I keep reading elsewhere on this site that artificial sweeteners are a complete No-no and I’m wondering why? I get the impression that they raise the HbA1c. Is this right and if so what other damage do they do? Does this apply to all sweeteners or just the Canderel type.
Not all sweeteners are alike, and not everyone responds to them the same way. Your meter and your gut'll let you know.
Sometimes, in some people, sweeteners can raise blood sugars because when they taste something sweet, the body pre-emptively starts releasing insulin... But there's nothing for it to do, so one might go a tad low, which then triggers a glucose dump by the liver. Which is usually a bit too much, so one may end up high. So that's a
possibility, but it doesn't happen in everyone.
Other than that, the artificial stuff is quite often toxic to gut bacteria in large amounts. (Natural like stevia's usually okay in this regard). When I switched to diet coke, my insides entirely quit on me, I became severely constipated, only watery stool managed to pass through, I had intestinal bleeding and piles as a result, and for quite a long time couldn't figure out what was happening, so couldn't fix it either. Someone mentioned an article on here about it, and it just clicked then. Took just about forever for my gut to heal, as it does that very slowly. So I tend to keep the little bacteria's alive these days, feeding them some fiber and adding more through yogurt once or twice a day.
So it's basically a matter of how sensitive are you to sweeteners, natural or artificial, how sturdy are your gut bacteria, and does your body release insulin when it shouldn't? It's a bit of a puzzle, but if you need something sweet from time to time, it's worth figuring out.
Good luck!
Jo