough is known yet" but I'm not taking any chances.
Agave nectar is a great idea though!
The Secret Dangers of Splenda, an Artificial Sweetener
The Potential Dangers of Sucralose -- Dr. Joseph Mercola
Sugar substitutes and the potential danger of Splenda
Sucralose (Splenda) Toxicity Information Center
Sucralose dangers facts | SteadyHealth.com
Granted, much of this falls under the category of "not enough is known yet" but I'm not taking any chances.
Agave nectar is a great idea though!
thanks for the info, skoot. i bought the ezsweetz based on the recommendation of another forum member. once my supply is gone, i'll give the agave nectar a try. if you try it, please post your results. i have to admit that i love the sweet taste the ezsweetz provides, but i prefer a more natural solution. i'm not gonna freak out and throw away my ezsweetz, but it looks like long term use is unstudied, and therefore i don't want to expose myself to too much of it.
Hmmmmmm!! Let's see.. I smoked cigarettes at the rate of at least a pack a day for 55 years. I now vape liquids containing one drop of sweetener per FIVE ml's.
Am I going to worry about something bad happening to me as a result of inhaling the vapor from that ejuice? I don't think so!!!
Quite incidently, I drink coffee all day long with about 30 PACKAGES of Splenda daily.
Now, if the sucralose started clogging up my addys, that would be a whole different ballgame.
Am I going to worry about something bad happening to me as a result of inhaling the vapor from that ejuice? I don't think so!!!
Quite incidently, I drink coffee all day long with about 30 PACKAGES of Splenda daily.
Now, if the sucralose started clogging up my addys, that would be a whole different ballgame.
Last edited:
I'm not telling anyone what to put in their juice. If you want to use it, fine. If it keeps you off analogs, more power to you. I'm not on any bandwagon or agenda, just sharing information.
Personally I'm trying to limit my consumption to the most natural and organic ingredients I can find. I smoked organic American Spirits for the same reasons- no chemicals. For me it's all about harm reduction, and that's what's keeping me off analogs. From my research pure VG seems pretty harmless, and I'm using organic flavorings. If I could get nic base made from organic tobacco I would. No, vaping is not harmless, nor do we know the long term effects. But I sure as hell don't trust the FDA or some chemical company to tell me what's safe. That's how we ended up with all sorts of toxic crap in analogs.
In the end it's up to each individual to decide what they want to put in their bodies.
Personally I'm trying to limit my consumption to the most natural and organic ingredients I can find. I smoked organic American Spirits for the same reasons- no chemicals. For me it's all about harm reduction, and that's what's keeping me off analogs. From my research pure VG seems pretty harmless, and I'm using organic flavorings. If I could get nic base made from organic tobacco I would. No, vaping is not harmless, nor do we know the long term effects. But I sure as hell don't trust the FDA or some chemical company to tell me what's safe. That's how we ended up with all sorts of toxic crap in analogs.
In the end it's up to each individual to decide what they want to put in their bodies.
Hey Skoot,
Unfortunately, the FDA is more than likely going to tell us what we can do in the near future. Maybe this will be a good thing as we might finally find out what these e-cigs are doing to us. Maybe it'll just be a way the government can pull in more money.
Anyway, I just find it a little humorous that no one has already told us what this might be doing to us. Finding someone whom we can believe once they finally tell us is another thing all together.
Good for you in attempting to make this as safe as possible. I've learned a little just recently about how some of the non-harmful ingredients can morph into some of the very ingredients that most mixers avoid due to their "toxicity" when they are vaped. Hopefully we'll find out that all we really are inhaling is water vapor, but I really doubt it. In today's world, even water can be bad for us.
Unfortunately, the FDA is more than likely going to tell us what we can do in the near future. Maybe this will be a good thing as we might finally find out what these e-cigs are doing to us. Maybe it'll just be a way the government can pull in more money.
Anyway, I just find it a little humorous that no one has already told us what this might be doing to us. Finding someone whom we can believe once they finally tell us is another thing all together.
Good for you in attempting to make this as safe as possible. I've learned a little just recently about how some of the non-harmful ingredients can morph into some of the very ingredients that most mixers avoid due to their "toxicity" when they are vaped. Hopefully we'll find out that all we really are inhaling is water vapor, but I really doubt it. In today's world, even water can be bad for us.
I usually leave these things alone and just chuckle to myself, but since I'm bored reading job postings...
For sweeteners and their effects of people, check out different countries. Japan is decades ahead of the US in adopting sucralose for almost all sweetening. Seems like if there was an issue, it would show up there first. The US is in the lead for corn sugar consumption and it seems to be having a noticeable impact here. (Or it just could be sugar in general...?)
We are doing this so we can consume one of the most potent toxins, gram per gram, known to man, nicotine, which naturally occurs in a number of different plants. Water is toxic, oxygen is toxic, what makes things poison is the quantity. I'm not aware of a single chemical that is required to live that is not poison in the correct quantity. The nicotine we use is extracted through a series of chemical reactions to isolate the nicotine from the rest of the chemicals of the plant material which makes me wonder how much difference it makes that the nitrogen in the plant matter comes from chicken manure or a pellet. (BTW, the worst part about working tobacco when I was a child was the fermented chicken manure going from the vat to the seed beds. Seriously the worst smelling stuff I've ever encountered.) I can understand the concern with the growing and handling process for meat, produce, and milk though.
Here in this sub-forum we have those who avoid many natural flavors like oils and because the "d-word" occurs naturally in a variety of flavors and those who embrace them because of the unknown or because they know that the "d-word" flavor cannot be accurately reproduced without it.
The only things that have been well studied and are known are PG vapor and nicotine inhalation. A few less studies on inhaling VG vapor, but no animal or human studies on inhaling vaporized flavorings. (Unless you count the ones lumped in with inhaling burning tobacco.) The great unknown and possible danger of the whole vaping enterprise is flavorings which is the easiest thing to avoid for a mixer.
Also, we are inhaling PG and/or VG vapor, the water in the vapor comes from the environment and our own bodies, but without that water the visible component of vaping is very very slight, if not impossible to see.
There is more than enough room on here for all viewpoints. That's why some of us mix, so we can avoid what we want to avoid, but also so we can consume what we want to consume. Me, I do it because it fun, but I never thought it would taste better than my American Spirit non-filters.
For sweeteners and their effects of people, check out different countries. Japan is decades ahead of the US in adopting sucralose for almost all sweetening. Seems like if there was an issue, it would show up there first. The US is in the lead for corn sugar consumption and it seems to be having a noticeable impact here. (Or it just could be sugar in general...?)
We are doing this so we can consume one of the most potent toxins, gram per gram, known to man, nicotine, which naturally occurs in a number of different plants. Water is toxic, oxygen is toxic, what makes things poison is the quantity. I'm not aware of a single chemical that is required to live that is not poison in the correct quantity. The nicotine we use is extracted through a series of chemical reactions to isolate the nicotine from the rest of the chemicals of the plant material which makes me wonder how much difference it makes that the nitrogen in the plant matter comes from chicken manure or a pellet. (BTW, the worst part about working tobacco when I was a child was the fermented chicken manure going from the vat to the seed beds. Seriously the worst smelling stuff I've ever encountered.) I can understand the concern with the growing and handling process for meat, produce, and milk though.
Here in this sub-forum we have those who avoid many natural flavors like oils and because the "d-word" occurs naturally in a variety of flavors and those who embrace them because of the unknown or because they know that the "d-word" flavor cannot be accurately reproduced without it.
The only things that have been well studied and are known are PG vapor and nicotine inhalation. A few less studies on inhaling VG vapor, but no animal or human studies on inhaling vaporized flavorings. (Unless you count the ones lumped in with inhaling burning tobacco.) The great unknown and possible danger of the whole vaping enterprise is flavorings which is the easiest thing to avoid for a mixer.
Also, we are inhaling PG and/or VG vapor, the water in the vapor comes from the environment and our own bodies, but without that water the visible component of vaping is very very slight, if not impossible to see.
There is more than enough room on here for all viewpoints. That's why some of us mix, so we can avoid what we want to avoid, but also so we can consume what we want to consume. Me, I do it because it fun, but I never thought it would taste better than my American Spirit non-filters.
Last edited:
just found this about Agave Nectar on a review on Amazon:
Agave syrup (nectar) is basically high-fructose corn syrup masquerading as a health food.
Sorry. Don't kill the messenger.
It's easy to understand how agave syrup got its great reputation. Even the word "Agave" has a fine pedigree, coming from the Greek word for noble. The blue agave species- considered the best for the making agave nectar -- flourishes in rich volcanic soil. (It's also the only variety permitted to be used for the making of tequila.) And extracts from the agave plant have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Unfortunately there's zero evidence that any of those compounds are present in the commercially made syrup.
Agave nectar is an amber-colored liquid that pours more easily than honey and is considerably sweeter than sugar. The health-food crowd loves it because it is gluten-free and suitable for vegan diets, and, most especially, because it's low-glycemic (we'll get to that in a moment). Largely because of its very low glycemic impact, agave nectar is marketed as "diabetic friendly". What's not to like?
As it turns out, quite a lot.
Agave nectar has a low-glycemic index for one reason only: it's largely made of fructose, which although it has a low-glycemic index, is probably the single most damaging form of sugar when used as a sweetener. With the exception of pure liquid fructose, agave nectar has the highest fructose content of any commercial sweetener.
All sugar -- from table sugar to HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup) to honey -- contains some mixture of fructose and glucose. Table sugar is 50/50, HFCS is 55/45. Agave nectar is a whopping 90 percent fructose, almost -- but not quite -- twice as high as HFCS.
Fructose -- the sugar found naturally in fruit -- is perfectly fine when you get it from whole foods like apples (about 7 percent fructose) -- it comes with a host of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. But when it's commercially extracted from fruit, concentrated and made into a sweetener, it exacts a considerable metabolic price.
Research shows that it's the fructose part of sweeteners that's the most dangerous. Fructose causes insulin resistance and significantly raises triglycerides (a risk factor for heart disease). It also increases fat around the middle which in turn puts you at greater risk for diabetes, heart disease and Metabolic Syndrome (AKA pre-diabetes) .
And fructose has been linked to non-alcoholic, fatty-liver disease. Rats that were given high fructose diets developed a number of undesirable metabolic abnormalities including elevated triglycerides, weight gain and extra abdominal fat.
In the agave plant, most of the sweetness comes from a particular kind of fructose called inulin, which actually has some health benefits -- it's considered a fiber. But there's not much inulin left in the actual syrup. In the manufacturing process, enzymes are added to the inulin to break it down into digestible sugar (fructose), resulting in a syrup that has a fructose content that is, at best, 57 percent and -- much more commonly -- as high as 90 percent.
"Agave syrup is almost all fructose, highly processed sugar with great marketing," said Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, a fellow of the American College of Nutrition and an associate faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. "Fructose interferes with healthy metabolism when (consumed) at higher doses", she told me. "Many people have fructose intolerance like lactose intolerance. They get acne or worse diabetes symptoms even though their blood [sugar] is OK".
Agave nectar syrup is a triumph of marketing over science. True, it has a low-glycemic index, but so does gasoline -- that doesn't mean it's good for you.
Agave syrup (nectar) is basically high-fructose corn syrup masquerading as a health food.
Sorry. Don't kill the messenger.
It's easy to understand how agave syrup got its great reputation. Even the word "Agave" has a fine pedigree, coming from the Greek word for noble. The blue agave species- considered the best for the making agave nectar -- flourishes in rich volcanic soil. (It's also the only variety permitted to be used for the making of tequila.) And extracts from the agave plant have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Unfortunately there's zero evidence that any of those compounds are present in the commercially made syrup.
Agave nectar is an amber-colored liquid that pours more easily than honey and is considerably sweeter than sugar. The health-food crowd loves it because it is gluten-free and suitable for vegan diets, and, most especially, because it's low-glycemic (we'll get to that in a moment). Largely because of its very low glycemic impact, agave nectar is marketed as "diabetic friendly". What's not to like?
As it turns out, quite a lot.
Agave nectar has a low-glycemic index for one reason only: it's largely made of fructose, which although it has a low-glycemic index, is probably the single most damaging form of sugar when used as a sweetener. With the exception of pure liquid fructose, agave nectar has the highest fructose content of any commercial sweetener.
All sugar -- from table sugar to HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup) to honey -- contains some mixture of fructose and glucose. Table sugar is 50/50, HFCS is 55/45. Agave nectar is a whopping 90 percent fructose, almost -- but not quite -- twice as high as HFCS.
Fructose -- the sugar found naturally in fruit -- is perfectly fine when you get it from whole foods like apples (about 7 percent fructose) -- it comes with a host of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. But when it's commercially extracted from fruit, concentrated and made into a sweetener, it exacts a considerable metabolic price.
Research shows that it's the fructose part of sweeteners that's the most dangerous. Fructose causes insulin resistance and significantly raises triglycerides (a risk factor for heart disease). It also increases fat around the middle which in turn puts you at greater risk for diabetes, heart disease and Metabolic Syndrome (AKA pre-diabetes) .
And fructose has been linked to non-alcoholic, fatty-liver disease. Rats that were given high fructose diets developed a number of undesirable metabolic abnormalities including elevated triglycerides, weight gain and extra abdominal fat.
In the agave plant, most of the sweetness comes from a particular kind of fructose called inulin, which actually has some health benefits -- it's considered a fiber. But there's not much inulin left in the actual syrup. In the manufacturing process, enzymes are added to the inulin to break it down into digestible sugar (fructose), resulting in a syrup that has a fructose content that is, at best, 57 percent and -- much more commonly -- as high as 90 percent.
"Agave syrup is almost all fructose, highly processed sugar with great marketing," said Dr. Ingrid Kohlstadt, a fellow of the American College of Nutrition and an associate faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. "Fructose interferes with healthy metabolism when (consumed) at higher doses", she told me. "Many people have fructose intolerance like lactose intolerance. They get acne or worse diabetes symptoms even though their blood [sugar] is OK".
Agave nectar syrup is a triumph of marketing over science. True, it has a low-glycemic index, but so does gasoline -- that doesn't mean it's good for you.
All true. Any form of concentrated sugar is bad for you, including fruit juices of any type. Personally, the only type of sugar I use in baking is turbinado, but even that will spike insulin levels.
However, in the context of vaping, I'd much rather inhale natural, organic agave nectar than a chemical concoction like sucralose. At least agave nectar isn't processed with chlorine.
The truth is, there is no free ride. Any sweetener, artificial or man-made is not good for you, with the possible exception of stevia.
However, in the context of vaping, I'd much rather inhale natural, organic agave nectar than a chemical concoction like sucralose. At least agave nectar isn't processed with chlorine.
The truth is, there is no free ride. Any sweetener, artificial or man-made is not good for you, with the possible exception of stevia.
- Status
