Does anybody use xylitol in tea and coffee and do you inject for it?
Does it raise your blood sugar?
Does it raise your blood sugar?
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Xylitol
- Thread starter Gayle16896
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Energize
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It's a sugar substitute, a sugar alcohol. See this link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol
It has 100gms CHO per 100 gms weight, ie 4gms cho / suggested portion
@Gayle16896
Welcome to the forum
chalup
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I have no idea about the insulin question but I just wanted to say that xylitol is very poisonous to dogs so if you have a fur friend you may want to reconsider. Erythritol is not poisonous to dogs and is readily available.
ziggy_w
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Hi @Gayle16896,
I noticed this is your first post, so welcome to the forum.
Not sure if I can help with your insulin question as I am a type 2. Maybe there are some type 1s on the forum, who use xylitol and who can help with this question.
This is my experience with xylitol. I use it regularly (in my coffee and for baking) and it has very little effect on my blood sugars. I like the taste because it has no aftertaste and only a slightly cooling effect on the tongue.
If you want to try it, you should probably start with smaller amounts and increase slowly day after day. It can initially lead to increased gas and diarrhea if you eat too much. This happened to me when I overdid it in the beginning. Over time, your body should adjust and not give you any problems even when consuming larger amounts.
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chalup
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If you are a bit constipated, eat a couple chocolate bars or a bunch of gummi bears sweetened with maltitol. You will be explosively decompressed. Not a happy experience. Maltitol is best avoided for many people. Xylitol and erythritol do not seem to be so violent.
azure
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Hello again Gayle. If xulitol is "alcohol sugar" why on earth do you want to put in tea and coffee? As a Diabetic it is strongly advisable that you do not consume either alcohol or sugar on a regular basis (depending on how much tea and coffee you drink in a day and how sweet you want them to be).
Personally, I would stay well clear from any sugar or alcohol. The odd "tipple" now and again may not do you any harm (unless you have a weakness for alcohol - i.e. former alcoholic) but tea and coffee some people tend to drink quite a lot of during the course of a day.
Perhaps it would be best to speak to your Doctor or Diabetic Nurse before going down that road.
You have certainty given us something to think about.
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Don't knock them til you've tried them.
Many of the sugar alcohols act very differently from both sugar and alcohol. Some of them provide incredibly low calorie sweetness, without blood glucose impact, but may (if eaten to excess) cause some digestive upset. Some don't have a digestive impact and can be used in recipes instead of sugar. All the taste, none of the consequences.
Zylitol and Erythritol are very useful for baking, without any of the chemical tang that other sweeteners have.
Personally, I use Erythritol, a little in LC hot chocolate (yum), and when I do Low Carb baking. Definitely an addition to my LC toolkit, and I have never had any ill effects from it, whereas most of the other sweeteners disagree with me in some shape or form.
@ziggy_w
Does this mean it could be a good, occasional, remedy for constipation (due to LCHF)???
I might give it a try ...
Thanks
Hi Energize. Frankly I would rather have the constipation than risk either alcohol or sugar.
Hi Brunneria. I don't mean to be either contraversial or a "kill joy" but baking is very different from drinking many cups of tea coffee. I don't bake (I wouldn't know how) but I do consume many cups of tea and coffee in a day (perhaps too many). I use "sweetex" in my Tea and coffee and I have heard that it has side effects - but I don't know what they are.
Thanks 4ratbags. I have just downloaded the following information from Diabetics U.K. :
The title ‘sugar alcohols’ is a bit misleading as these substances don’t actually contain any sugar or alcohol - the name is derived from their chemical structure, part of which resembles sugar and part of which is similar to alcohol.
Unlike sugar, sugar alcohols are not completely absorbed into the blood stream from the small intestines. As a result, the have less of an impact on blood glucose than regular sugar (sucrose) and provide fewer calories per gram, making them popular sweeteners among diabetics and people on low-carb diets.
Like many other incompletely digestible substances, sugar alcohols can ferment in the intestines and cause bloating, gas, or diarrhoea, especially if consumed in large amounts.
Xylitol may be useful as an alternative to sugar for people with diabetes as it does not raise blood glucose or insulin levels, and has a reduced caloric value (2.4 kcal/g compared to 4.0 for sucrose), which is consistent with the objective of weight control.
There are several proven benefits of Xylitol:
Helps prevent development of dental caries (tooth decay)
Cuts plaque formation
Stimulates salivary flow
Xylitol may be useful as an alternative to sugar for people with diabetes as it does not raise blood glucose or insulin levels, and has a reduced caloric value (2.4 kcal/g compared to 4.0 for sucrose), which is consistent with the objective of weight control.
Before opting for foods sweetened with sugar alcohols such as xylitol, diabetics should discuss the usefulness of these polyols with their GP/diabetes specialist as some of these products may contain other ingredients which may not be suitable for a diabetes-based diet.
I think it all comes down to personal preference. I have tried sweetex and didn't like the flavour, but if it works for you...
Hello again Brunneria. I don't like the "metallic" taste of sweetex either - I prefer sugar - and I have not found a suitable alternative. I HATE tea or coffee without some kind of sweetner. Sugar and alcohol may have had a big hand in me developing Diabetes in the first place.
