• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Xylitol

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
GodivaGirl

GodivaGirl

Well-Known Member
Tony has decided he wants to try and make some cakes, without sugar, just as a little treat now and again. If today's efforts are anything to go by, I wish he wouldn't bother...yikes a sort of cross between pastry and soggy sponge 😱. Anyway, I've been googling and found a sugar substitute called Xylitol, does anyone use it, is it OK for diabetics?

~Val~
 
It's same carb as sugar, c. 100g carb/100g weight, but so I'm told, no aftertaste and it's about 4 x as sweet.

The 'creaming' method would be out I think as doubtful if you could get the right consistency?

If you are using ground almonds, that will absorb more liquid than wheat flour so the liquid (eggs or whatever) should be about the same.
 
It doesn't caramelise and it won't feed yeast, I've tried without success to make cake icing with it. Should be fine for cake making, have a look here: http://www.ehow.com/how_5047468_bake-xylitol.html

You can also use Splenda which is a lot more available (in most supermarkets) if you don't mind the bad press about it.

Personally I find it's easier to use normal recipes and reduce portion size, but well done for trying.
 
Xylitol is one of the sugar alcohols, hence to my mind isn't suitable for anyone except perhaps as a cure for constipation. 😱 And though technically not sugar, I for one find that it spikes my BG just the same...

For baking it's probably best (as already said) to use a sucralose-based sweetener such as Splenda, or for buttercream I've successfully used powdered aspartame (various brands such as Canderel) -- I don't know if that would work for icing, having not tried this. Bear in mind that contrary to what various crackpot websites would have one believe, no artificial sweetener has ever been proven harmful (apart from the laxative effect of the sugar alcohols) at, or anywhere near, the dose levels any sane person would use; not even the cyclamates, which is why the former ban on those was repealed.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top