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Sugar alternatives

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mrpinkwhistle

Newbie
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1
Hi, am newly diagnosed, and am struggling to find any clear answers whether and which sugar alternatives raise blood sugar levels. Is there a variant I should avoid? Or perhaps one that I prefer. Any help, especially links would be really appreciated. I'm not at a point of medication or checking blood levels yet
 
Part of my journey has been the avoidance of "sweet" altogether.
The various fake sweeteners have different impacts on individuals blood sugar levels but generally as a policy I'd try to avoid them all.
Try to go a few weeks without "sweet: at all and you probably won't miss it at all. Your body will love you for it.
 
Testing your own levels is the only way to see the effect on your own body. What raises some doesn't others.
But remember bg is the end of the process. Sweetners could be affecting insulin and liver before getting to bg so still harmful.
I use Truvia but never more than 30g in a 16 portion cake, and they've just changed their formula and packaging so it's more expensive. I will also be retesting to see what effect the new formula has on me (but have tubs to use up first)
 
I use stevia and erythritol either separately or in combination, initially researched for baking, and have no issue with them. My body appears to know the difference between these and actual sugar, as I discovered early on when I had a few little sugar craving false hypos. o_O

If you choose to go for commercially branded sweeteners, then check nutritional info for actual ingredients, as stevia which is extremely sweet often has additives and bulking agents added to tone it down, and some of these are definitely best avoided, though Stevia/erythritol combinations on their own are common and quite safe. I use Natvia available from Ocado and Tesco (who sometimes have good discounts), but generally buy the following from Amazon UK: Sukrin and NKD Living which both come in various options, e.g. granulated, powder/icing sugar, and brown. Stevia also comes in liquid form in a wide selection of little dropper bottes (I've used NuNaturals long term and more recently somewhat cheaper NKD) - useful for adding to drinks, but be aware that there are also flavoured varieties which may need a quick ingredients check.

Xylitol is often recommended for baking, but is specifically one to avoid if you're dog owner, as it causes severe hypos often resulting in their death.
 
As others have said testing is the key to knowing your personal response. I’d warn that low/no calorie is NOT the same as no/low blood glucose response.

Frequently sweeteners involving maltodextrin or dextrose as bulking agents are often triggers for blood glucose rises - check the ingredients list. As is anything sweetened with maltitol (along with “digestive distress).

Stevia, monk fruit and erythritol - all natural - are usually fine and have a much lower rate of unpleasant side effects. The chemical sweeteners (aspartame, ace k, sucralose etc) have their own issues, often debated, and are a real mixed bag of responses. They all have their own particular taste that might take some adapting to.

Honey, coconut sugar and any of the “natural” sugars are still just that - sugars.

Ultimately becoming less reliant on the “sweet” taste is the answer but it is a process and unharmful help during the “weaning off” is a really beneficial step in the right direction.
 
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