Sugar free chocolate worse for me than normal chocolate?

From what I know, it's generally recommended to steer clear of products marketed as 'for diabetics'. They have very little benefit and often cost a lot more. They may have lower sugar but as you have discovered, to make them taste ok they have other things added, like fat, to make up for the lack of sugar. It's often the other way around too... low fat yoghurts are very often packed full of sugar.

Right form the start when I was diagnosed T1 20 years ago, I was told it wasn't worth the hassle/money/risk of laxative effect to buy 'diabetic' products. They offer no benefit over normal products.

The best thing is to have the real thing, but in moderation... that's my opinion anyway!

Agreed, I stay well clear from all diabetes friendly products. There pumped full of rubbish. You may as well have the real thing in moderation as picklebean has suggested

This product would therefore actually be more harmful to a diabetic than a normal bar of chocolate

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Well, no, since the point of diabetic sweets is replacing the BG-active sugar with other stuff - usually indigestible (thus causing the laxative effect) polyols both for bulk and sweetness. Of course, that may change the proportion of other nutrients (if you take out sugar, you'll have the same amount of fat but only half a chocolate bar)

The product arguably serves it's purpose - it allows people looking to avoid sugar/carbs to keep eating food they would otherwise have to avoid.

You are getting a little confused here I think.

You state that "This product would therefore actually be more harmful to a diabetic than a normal bar of chocolate bar".

This is probably not true.

As a diabetic it is the carbohydrafte in a food stuff that is the issue - the diabetic cholcoate bar will have lower sugar (and carborhydrate) and should therefore have a lesser effect on your blood sugar levels.

Of course the separate question is whether it is "healthier" or not. As you have noticed, in order to reduce the sugar levels in the chocolate, they have added more fat (so that they still taste ok!). Just because something has lower carbohydrate does not mean that it will have fewer calories.

If you have weight to lose then I would probably say that no chocloate bar - diabetic or not -is a wise choice!

I have always been told by my diabetic nurse that "diabetic" foods are generally a waste of money. If you really want to have a chocolate bar just have one and deal with the consequences...
Elle x

As you have noticed, in order to reduce the sugar levels in the chocolate, they have added more fat

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Honestly I rather doubt that - I just checked and e.g. Boots diabetic milk chocolate has 34g fat per 100g compared to Cadbury's 29g whilst replacing 30g of carbs with polyols.
At the end of the day, we can easily replace sugar with sweeteners as far as taste is concerned (cf any number of "diet" sodas). Fat is another issue because the "indigestible fat" idea didn't work out so well

personally...
I find that 1 good 10g chocolate gives me more satisfaction than a 25g chocolate bar.
I also like coffee beans coated in chocolate. more caffine and chocolate hit in 2 beans than a whole mars bar!

Hello,
A useful bit of info I found out is that if something contains sweeteners, although they are sugar free, the artificial sweetness of them can trick your body into thinking it is consuming something sweet and can actually raise your blood sugar.
Hope this helps.

just buy the decent high cocoa solids chocolate... Aldi sell a very nice bar of 85% cocoa solids under the brand of "Moser Roth" at only 99pence a bar... one sub bar is more than enough to solve my chocolate hit and only 5grams carb per sub-bar.

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/product_r ... _18282.htm

Hi,

Thanks for posting the Aldi chocolate suggestion, I have been looking for a cheaper alternative to G&B for some time now, will be trying that instead!

http://shop.rawnibbles.co.uk/

You must try RAW chocolate, sounds weird, tastes fantastic, you can get it in shops like Planet Organic or Whole Earth however, I highly recommend the one above from RAw Nibbles. It is totally natural and sweetened only with Agave. Its truly excellent. WELL thats because I do not eat any refined sugar at all and so it tastes fab. My family also like it. Its a bit pricey but if you can eat a few squares with no ill effects, go for it.

Occasional dark at least 70% cocoa

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Don't eat it!!!!!!!!! Just look at what they have replaced the sugar with, look it up on line and just have some normal chocolate if you are that desperate! The polyols can cause all sorts of issues with the endocrine system, causing wind, tummy upsets and act as a laxative and if you look at the carbs, the carbs are sometimes more than if you had the sugar, and the sugar has less side effects, which with carb counting can be counter acted with insulin. Get yourself a bar of Dairy Milk, treat yourself to two cubes a day, suck them to make them last, having kept them in the fridge and enjoy - and do the insulin thing to counter it. (Carb counting allows you to do this and is amazing)

Hi. I have Green & Blacks 85% Dark which is very low in carbs and has a smooth taste. I wait for the supermarkets to have it at £1.50 a bar. As Ellecook79 says the sugar is more harmful to us than the fat in chocolate. Yes, diabetic products containing sugar alcohols are best avoided.

Dont eat what? Natural Raw chocolate?

Wind, tummy upsets, laxative effects CHECK! Tried a bar when diagnosed first, well remember the reults......all of them. Never touched the stuff since. 2 memorable brands were Boots and Thorntons, and neither tasted like Cadbury's.
Moderation is good. Chocolate in moderation is good. The important thing that I have noticed is that certain bulk sweeteners as they are called (such as Sorbitol eg) certainly cause tha above efects.
What I have recently discovered thanks to my now found hobby of reading product labels (saddo) is the growing trend for manufacturers to label things like yogurt with a great big bright label proclaiming 0% fat. The problem as noted above is that there is a balance required in manufacturing between sugar content and fat. Remove the fat, up goes the sugar. Make it sugar free and up goes the fat. Sod's law maybe, but that is how it works. So as diabetics we need to be aware of the desired 0% fat product as the sugar will be greater, and if some of the popular sugar replacements are used bad effects will follow.

Oh, well..................at least Sorbitol et al ensures we get more exercise!

Then more friends can talk about this problem :lolno:

SORBITOL! I had severe rear end issues after eating sugar free chocolate. After doing a bit of research, sorbitol seemed to be the culprit. I don't bother with it any more.


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