PureVia among prizes you can win next week!

This years Great Start Giveaway has some really fantastic prizes. Today I want to tell you about PureVia from Whole Earth Sweetener Company, which has generously donated 24 boxes to this giveaway! That's right! We will be giving 24 lucky winners a box of PureVia to try for themselves!

Below is a recent review I did of PureVia from my Examiner column.

PureVia Enters the Sweetener Race
Reprint from Examiner.com



Stevia is the hot ticket item in the sweetener world these days. With lots of research to back up its safety, it’s become the go-to substance for sweetening a variety of foods and beverages. Several companies are noticing this trend and trying to give their customers a more natural alternative to sugar. In recent months Cargill has released its stevia based sweetener Truvia. Another new product, NUVA from DWS Inc., has emerged as a real contender in the race to be the perfect sweetener. Now we can officially add PureVia to the list of better sweetener alternatives.

The long awaited PureVia, by Whole Earth Sweetener Company, has arrived. It has the same texture as real sugar and, like the others, a great taste. As of this writing their website does not yet tell us where PureVia can be bought or its approximate price. The sample box I received from the company contains 40 single serving sticks which are said to sweeten up to the equivalent of two teaspoons of sugar. As with most sweeteners, if you use it in a cold beverage, you should mix it thoroughly before you drink. I made the mistake of not mixing it too well and almost choked on a throat full of PureVia lurking at the bottom of my tea glass. (Can you envision my death certificate? “She died from inhaling an artificial sweetener!”) Mix well. Enough said.

My glass of tea and a layer of sweetener at the bottom...


* Calories: 0
* Fat: 0
* Sodium: 0
* Total Carbs: 2 g
* Sugars: <1g
* Erythritol: 1 g
* Protein: 0g


Ingredients: Erythritol, Isomaltulose, Reb A (Stevia extract), Contains 1% or less of Cellulose Powder and each Natural Flavor.

Keep in mind that sweeteners are a personal choice, so there isn’t a one-size-makes-everyone-happy.

After writing this article I received a nice note from the folks at PureVia informing me that the approximate MSRP is $3.99 per box and should be available nationwide by March 2009.

Someone left a comment on my column wondering about the calorie/carb count issue. If there is 2 carbs there should be 8 calories, right? Not exactly. Here's why. Sugar alcohols, even the minor ones like erythritol, do not have the same caloric values that most carbs do. They are actually 0.2 calories per gram. We have 1 carb of erythritol and less than one gram of isomaltulose, which is similar to sucrose. This does have a normal caloric value of 4 cals per gram, but again there is less than one gram per serving. My assumption is that combination of isomaltulose and erythritol equal less than a calorie per serving. Anyone who is familiar with labeling practices knows that if it's less than 1, on any nutrient, they can legally say it's 0. So hopefully that clears up some confusion on the matter.

Now lets talk about winning, because I know that's mostly what you are interested in. Like I mentioned before, we have 24 boxes to giveaway. But you can't win if you don't enter! So be sure to get entered asap - time is running out. This is the final week of the giveaway and you don't want to miss out on any of the great prizes we have available!