Everything to know about keto sweeteners — Diet Doctor Explores
October 27 2020 by Kristie Sullivan, PhD![Kristie Sullivan, PhD]()
, video by in Food
, video by in Food Finding the perfect sweetener is the secret to enjoying an occasional keto or low-carb treat.
Use our guide to explore which sweetener might be right for you. But even after you’ve found the perfect approved sweetener, what about the different forms of sweetener? Which should you use, and when?
Sweetener comes in three different forms: granulated, powdered, and liquid. And they aren’t all created equal.
Step into my kitchen during this week’s episode of Diet Doctor Explores. I’ll show you different forms of sweeteners and give you examples of when to use them. I’ll also explain what forms work well for different types of recipes.
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Allulose is discussed in our guide!
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/sweeteners
First, one should consider all of the ramifications, the effect on this plant, of buying yet another Unnecessary product from our energy-using industrial culture. It certainly is “a want” not “a need”.
In addition, regardless of its 0 carb status, it is still sweet. It is used to satisfy a craving (which doesn’t have to be triggered by high carb glucose sugars); it reinforces the learned pattern of sweetness expectation, so prevalent in our culture. Thus, the frosted carrot cake made with erythritol, which looks just like one’s old favorite from Grandma or the bakery. It is stated to be the “least” objectionable sugar substitute which means it is still objectionable. The fact that Erythritol has FDA approval as safe, acceptable, means nothing. We have been done this path a multitude of times over the years. Cargill is one producer of erythritol. Enough said.
ACD
Many years ago, I asked him which were the best sweeteners for diabetics, and he replied”None at all”.
You can check out the pros and cons of stevia in our Sweetener Guide. It is 200-300% sweeter than sugar. Be sure to read the labels carefully to avoid fillers. https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/sweeteners#stevia
Here is a link that will take you directly to allulose: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/sweeteners#allulose
used in your recipes to the sweetner I use. Or a table showing
how to convert sugar measurements to the sweetners you show.
The sweeteners Diet Doctor uses in different recipes are generally a 1:1 ratio of sweetness to sugar. Most sweeteners that are commercially available are a blend of 2+ ingredients rather than just stevia or just erythritol. As long as the sweetener you have says that it measures 1:1 to sugar, you can use the amount listed in the recipe.
[I have not tried any of these "new" sweeteners. I have not had any artificial or unconventional sweetener since I went "cold turkey" on Diet Coke 20 years ago, and I have not eaten any regular sugars/maple syrup/etc. since January of this year -- but I am helping my elderly mother to cut down on her very-high-carb and unhealthy pattern of eating, and I was wondering if having a small, sweet treat once in a while (that is made with a low-carb sweetener) might encourage her compliance with a moderate-carb diet, and I thought I'd try to make her a little something tasty and healthy-ish with one of these new sweeteners this weekend.]
I have found a few "cons" about these which were not mentioned in the above article, nor in most other online information. These "cons" would not affect everyone, but would probably affect me (and some others in the wider population), so I thought I'd mention them here, in case it helps anyone.
Stevia and chicory root are both in the ragweed family, also called the daisy family and "Asteraceae" family. This is a huge plant family with many plant types that people might be allergic to, such as ragweed, sunflower, chamomile, calendula/marigold, echinacea, wormwood, absinthe, milk thistle, etc. (I am allergic to some of the Asteraceae plants, and as I get older, I react to more and more of them, which is not unusual. Therefore, I would not want to risk having an allergic reaction to stevia or chicory root.)
Some experts in the AIP (auto-immune protocol/paleo) diet say that stevia potentially could "mess" with some of our hormones, especially those of people with thyroid and other auto-immune issues, and therefore it's not recommended on that plan.
Monk fruit is a member of the gourd family, "Cucurbitaceae", which also includes zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber, bitter melon, watermelon, and squash. (In recent years, I have developed consistently bad reactions to eating zucchini and cucumber, but I don't know if it's the lectins in them, or what it could be. Knowing that monk fruit is in the same family as some of the plants that I have a bad reaction to helps me to weigh up how eager I would be to try it, given how expensive it is anyway, and how seemingly difficult it is to find a highly-rated monkfruit product that is not mixed with one or more other sweeteners.)
Also regarding monk fruit, I have seen several user complaints on a neutral site saying that they experienced hair loss, numb tongue, and hives after using it.
Regarding the AIP diet, the founding experts of that way of eating apparently say that monk fruit is an immune system stimulator (I think it stimulates TH1 cells, or something -- I don't recall exactly!) and that it should be avoided on the AIP.
Erythritol is a by-product of yeast fermentation, which apparently all sugar alcohols are. (In the last few years, I have become sensitive to foods and nutritional supplements that have anything to do with yeast or that are by-products of yeast fermentation, even if the yeast is supposedly long gone from the product. For that reason, I would be wary of trying erythritol, and would try just a tiny amount at first, and on its own, to see if I had a reaction.)
Further, one of the experts I looked up today said not to use erythritol "if you have neurological issues", but I didn't put in my notes which one (it may have been Dr. Gundry), and I also didn't record why that would be a concern.
I found a claim on a reputable website that one of the 4 sweeteners above also stimulates the body's cytokines, but I didn't scribble down which sweetener it was in my notes.
As far as allulose goes, I am still looking up that one, which has led me in a search-engine search to this DietDoctor article tonight (which I had already visited some years ago). As the newest one of these 5 sugar substitutes to be widely discussed in the US, I have found less info on it than the others.
Allulose is apparently mainly processed from corn, which I have developed a big sensitivity to in recent years (I presume it's the lectins in the corn, but am not sure), but allulose is probably such a chemical derivative that probably most of the "corn-corn" components are no longer there (unlike stevia, and, to a lesser extent, monk fruit extract and chicory root extract, which are seemingly closer to their original nature). I would look for a non-GMO-corn allulose, if I tried it.
On the whole, I was really surprised today to find out that I could quite possibly be sensitive to 4 of these 5 "new" low-carb sweeteners -- by virtue of some of their plant families (some members of which I have allergies/intolerances to), possible processing method (utilizing yeast), potential affects on the immune system, potential affects on the hormones, and/or potential affects on the neurological system -- because I had not seen these issues discussed in any low-carb/keto/nutrition/health article that I had read (including the ones on Dietdoctor.com), nor in any health/nutrition YouTube video that I had watched, in the last few years. I had to spend a sustained amount of time looking into these sweeteners online today before I came across these caveats, which certainly won't be a problem for "most people", but could definitely be a problem for "some people".
I feel kind of deflated now, and I'll have to go back to my Amazon cart and delete most of the low-carb sweetener "possibilities" for making my mom some treats that I had put into that cart at the beginning of this afternoon, before I dug into my internet searching! She does not have most of the food allergies/sensitivities that I do, but we have some similar hormonal and neurological issues, and I don't want to make her any new recipes that I wouldn't be comfortable tasting myself.