Sweeteners

[calumcco]

Are sweeteners allowed for diabetics? E.G. I love sugar free mints but they contain sweeteners, would that be bad?

 

[dawnmc]

I suppose it depends how many you want to eat. No point just replacing them and munching away. Besides watch out for the regular visit to the loo if you eat too many.

 

[calumcco]

I get through about 2 packets of TicTacs a day as they help control my retching but on the negative side they have pushed my sugar levels up so high that I am no considered pre-diabetic. If I could replace TicTacs with Sugar Free Mints with sweeteners would this be a benefit to my health? Or do sweeteners still push sugar levels up?

 

[Garr]

I chew sugar free gum almost constantly all day and it doesn't affect my blood sugars and no other ill effects......... that I know of!

 

[calumcco]

The thought of having an OGTT makes me retch/dry heave uncontrollably. Worse still I wont be able to suck on some tic tacs during the OGTT as you cannot eat or drink anything in between. Would sugar free mints be permitted to suck on to stop my retching or have I got to adhere to the fast 100%???
Thanks guys

 

[collectingrocks]

For an OGTT you can have nothing - but water

 

[calumcco]

But I need to suck on some sweets for the 2 hours I am stuck in hospital, surely a packet of sugar free mints wouldn't effect my blood glucose level?

 

[AlexMBrennan]

From what I've read (e.g. think like a pancreas) 50% of the carbs in sugar alcohols and similar sweeteners still make it into the blood stream so I would recommend to not have them if you want the OGTT to be accurate.

Why don't you talk to your doctor about this? Either to find a way for you to do the test (maybe using ice chips might work?) or to find an alternative to the OGTT?
I'm sorry, but visiting an online forum where everyone can write anything looking for people to tell you that it's ok to go behind the docs back (I'm guessing that you hadn't planned on telling them about the mints - sugar free or otherwise you were going to have during the OGTT) and invalidate the tests is not a smart thing to do.

 

[Kat100]

I often have a sugar free sweet or mint ...personal choice

 

[Kat100]

But not when fasting for a test, I just stick to water, if allowed

 

[calumcco]

Why do tic tacs stop me from dry heaving/retching?

 

[AMBrennan]

That would be an excellent question to ask your doctor.

 

[calumcco]

I hope I am on of the "lucky" ones who goes for the GTT and has the finger sample taken and am told that it is not necessary to have to carry on the test! Has that ever happened to anyone here?