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Sweeteners

LindsayJane

Well-Known Member
Messages
609
Location
Taunton
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Housework - hate housework with a passion - and rude people.
Having discovered the delights of coffee with double cream, I should now like some recommendations re sweeteners. What does everyone use and does my sweetener of choice (Truvia) raise blood sugar? My levels seem to have crept up a bit and looking back on my food diary, this seems to coincide with my 2nd coffee with double cream entry! Nothing else changed.....
 
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LindsayJane said:
Having discovered the delights of coffee with double cream, I should now like some recommendations re sweeteners. What does everyone use?
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Usually stevia here if I am drinking it black, still winding it down as much as I can sweetner wise but stevia seems to be the better of the options.
 
I stopped using sugar gradually till I do not use any sugar / sweeteners at all in black coffee or tea.
 
You may be better having just the pure Stevia as Truvia has some other sweetener added to it which could be the cause of the blood glucose rise
 
Pinkorchid said:
You may be better having just the pure Stevia as Truvia has some other sweetener added to it which could be the cause of the blood glucose rise
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Pinkorchid said:
You may be better having just the pure Stevia as Truvia has some other sweetener added to it which could be the cause of the blood glucose rise
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This is what I thought. Researched based evidence is contradictory though. I'll cut it out and see what happens. Thanks for your input x
 
Pinkorchid said:
You may be better having just the pure Stevia as Truvia has some other sweetener added to it which could be the cause of the blood glucose rise
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AFAIK Truvia contains only erythritol and stevia, neither of which raise glucose levels. Both are actually recommended as safe for diabetic use. @Brunneria re erythritol!

Robbity
 
Robbity said:
AFAIK Truvia contains only erythritol and stevia, neither of which raise glucose levels. Both are actually recommended as safe for diabetic use. @Brunneria re erythritol!

Robbity
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As Truvia does contain erythritol perhaps better to avoid it when there are pets as it is poison to them.
 
Pinkorchid said:
As Truvia does contain erythritol perhaps better to avoid it when there are pets as it is poison to them.
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It's xylitol that's dangerous to dogs, erythritol is pefectly safe.

Robbity
 
I’m not very well informed on sweeteners as “no thank you Turkish, I’m sweet enough.” but I’m aware that there is some conversation about them stimulating insulin release (bad) and also possibly destroying gut bacteria (worse). Although I’m sure they are not all equal. Personally I find it all much easier to avoid anything that even resembles sweetness, but that of course doesn’t help you much
 
Robbity said:
It's xylitol that's dangerous to dogs, erythritol is pefectly safe.

Robbity
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Just wanted to post in agreement of @Robbity 's two posts.

Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs and I won't have it (or any product containing it) in the house.
http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog...litol-poisoning-dogs-a-deadly-sugar-substitue

Erythritol is considered one of the safest and most 'natural' of the sweeteners, with studies showing that it has minimal (none?) gut impact on fermentation or blood glucose.
https://www.dietvsdisease.org/is-erythritol-a-healthy-alternative-to-sugar/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16277764
https://discover.grasslandbeef.com/blog/erythritol-a-surprising-gut-friendly-sweetener/
https://www.livestrong.com/article/556918-the-disadvantages-of-erythritol/

and erythritol is safe for dogs
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8933641

Any potential downsides seem to be related to quantity (and who in their right mind wants to eat more than 50g a day of a sweetener?!?!)

And there is also a teensy question mark in my mind that studies on its effect on blood glucose all seem to have been conducted on participants with 'healthy glucose responses' and how many of those do we know around here?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8039489
 
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I used to use sweetener ... Splenda but it really messes up my guts . So steer clear of it now just coffe and cream . Especially if you have diet mixers in your alcohol .
 
I received this list of sweeteners in an email this morning.

Some of the most common, popular, and dangerous artificial sweeteners on the market today are:

· Aspartame
· Acesulfame potassium
· Alitame
· Cyclamate
· Dulcin
· Equal
· Glucin
· Kaltame
· Mogrosides
· Neotame
· NutraSweet
· Nutrinova
· Phenlalanine
· Saccharin
· Splenda
· Sorbitol
· Sucralose
· Twinsweet
· Sweet ‘N Low
· Xylitol

You may be surprised to find out where some of these artificial sweeteners lurk:

1. Toothpaste and mouthwash
2. Children’s chewable vitamins
3. Cough syrup and liquid medicines
4. Chewing gum
5. No-calorie waters and drinks
6. Alcoholic beverages
7. Salad dressings
8. Frozen yogurt and other frozen deserts
9. Candies
10. Baked goods
11. Yogurt
12. Breakfast cereals
13. Processed snack foods
14. “Lite” or diet fruit juices and beverages
15. Prepared meats
16. Nicotine gum

Keep in mind, this isn’t even an exhaustive list. But it sure does illustrate why it’s so important to READ THOSE LABELS.

Final Thoughts

I feel that there is far too much scientific proof of the dangers of artificial sweeteners to ignore the warnings. While it may seem benign enough to use these sweeteners to reduce your daily caloric intake, you would be far better off using honey or maple syrup and walking an extra 10 minutes to burn off those added calories.

(Note, this was a general email, not specifically for diabetics, hence the advice re honey and maple syrup)
 

What scientific proof?

Aspartam had been around since the 70s.

Its sweet and it doesnt affect bloodsugar and contains no carbs.(yes most contain carbs but you eat so very little its not even noticable)

Sugar kills more people every year than sweeteners...

That mail is as scientific as the flat earthers manifest..
 
I don't have any right now and don't have the inclination or energy to look it up. I just surfaced from my sick bed because i thought the list may be of use to someone. I no longer have hours on end to look up useful links. Ignore the info if that's how you feel.

I personally can't have aspartame as it causes shooting pains up the side of my face from my jaw to my temple. My dentist asked me if I drank colas with aspartame in when i told her about the pains. I stopped drinking them (around 14 years ago) and the pains diappeared.

Sweeteners have never affected my BGs. They do worse damage than that causing a change in the gut microflora and causing insulin resistance.

I wish someone had told me not to use sweeteners 50 years ago. The science is there but this is just a forum and it's up to the reader to take heed or dismiss the info as they please. I haven't posted here on any health subject for 3 months...now I remember why.
 
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Actually it does help. I've read every response with great interest and have come to my own conclusion based on a variety of opinions and I am grateful for everyone's input: I have no idea if the sweeteners were responsible for my sudden rise in BG, or if it was the coffee itself (it was easier to find informaiton about caffeine) but I had just discovered the delights of double cream in coffee for the first time and was drinking more per day than I used to. I have a natural aversion to sweeteners - aspartame, I am sure causes muscle and joint pain (in me) and even though the scientific evidence is at best sketchy about this, I believe that I am best off without it. There is conflicting evidence to be found on all sweetening products but the very fact that there is an ongoing argument (which is apparent reading some of the responses here) makes me believe they may be something worth avoiding so avoid them I shall, even the ones peole say are OK. I have dogs, so will avoid anything that might be toxic to them and if there is even the slightest suspicion that they might cause insulin release or gut bacterial damage then that's a good enough reason to knock them on the head. I remember being told - for years - that there was no proof smoking caused lung cancer. I can get used to unsweetened coffee, much as I got used to meals without carbs!
 
It was of use - thank you x
 
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