However, erythritol is not really all that sweet by itself and is typically combined with other questionable sweeteners (I'm thinking aspartame for example and god only knows what else).

Erythritol is plenty sweet all on it's own. I have seen/used it blended with Monk Fruit and stevia, neither of which are "questionable."

My issue is that most if not all erythritol in foods and drinks today are highly processed and are derived from cornstarch that comes from genetically modified corn (me no likey GMO foods if I can avoid them). So if I did use it, I would get erythritol by itself in a granular form. For me, I'm sticking with plain old sugar when baking/cooking...

Unless you are using beet juice or pressed sugar cane, your crystalized sugar is also processed. In my vegan days I did sweeten with beets that I juiced myself. Actually works fabulous in chocolate cake, with tofu frosting. Surprisingly big hit with all the kids at my then 2 year old's party.

I just pulled my two brands of erythritol/monk fruit extract to check them out. Lakanto and Whole Earth brands. Both are non-GMO.

Another example that comes to mind is that we use real butter now.

Grass fed and organic butter is still the way to go. Toxins tend to accumulate in fat, so anything that is high fat I try to get organic.

I suspect it all comes down to moderation, ...

For some people. For others, sugars, or carbs and even excess protein that become sugars, are like opiods and trigger a crazy craving for more, more, more carbs. People like to think body chemistry is identical from one to the next, but there are variations. Ironically, actual opiods do nothing for me, including killing pain. I have one kid who is the same, and I had to fight for his right to acetaminophen when he had a bad accident that landed him in the hospital with a compound fracture of the tibia. IV dilaudid left him screaming in pain, but when the doctor finally listened to me and told the nurse to give him IV acetaminophen, it did the trick. The body is complicated and we are not all the same. I have zero problem passing up a juicy dessert, harder passing on good bread, which is my particular fave and for which I used to be sought after by people wanting to buy it from me. All it takes to pass it up is the knowledge that those high carb items would leave me nauseous, with heart palpitations and cravings that would require going cold turkey off of carbs for several days before they stopped. That and the knowledge that I can make my own low carb version.

I have been low carb for close to 25 years. I would say that is disciplined.

IP