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Finding my way, (sweeteners yes or no)

Ged

Ged

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
Sweeteners -- this is so confusing for me. I have been taking stevia for 8 or so months now but recently read new research has cast a shadow over all sweeteners, suggesting they contribute to high blood sugars -- Heart problems also problems with digestive system and weight gain, which I have found, to have gained a tire of fat around my waist which I've never had before now I'm confused as to wether these problems plus the achs- cramps and pains which I believed were side affects of statins could also be the side affects of sweetners
 
Hi Ged I personally don't get too hung up over "sweeteners" although I do check contents and put the product back if there is a artificial sweetener. There have been lots of posts in the past which may help you. If you click on the Search option and key in Sweeteners or Stevia you will find quite a few comments which should help (or maybe make worse) your confusion. You could also search statins as well - I had concerns when i started on them but that coincided with a number of other changes to drug regime and diet so personally cannot say how or if statins had an impact.
Keep up the quest for knowledge it can be a challenge.
 
It may depend on how much you are using. It is a good idea to reduce the sweetness of things to re-educate your taste to accepting less sweet foods.
I personally find Stevia disgusting with a strong aftertaste but other sweeteners when I do use them are fine.
 
martindt1606 said:
Hi Ged I personally don't get too hung up over "sweeteners" although I do check contents and put the product back if there is a artificial sweetener. There have been lots of posts in the past which may help you. If you click on the Search option and key in Sweeteners or Stevia you will find quite a few comments which should help (or maybe make worse) your confusion. You could also search statins as well - I had concerns when i started on them but that coincided with a number of other changes to drug regime and diet so personally cannot say how or if statins had an impact.
Keep up the quest for knowledge it can be a challenge.
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Hello, and thank you for your reply. I think you're right, I've just become paranoid over pretty much everything since my diagnosis. To alleviate my confusion, I think I'll give up artificial sweeteners altogether. I mean, I gave up smoking 4 years ago, it can't be harder than that, was surly :( -thanks
 
martindt1606 said:
Hi Ged I personally don't get too hung up over "sweeteners" although I do check contents and put the product back if there is a artificial sweetener. There have been lots of posts in the past which may help you. If you click on the Search option and key in Sweeteners or Stevia you will find quite a few comments which should help (or maybe make worse) your confusion. You could also search statins as well - I had concerns when i started on them but that coincided with a number of other changes to drug regime and diet so personally cannot say how or if statins had an impact.
Keep up the quest for knowledge it can be a challenge.
Click to expand...
martindt1606 said:
Hi Ged I personally don't get too hung up over "sweeteners" although I do check contents and put the product back if there is a artificial sweetener. There have been lots of posts in the past which may help you. If you click on the Search option and key in Sweeteners or Stevia you will find quite a few comments which should help (or maybe make worse) your confusion. You could also search statins as well - I had concerns when i started on them but that coincided with a number of other changes to drug regime and diet so personally cannot say how or if statins had an impact.
Keep up the quest for knowledge it can be a challenge.
Click to expand...

Leadinglights said:
It may depend on how much you are using. It is a good idea to reduce the sweetness of things to re-educate your taste to accepting less sweet foods.
I personally find Stevia disgusting with a strong aftertaste but other sweeteners when I do use them are fine.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply. After some thought, I've decided to alleviate my paranoia and concerns is stopping sweeteners altogether. As I said in my previous post, I gave up smoking 4 years ago, so it can't be any more difficult to give up sweeteners,:( surely.
 
Ged said:
Thank you for your reply. After some thought, I've decided to alleviate my paranoia and concerns is stopping sweeteners altogether. As I said in my previous post, I gave up smoking 4 years ago, so it can't be any more difficult to give up sweeteners,:( surely.
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Do you just mean added sweeteners for tea and coffee etc because obviously there are sweeteners in low calorie drinks and squashes etc and no doubt countless other foods and drinks. The key thing is to try to find a balanced approach.
Whilst I learned to drink tea without sugar about 15 years ago, I always said I would rather not drink coffee as drink it without sugar, but now I have it with real double cream instead of sugar and I enjoy it more than I did with sugar and since I have cut out a lot of carbs I am partly relying on the cream for fuel.

I tried lots AND LOTS of different sweeteners when first diagnosed and I never found one that didn't have a nasty aftertaste or was sweet enough to bake with, so I mostly don't bother. The only time I use what I have left from all those purchases is to put in stewed rhubarb as that really is too tart for me without being sweetened. I do still drink diet mixers like cola which obviously have sweeteners in them but I dilute whatever I am having half and half with water and have a slice of lemon or lime in it. So at the pub for example I ask for a half of diet coke/Pepsi Max but in a pint glass and topped up with tap water and a slice or lemon and I find I really enjoy that. It means I am reducing the amount of sweetener I ingest but still have enough sweetness and flavour in my drink and a bit less fizziness which I prefer.

I don't think sweeteners are going to kill you or raise your BG levels significantly if at all (I don't see any rise from them and I monitor my levels closely, but I do think we could probably all benefit from cutting down on them, so if you can manage to stop using them in tea and coffee and reduce your consumption a bit in other drinks that is probably a good compromise, but don't get too radical or worried about it.
 
This is another area where diabetes differs from person to person.
While @rebrascora sees no BG rise from artificial sweeteners, other people on the forum have commented that they do.
And, on the other side, I have read a report that suggested people without diabetes experience BG drop from artificial sweeteners because their bodies reacted to the sweetness by releasing insulin.

I think it is very difficult to cut them out entirely unless we cook everything from complete scratch but it is possible to train our brains to need/want less sweetness.

Remember @Ged managing diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint and some people have found very fast drops in their BG has caused complications.
Although others have done it without problems - yep, we are all different!
 
I used to drink copious amounts of coffee with just 1/2 a tea spoon of brown sugar, so not a lot per cup, but when your like me and drink about 12 cups per day it adds up.

Now I use oat milk in coffee and find I have no need for sugar at all.

Just a thought
 
Alan44 said:
I used to drink copious amounts of coffee with just 1/2 a tea spoon of brown sugar, so not a lot per cup, but when your like me and drink about 12 cups per day it adds up.

Now I use oat milk in coffee and find I have no need for sugar at all.

Just a thought
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Depends on your oat milk it may have as many carbs as half a tsp sugar.
 
Alan44 said:
Just checked
5.5 gms per 100mls of which none is sugar, so I guess I may be having 2gms per cup ??
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The carbs in oatmilk will almost certainly release their glucose as fast as sugar because it is highly processed and 2g carbs is equivalent to half a teaspoon of sugar.... however I am guessing you also had ordinary milk in your coffee along with the sugar before you changed to oatmilk, so that would also add lactose.
 
rebrascora said:
The carbs in oatmilk will almost certainly release their glucose as fast as sugar because it is highly processed and 2g carbs is equivalent to half a teaspoon of sugar.... however I am guessing you also had ordinary milk in your coffee along with the sugar before you changed to oatmilk, so that would also add lactose.
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Yep, semi skimmed milk before, now just the oak milk, which makes the coffee a little creamy and more enjoyable
 
I used to drink Pepsi Max but gave it up for non-diabetic reasons about 20 years ago. Can't actually remember why. Now all artificial sweeteners taste disgusting to me so I don't consume any. Occasionally I'll have a treat containing sugar but otherwise the only sweet things I eat are berries once or twice a week.

For me, it was quite easy to avoid all sweeteners but others obviously don't share my experiences. My mum has T2D and uses stevia and buys sugar free confectionery. My daughter is not diabetic but almost certainly has undiagnosed PCOS and insulin resistance, and being a teenager drinks lurid coloured sugar free drinks every day.

My biggest concern about artificial sweeteners is not their effects on BG, sugar cravings or insulin but the fact that they can change gut microorganisms in a negative way. Having other medical conditions I'm keen to keep my gut as happy as I can.
 
Personally I avoid sweeteners completely. I don't find it particularly difficult since I make most of my meals from scratch. I used to use sweeteners and eat processed foods but I had awful IBS and chronic fatigue. I still have both but they are so much better now that I've cut out the artificial stuff. Some people would say I'm paranoid but the improvement in my health has been incredible and nothing else has changed so I stick by it. I've relaxed my diet slightly now so that I can eat out without worrying what is in my food but I'm still careful.

It seems to really depend on the individual and how they feel, I have friends who live on diet coke and feel completely fine, whereas more than a sip of diet coke would have me running for the bathroom! If you enjoy them and you have no negative side effects then I can't see a problem but if you think there might be a negative effect on your body or your blood sugar levels it is worth trying to go without and seeing if you feel any better. Our tastes change quite quickly so you might miss them for a while but you'll soon find other things that you enjoy.
 
I’m happy to have a moderate intake of sweeteners in soft drinks like sugar-free squash, and tonic water.

Can’t say that I’ve ever noticed any BG impact of note.

I also don’t find I get much aftertaste.

Having said that, I don’t need artificial sweeteners, I ditched sugar in coffee straight away, and can’t bear sugar in coffee now.

Similarly good coffee I’m happy to have black, if there isn’t milk available. Though with (cow) milk is my preference.
 
I drink sugar free squash and the occasional can of fizz, but I haven't noticed any effect on BG.
I occasionally bake a batch of biscuits using almond flour and erythritol.
I have not had sugar in tea or coffee since I was about 10.
 
I've been trying to stay away from man-made sweeteners. I like Sweet Freedom Fruit Syrup – it's made from 100% fruit and tastes really good. I use just a tiny drizzle on my cereal or half a teaspoon in my tea – it's perfect! Love having this natural option (I'm sweet-toothed).
 
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GracefulAng said:
I've been trying to stay away from man-made sweeteners. I like Sweet Freedom Fruit Syrup – it's made from 100% fruit and tastes really good. I use just a tiny drizzle on my cereal or half a teaspoon in my tea – it's perfect! Love having this natural option (I'm sweet-toothed).
Click to expand...
Sweet Freedom is 70% carbs.
I think it is a vegan honey alternative rather than a low/no carb sweetener.
If it a tiny drizzle does not spike your BG it is fine for you but probably little different to honey (82% carb).
 
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