ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS AND INTOLERANCE/ALLERGY

[GraceK]

I've never ever bothered with artificial sweeteners before because I had a bad reaction to one many years ago. But since diagnosis I tried a few 'diabetic sweets' and had an almost instant reaction and the galloping trots which lasted all day. I don't want to be explicit but this was not like your average bout of food induced diaorrhea, it was more severe and it happened just minutes after eating the sweets so I knew what caused it.

I've bought Tesco's diet Ginger Beer before and had no problem with that, so yesterday I bought Sainsbury's diet Ginger Beer and had exactly the same reaction - galloping trots.

The Tesco one has sucralose in it and the sweets and the Sainsbury's soda has SORBITOL in it.

Having had this experience it brought back memories as to why I've always avoided artificial sweeteners in the past - I had the same reaction to a piece of chewing gum I ate about 30 years ago!!!

Does anyone else have these kind of severe reactions to artificial sweeteners and if so, can you name them? I'd like to know whether Sorbitol is a regular culprit and if there are any sweeteners that don't seem to cause problems.

I'm worn out now, got a hospital appointment at 9am tomorrow but if I'm still galloping there's no way I'll get there. :think:

 

[Defren]

Nope, not at all and I have all kinds of artificial sweeteners I use to bake with. That said, I have never had a problem before diagnosis, so I guess it would have been odd if it suddenly happened. Your best bet, stay with products that have sucralose, or better still make your own treats, much nicer and a 1000 times healthier.

 

[wiflib]

Hana is the one to ask about 'ose and 'ol's. There is a difference in the chemical structures of all sweeteners. Some will cause side effects, some won't. I hope Hana is reading this.

wiflib

 

[GraceK]

Come on Hana - we need you here!!!

 

[GraceK]

Nope, not at all and I have all kinds of artificial sweeteners I use to bake with. That said, I have never had a problem before diagnosis, so I guess it would have been odd if it suddenly happened. Your best bet, stay with products that have sucralose, or better still make your own treats, much nicer and a 1000 times healthier.

I've just bought some ground almond and dessicated coconut and was going to make some kind of 'brownies' with them using artificual sweetener but after my latest episode of the trots I don't think so. What else can I use as a sweetener? Would honey be better than sugar. I read something on the forum yesterday that said it's OK for diabetics and doesn't give spikes like sugar does.

Any ideas?

 

[Defren]

Nope, not at all and I have all kinds of artificial sweeteners I use to bake with. That said, I have never had a problem before diagnosis, so I guess it would have been odd if it suddenly happened. Your best bet, stay with products that have sucralose, or better still make your own treats, much nicer and a 1000 times healthier.

I've just bought some ground almond and dessicated coconut and was going to make some kind of 'brownies' with them using artificual sweetener but after my latest episode of the trots I don't think so. What else can I use as a sweetener? Would honey be better than sugar. I read something on the forum yesterday that said it's OK for diabetics and doesn't give spikes like sugar does.

Any ideas?

I can't use honey, it spikes me, I am very intolerant of carbs. Perhaps something like a fruit loaf? You could use berries to sweeten. I made a tin of blueberry and coconut squares, if my memory serves me right I used very little sweetener, maybe 10g for the whole lot. Can you not use Splenda, it is sucralose. I use Splenda quite a bit in baking, and it's fine, low carb too.

 

[Maddiemo1]

I have exactly the same problem as you with all sweeteners. The only one that I can take is coconut nectar, it's just like brown sugar. You can get it on amazon. It's a bit expensive but worth it for a treat.
It's low GI

 

[lucylocket61]

For some reason, my post on the honey thread got lost. I will try again.

If you decide to use honey, make sure it isnt mainstream mass produced honey. Those honey bee are fed sugar water only, and some of the sugar comes from High Fructose Corn Syrup which is passed into the honey.

It is best to stick to naturally produced honey, from small producers. They harvest the honey in Autumn, and so the bees are kept alive over winter with sugar syrup made from sugar can or beet, but the harvested honey is pure pollen honey produced in Spring and Summer, and collected in Autumn. The bees dont make honey from the Winter sugar feed, they use it to keep alive, so the Spring and Summer honey isnt tainted by artificial sugar feed.

My FIL kept his own hives for 50 years, so he told us many things about bee keeping and why local honey is more expensive than Gales or Rouse honey. Most of the huge commercial honey bees in the production areas never even see a plant.

 

[GraceK]

For some reason, my post on the honey thread got lost. I will try again.

If you decide to use honey, make sure it isnt mainstream mass produced honey. Those honey bee are fed sugar water only, and some of the sugar comes from High Fructose Corn Syrup which is passed into the honey.

It is best to stick to naturally produced honey, from small producers. They harvest the honey in Autumn, and so the bees are kept alive over winter with sugar syrup made from sugar can or beet, but the harvested honey is pure pollen honey produced in Spring and Summer, and collected in Autumn. The bees dont make honey from the Winter sugar feed, they use it to keep alive, so the Spring and Summer honey isnt tainted by artificial sugar feed.

My FIL kept his own hives for 50 years, so he told us many things about bee keeping and why local honey is more expensive than Gales or Rouse honey. Most of the huge commercial honey bees in the production areas never even see a plant.

Thanks lucy ... I knew I'd read a good post on here about honey and I couldn't find it afterwards. I never even thought about commercial honey bees being used for honey making, so I suppose it's similar to battery hens. Poor things, no wonder they're disappearing. I bought Manuka honey a few months ago but its so expensive. Another thing I used to use instead of sugar is Agave Nectar but now I'm not sure if that's suitable for diabetics either. But if I'm making a few almond and coconut bites it wouldn't take much to add a touch of sweetness cos I wouldn't want them really sweet anyway.

 

[GraceK]

I have exactly the same problem as you with all sweeteners. The only one that I can take is coconut nectar, it's just like brown sugar. You can get it on amazon. It's a bit expensive but worth it for a treat.
It's low GI

Wow ... coconut nectar? I'm learning something new every day on here. Thanks for the tip. Every time I go into Sainsbury, ASDA or TESCO now I make a point of bumping into the floor manager and asking if they stock product x, y or z that I've heard about on the forum. And while he's searching I give a running commentary on the LCHF diet and diabetes and tell him about the forum and how we're having to order stuff from Amazon cos we can't get it in the local supermarkets and how that really isn't good enough! :lol: I've been on a mission lately emailing supermarkets who don't stock the products I want and I've been getting good responses from their customer services and marketing people. I've also asked them if they can do more 'in your face' aisle signage for proteins and carbs so that we can quickly identify what to avoid and what to buy. I think I'll get some badges printed with "Doing My Bit For Diabetics". :lol:

 

[Maddiemo1]

Heheh that is great!!! God on you.

 

[Defren]

I have exactly the same problem as you with all sweeteners. The only one that I can take is coconut nectar, it's just like brown sugar. You can get it on amazon. It's a bit expensive but worth it for a treat.
It's low GI

Wow ... coconut nectar? I'm learning something new every day on here. Thanks for the tip. Every time I go into Sainsbury, ASDA or TESCO now I make a point of bumping into the floor manager and asking if they stock product x, y or z that I've heard about on the forum. And while he's searching I give a running commentary on the LCHF diet and diabetes and tell him about the forum and how we're having to order stuff from Amazon cos we can't get it in the local supermarkets and how that really isn't good enough! :lol: I've been on a mission lately emailing supermarkets who don't stock the products I want and I've been getting good responses from their customer services and marketing people. I've also asked them if they can do more 'in your face' aisle signage for proteins and carbs so that we can quickly identify what to avoid and what to buy. I think I'll get some badges printed with "Doing My Bit For Diabetics". :lol:

I shop in Sainsbury's apart from my organic farm stuff, so may be a bit biased here. I watched a documentary on you tube about food labeling in this country. The Government wanted the traffic light scheme to be adopted by all the supermarkets and food producers, they all refused except Sainsbury's. When I was first diagnosed, I read all labels with minute care, and in the end ditched the lot really, choosing to eat only fresh foods, that made a huge difference. I do buy Fage full fat Greek yogurt, and I have some Parmesan and brie cheese in the fridge, but that is about the only things I eat 'ready made'.

Baking supplies are expensive, depending on where you shop. Ground almonds (almond flour) is £1.99 for 200g in Sainsbury's it's 99p for 200g in Lidl and Aldi. You can also by whole almonds and make the flour yourself, just put it in the coffee grinder, or food processor, but keep an eye or you will end up with almond butter, which is very nice and diabetic friendly, but it's not going to bake you a cake.

Lots of the other ingredients can be bought in health food shops. Holland and Barrett have a customer loyalty scheme, so you do get rewards for spending there, or you can use independent HFS that often have quirky bits and bobs H&B don't carry. If you need to buy on line, and yes, I think we all do from time to time, try E-bay before Amazon. E-bay is often cheaper, with cheaper postage for the same items. I now have a huge stock of diabetic bits and bobs, but I bake a lot, and I bought all my supplies over time. It will cost a second mortgage to try to buy everything at once. Try simpler recipe's to begin with, with few ingredients, then expand your range as you buy more for your new cooking needs. You will be surprised how quickly your store cupboard contents change.

 

[hanadr]

Thee polyols [including Sorbitol] are well known for causing digestive upsets. I doubt the safety of Aspartame and don't like the taste of Saccharine, so now use Stevia. Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Mercola [who is a bit of a nut!!] both recommend Stevia as the safest artificial sweetener.
Hana

 

[Defren]

Thee polyols [including Sorbitol] are well known for causing digestive upsets. I doubt the safety of Aspartame and don't like the taste of Saccharine, so now use Stevia. Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Mercola [who is a bit of a nut!!] both recommend Stevia as the safest artificial sweetener.
Hana

It wasn't until diagnosis I realised there are so many artificial sweeteners out there, as I had never used them, no need. It's good to have someone who can keep us well informed. I have 3 or 4 different ones, splenda, xylitol, liquid stevia and another one I can't remember, and have never used.

Thank you Hana.

 

[lucylocket61]

Is Stevia good for baking and cooking?

I cant afford to make an expensive mistake.

 

[Defren]

Is Stevia good for baking and cooking?

I cant afford to make an expensive mistake.

Yes it can. If you look Whitby Jet has posted some recipe's using it. I try all my recipe's with Splenda first, as it's relatively cheap and easy to source. It's only if it doesn't work do I then move on to other sweeteners. The vast majority of my home baking is with Splenda.

 

[Fraddycat]

Hi Grace, I am very sensitive to polyols which you find in Thorntons and Boots diabetic chocolate, same with diabetic marmalade, they go through me like a flippin freight train. Its true what they say, avoid diabetic specific food, and just go for a smaller amount of the real thing.

 

[GraceK]

Hi Grace, I am very sensitive to polyols which you find in Thorntons and Boots diabetic chocolate, same with diabetic marmalade, they go through me like a flippin freight train. Its true what they say, avoid diabetic specific food, and just go for a smaller amount of the real thing.

You've got it right with the 'freight train' description. I just thank God I was at home when I ate the flipping sweets and not out at the shops or somewhere. I'd have died of shame. :roll: