In the ongoing battle to reduce your intake of refined sugars and carbohydrates, sweeteners for diabetics are making it easier for people with diabetes to control blood sugar levels through your daily diet. Improvements of natural and artificial sweeteners are introducing a greater variety of sugar substitutes to the market. Sweeteners for diabetics remains a center of controversy – with reports alternately proving and refuting links to cancer, obesity and other disease – However, the choice and quality of sweeteners for diabetics is now improving.
Surprisingly, recent studies show sweeteners for diabetics, leaving only 5 to 10 percent of the market in sugar substitute. Taste, availability and cost has affected their market penetration of diabetic. Until recently, the bitter taste of stevia, the market leader in natural alternatives to sweeteners for diabetics, slowed down its absorption. Reb-A, which is a new stevia extract, is a type of natural sweeteners which worth a try.
Reb-A (Rebaudioside) is 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar. Outperforming other stevia extracts, Reb-A is not only less calories and low Glycemic, but neither has the flavor of other sweeteners of Stevia.
Luohanguo, an exotic green fruit grown in southern China, is becoming more popular as drying and processing methods are developed to remove their strong flavours. Your component sweeteners, mongrosides, is 300 times sweeter than sugar. Previously found in teas in Chinese shops, with their growing use in the management of diabetes and obesity, is more widely available as a sweetener powder.
The benefits of Xylitol, a sugar alcohol derived from fruit and vegetable fibres, has long been recognized in other parts of the world. This low calorie sweetener and Glycemic is a good substitute sugar for people with diabetes and obesity. It is widely used in toothpaste, gum and sweeteners in Europe and China, where its ability to fight cavities destroying bacteria is valued.
Other sugar alcohols include maltitol, mannitol, lactitol. These sugar substitutes appear often on sweets without sugar, including cookies and cakes. Read the ingredients carefully as they may contain other products that increase blood glucose levels, such as carbohydrates and flour.
Liquorice, a replacement for sugar increasingly popular, should be avoided for diabetics. Its active ingredient, Glycyrrhizic acid increases blood sugar levels low and therefore is a good treatment of hypoglycemia.
As with refined sugar, using sugar substitutes requires balancing carbohydrates in your diet. The type of sugar substitute is less important than how you manage your intake of carbohydrates. Keep these tips from American Diabetes Association in mind:
If additional carbohydrates in your diet, other carbohydrates need to exit. It is important to spread across your carbs: Quench your carbohydrate intake throughout the day will help prevent spikes in your blood glucose level. If you take insulin, CARB intake should be coordinated with the intake of insulin.
Be aware that sugar substitutes also introduce carbohydrates naturally sweetened. Fruit, honey, barley malt, molasses all requires a balancing act. If you use a handful of dates to sweeten the chocolate pudding, baked potato for dinner may have to go.
I have also written some other useful guides about sweeteners for diabetics. You should check it out:
- What You Need To Know About Sweeteners For Diabetics
- A Brief Explanation About Sweeteners for Diabetics
- Finding The Best Sweeteners For Diabetics
- The Importance of Diabetes Test Strips
- Types of Sweeteners for Diabetics Available in The Market
- Different Types of Sweeteners for Diabetics that You Need to Know
- Important Tips About Sweeteners For Diabetics
- An Overview of Sweeteners for Diabetics