Sugar Alcohols?

genmon00
genmon00 Posts: 604 Member
Hello Everyone,

One of the many reasons I like LCHF is the emphasis on real food, not processed junk. Anyhoo, I try to avoid sugar alcohols because I just don't trust them. Last night I made the most delicious cream cheese pancakes (no carbs!) and used a sugar free syrup with sugar alcohols. Today my fasting blood sugar was 130. That is no bueno, my blood sugars have been in in the 90's since starting LCHF. I think it was the sugar alcohols although they are not supposed to affect blood sugars. What are your thoughts?
«1

Replies

  • Panda_Poptarts
    Panda_Poptarts Posts: 971 Member
    Fasting blood sugar can spike in the AM for literally no reason. It may not be the sugar alcohols, and they should have been processed prior to morning anyway.

    I'd try again and check your blood sugar before, and an hour or so after, eating, keeping in mind that even eating is going to increase your blood sugar.
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
    Also, specifically what type of sugar alcohol was in the sugar free syrup? Some people's bodies are more sensitive to different sugar alcohols than others. Additionally, erythritol, out of all the sugar alcohols, tends to move through the body so quickly, that the body has very little time to absorb much of the carbs/sugars contained therein which is why many people only count a portion of the carbs re sugar alcohol, and some count none at all. With regard to erythritol only, I don't count any carbs with this specific sugar alcohol, but ONLY this one. The rest I do count.
  • genmon00
    genmon00 Posts: 604 Member
    Thanks for the insight! It was sucralose (splenda). I guess I am sensitive to it, I never noticed before because i didnt monitor my blood sugars as closely. I will try to avoid them as much as I can.
  • Panda_Poptarts
    Panda_Poptarts Posts: 971 Member
    Splenda spikes my blood sugar too.

    I still use it in my coffee sometimes.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    Sucralose isn't a sugar alcohol. It sounds like you're better off without it.

    I can't use erythritol, because it irritates my bladder, which makes me sad, because I can make fabulous desserts with it.
  • hellobaconplease
    hellobaconplease Posts: 108 Member
    I'll have to try this for myself, I have gestational diabetes so always testing my sugars anyway.
  • genmon00
    genmon00 Posts: 604 Member
    Splenda spikes my blood sugar too.

    I still use it in my coffee sometimes.

    i love splenda. lol I like Stevia just not sweet enough for me lol i have to use like 2-3 packets of stevia to enjoy my coffee.
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
    lithezebra wrote: »
    Sucralose isn't a sugar alcohol.

    I concur with @lithezebra. Sucralose is not a sugar alcohol. It is a sugar substitute made from sugar. I use it and like it but then, I don't seem to be particularly sensitive to it like some others are. So the main sugar substitutes that I use in no particular order are: liquid sucralose (EZ-Sweetz), liquid stevia, Erythritol (Swerve), Just Like Sugar (not a sugar alcohol), and occasionally Xylitol.
  • Jan93L
    Jan93L Posts: 178 Member
    I don't think I've tried the Swerve (erythritol) yet. Not knowingly anyway. Splenda bothers me , too. I've been thinking of making ice cream using the erythritol and stevia. The sugar alcohols in the sugar free candy give me wicked gas! I hope the erythritol doesn't!
  • bjwoodzy
    bjwoodzy Posts: 593 Member
    Interesting discussion - Splenda was something I had a hard time kicking for ages while trying to get used to stevia products - and until the FDA approved stevia as a sugar substitute, I had an awful time of it. Now that I'm basically 100% using stevia for everything, I notice how much Splenda tastes weird to me - and in in the past, I think it stalled my weight loss when I tried Atkins around 2005ish. I have yet to try erythritol - I see it in recipes a lot, but I'm not someone who bakes much, and just can't justify the cost of stocking a low-carb baking pantry shelf right now - all that almond flour, coconut flour, flax meal, "sugars", etc. that stuff adds up!
  • Panda_Poptarts
    Panda_Poptarts Posts: 971 Member
    genmon00 wrote: »
    Splenda spikes my blood sugar too.

    I still use it in my coffee sometimes.

    i love splenda. lol I like Stevia just not sweet enough for me lol i have to use like 2-3 packets of stevia to enjoy my coffee.

    I don't use any sweeteners at all, most days. That took some serious getting used to! When I go to starbucks I will get SF syrup, which is made with Splenda.
  • genmon00
    genmon00 Posts: 604 Member
    bjwoodzy wrote: »
    Interesting discussion - Splenda was something I had a hard time kicking for ages while trying to get used to stevia products - and until the FDA approved stevia as a sugar substitute, I had an awful time of it. Now that I'm basically 100% using stevia for everything, I notice how much Splenda tastes weird to me - and in in the past, I think it stalled my weight loss when I tried Atkins around 2005ish. I have yet to try erythritol - I see it in recipes a lot, but I'm not someone who bakes much, and just can't justify the cost of stocking a low-carb baking pantry shelf right now - all that almond flour, coconut flour, flax meal, "sugars", etc. that stuff adds up!

    I agree with you about the baking, too expensive! I might try making a low carb cheesecake though :)
  • bjwoodzy
    bjwoodzy Posts: 593 Member
    I love coffee with flavor in it - hence the liquid stevia. I buy these all the time. I have had several flavors. They last forever and I used to also add drops to oatmeal and baked apples before I went keto.
  • ChoiceNotChance
    ChoiceNotChance Posts: 644 Member
    If I use anything, I use Swerve/Erythritol. I try to stay away from the artificial stuff. Thank goodness I drink my coffee black.
  • Mongo5918
    Mongo5918 Posts: 27 Member
    Jan93L wrote: »
    I don't think I've tried the Swerve (erythritol) yet. Not knowingly anyway. Splenda bothers me , too. I've been thinking of making ice cream using the erythritol and stevia. The sugar alcohols in the sugar free candy give me wicked gas! I hope the erythritol doesn't!

    Erythritol and Stevia work great in ice cream. Sherbet and sorbet are also fantastic. Lemon sherbet will make your mouth HAPPY for a couple of hours after a meal. The worst batch of ice cream I have made was still a pleasure to get rid of (eat).
    Erythritol and Stevia don't give me any issues, I also throw in some inulin to feed the good bacteria and help in keeping the ice cream from getting too hard.
    I have never understood people making fat bombs when they could have ice cream.
  • genmon00
    genmon00 Posts: 604 Member
    How do you make me keto ice cream?? so hot where I live I've been craving some ice cream
  • MyriiStorm
    MyriiStorm Posts: 609 Member
    Where do you buy Erythritol? I haven't seen it in any of the stores around here.
  • Mongo5918
    Mongo5918 Posts: 27 Member
    genmon00 wrote: »
    How do you make me keto ice cream?? so hot where I live I've been craving some ice cream

    How about this 0 net carbs:

    Lemon Sherbet Servings 8
    calories per serving 197

    0.50 cup, Lemon juice, raw
    0.66 T (6 g), Lemon Peel (Zest) Raw 6 g / 1 T
    24 Tbsp, Dairy
    1.50 cup(s), Dairy Free Coconut Milk Unsweetened
    0.66 cup(s), Erythritol
    2 tsp, Organic Stevia Extract Sweetener
    10 grams / 1 scoop, Inulin Prebiotic Soluble Fiber Supplement

    Nutrition Facts
    Servings 8.0
    Amount Per Serving
    calories 197

    Total Fat 19 g 29 %
    Saturated Fat 13 g 64 %
    Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
    Trans Fat 0 g
    Cholesterol 75 mg 25 %
    Sodium 0 mg 0 %
    Potassium 23 mg 1 %
    Total Carbohydrate 17 g 6 %
    Dietary Fiber 17 g 70 %
    Sugars 0 g
    Protein 0 g 0 %
    Vitamin A 14 %
    Vitamin C 11 %
    Calcium 2 %
    Iron 0 %
    * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

    If you want Ice Cream substitute half of the coconut milk with Heavy Whipping Cream it will add a small amount of carbs per serving (less than 5)
  • bametels
    bametels Posts: 950 Member
    bjwoodzy wrote: »
    I love coffee with flavor in it - hence the liquid stevia. I buy these all the time. I have had several flavors. They last forever and I used to also add drops to oatmeal and baked apples before I went keto.

    I agree about the liquid stevia. I didn't like the powdered but the liquid is great in my coffee and more. I use the less expensive Vitacost brand and find, like bjwoodzy, that it lasts a long time because a few drops go a long way!
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,412 Member
    A quick way to tell if something is a sugar alcohol...usually it ends in "itol" though not all words that end in this suffix are sugar alcohols.

    Here's a list of some popular sugar alcohols so you can identify them when you look at a nutrition label:
    Erythritol.
    Maltitol.
    Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates.
    Isomalt.
    Lactitol.
    Mannitol.
    Sorbitol.
    Xylitol.
  • anglyn1
    anglyn1 Posts: 1,802 Member
    I don't care for many sweeteners but I dislike Splenda the most. I just think it has a terrible aftertaste. I drink my coffee with cream only...no sweetener at all. Sometimes I use Sweetleaf drops in recipes. I like those fairly well in small amounts. I like the Halo Top ice cream which has erythritol in it. I don't bake much because I can't find a sweetener blend I like.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Sucralose does a number on my fasting blood glucose too if I eat it the day before; the same as other carby foods.

    Liquid stevia and xylitol seem to be the sweeteners that don't affect my BG. I use liquid sweeteners as much as possible because it does not have the starchy or sugary filler in it which also affects my BG (I think).

    And xylitol does have the , er..., bathroom deterent to eating too much of it. ;)
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Sucralose does a number on my fasting blood glucose too if I eat it the day before; the same as other carby foods.

    Liquid stevia and xylitol seem to be the sweeteners that don't affect my BG. I use liquid sweeteners as much as possible because it does not have the starchy or sugary filler in it which also affects my BG (I think).

    And xylitol does have the , er..., bathroom deterent to eating too much of it. ;)

    Thank you for the sweetener/BG comments, I find that help!

    I am finding this topic particularly useful learning which words in the ingredient list actually mean sugar alcohols as well as other posts within this thread. :smiley:
  • RalfLott
    RalfLott Posts: 5,036 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Sucralose does a number on my fasting blood glucose too if I eat it the day before; the same as other carby foods.

    Liquid stevia and xylitol seem to be the sweeteners that don't affect my BG. I use liquid sweeteners as much as possible because it does not have the starchy or sugary filler in it which also affects my BG (I think).

    And xylitol does have the , er..., bathroom deterent to eating too much of it. ;)

    Strikingly similar to the incendiary effects of that devil's brew you get the night before a colonoscopy.

    Does erythritol spike your BG?

    I just started tinkering with ground Stevia leaf - so far, so good tastewise, though, unlike Italian governments, it does not seem in a terrible hurry to dissolve.
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,412 Member
    Friend who grows Stevia makes it into a liquid concentrate, I guess she steeps it or something. Anybody ever do that?
  • Leanbean65
    Leanbean65 Posts: 176 Member
    I can't use sugar alcohols because I get major GI upset from them. However, I will use a small amount of Aspartame if I want some sweetness. I haven't heard if this is OK.
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,412 Member
    edited June 2016
    I found an answer to my own question at this website:

    http://commonsensehome.com/stevia-grow-your-own-sweetener/

    For anyone interested, Stevia is a "natural" sweetener in the glycosides class. It is not artificial and it is not a sugar alcohol.

    It is available commercially but is often combined with other stuff. Rebiana is another name for high purity steviol glycosides, and is marketed as Truvia, a powder which also contains erythritol; PureVia, a powder which also contains dextrose and cellulose; and Stevia in the Raw, which also contains either dextrose or maltodextrin. There are other powdered Stevia products but they, of course, all contain stuff that isn't stevia for bulking/nonclumping purposes...and the Truvia has a sugar alcohol in it. I use Truvia. It's OK.

    There are also liquid forms of stevia commercially available, like SweetLeaf drops which have water, stevia leaf extract, and "natural flavors", and sometimes vanilla extract. The Stevia is extracted with either water or alcohol. If alcohol is used, it is removed later in the process.

    I say natural in quotes because it is quite refined when it hits the shelves.