Sugar Alcohols Provide Sweetness, but at a cost
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS:
Sugar-free sweeteners include natural alternatives (allulose, stevia, monk fruit), sugar alcohols (erythritol, xylitol), and artificial sweeteners (sucralose, aspartame). They provide lower-calorie, low-glycemic alternatives to sugar, though many can cause digestive issues or possess a distinct aftertaste.
Top Sugar-Free Sweeteners: Pros & Cons:
1. Allulose (Our Top Choice)
A “rare” sugar found in figs/raisins that does not significantly affect blood sugar or insulin.
Pros:
Tastes and textures almost exactly like sugar (70% as sweet), browns well in baking, zero net carbs.
Cons:
Expensive, can cause stomach upset in large amounts (over 30g), limited long-term research.
2. Monk Fruit
Derived from a fruit native to Southeast Asia:
Pros:
Zero calories, 200–300x sweeter than sugar, no bitter aftertaste for many users, zero glycemic impact.
Cons:
Often expensive, usually blended with erythritol to improve bulk, which can cause digestive issues. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
3. Stevia
Extracted from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant.
Pros:
Zero calories, 200–300x sweeter than sugar, natural source.
Cons:
Can have a bitter, licorice-like aftertaste, often mixed with other fillers.
4. Erythritol (Sugar Alcohol)
A sugar alcohol used in many “keto” products.
Pros:
70% as sweet as sugar, no calories, does not spike blood sugar, tastes similar to sugar.
Cons:
Can cause significant digestive distress (gas, diarrhea), may have a “cooling” effect in the mouth, recent studies suggest a link to higher cardiovascular risk.
5. Xylitol (Sugar Alcohol)
Used frequently in sugar-free gum and candy.
Pros:
Tastes very similar to sugar, benefits oral health.
Cons:
High calories compared to other alternatives, highly toxic to dogs, potential link to heart events.
6. Artificial Sweeteners (Sucralose, Aspartame, Acesulfame-K):
Pros:
Zero calories, very cheap, intensely sweet (200-700x).
Cons:
Often have a chemical aftertaste, not ideal for baking, long-term use has been linked to higher risks of heart disease and stroke.
Summary of Best Uses:
- Baking/Texture: Allulose
- Coffee/Tea: Stevia or Monk Fruit
- Low Cost: Sucralose (Splenda) or Aspartame
- Keto/Low Carb: Allulose, Erythritol
Note: While safe for most, all sugar substitutes should be consumed in moderation, as they can keep taste buds accustomed to intense sweetness and cause digestive distress.
Sugar-free sweeteners are:
Low- or zero-calorie sugar substitutes used to sweeten foods and drinks, offering alternatives to table sugar for calorie reduction and blood sugar management. Common examples include artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, and natural options like stevia and monk fruit. While generally considered safe by regulators, some studies link them to potential adverse effects, including impacts on gut health, appetite, and increased risk of metabolic disorders or clotting.
Types of Sweeteners
Artificial Sweeteners:
These are chemicals, often man-made, that provide intense sweetness with few to no calories.
- Examples: Aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), neotame, and advantame.
- Natural Sweeteners:
- Derived from plants or other natural sources, these are alternatives to sugar.
- Sugar Alcohols: Found naturally in some plants or produced through a fermentation process, sugar alcohols provide sweetness but are less sweet than sugar and are often used to provide volume.
- Examples: Erythritol, xylitol, and sorbitol.
Why People Use Them
- Weight Management: To reduce calorie intake and help manage weight.
- Blood Sugar Control: To avoid spikes in blood sugar levels, which is beneficial for people with diabetes.
- Calorie Reduction: To provide a sweet taste with minimal or no calories.
Potential Health Considerations
- Gut Microbiome: Some studies suggest sweeteners may negatively impact gut bacteria.
- Appetite and Weight: Evidence is mixed, but some research indicates they could increase appetite and lead to weight gain, rather than loss.
- Metabolic Health: Some sweeteners have been linked to an increased risk of metabolic disorders like diabetes.
- Cardiovascular Risks: Emerging research links high levels of certain sweeteners, like erythritol, to increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and clotting.
What to Look For on Food Labels
- Products labeled “sugar-free,” “reduced sugar,” or “no added sugar” often contain these sweeteners.
- Sweeteners can also be found in many foods, including diet soft drinks, desserts, baked goods, and candies.
Recommendation
Prioritizing natural sugars from fruits and other whole foods can be a better strategy for overall health.
SUGAR ALCOHOLS:
It is often best to use artificial sweeteners sparingly, similar to table sugar.
What are sugar alcohols? How do they differ from other sweeteners?
Well, basically not much; but scientifically it is about their chemical formula. Sugar alcohols are a mixture of alcohol and sugar molecules. They will not get you drunk, but they do contain ethanol as do beer, wine, and many other alcohols. They don’t contain sugar so you won’t get energy from them either.
Sugar alcohols usually are not as sweet as regular sugar. Because of that you need to be aware of that when calculating calories and their effects on your blood glucose level you will need to use more of them.
Here’s a list of common sugar alcohols on the market:
Erythritol
Erythritol’s sweetness is similar to table sugar, but is about 20% less sweet. It is also used as filler replacing unhealthy maltodextrin in food. When you see stevia or monk fruit on a package, it most probably is filled with either erythritol or maltodextrin. Its glycemic index is 0 so it won’t affect your blood sugar.
As it cannot be digested, it will cause bloating and gas especially if it is consumed in large quantities. However, smaller doses it is just fine for most people.
The taste has this cooling effect, making it a very good choice for cold food and beverages. Great for making Keto ice cream.
It can be used in baking as it is stable in higher temperatures, only up to about 330, and it will not brown or thicken. So baking a cake is certainly possible, however many other recipes call over 350F or higher so check to see if your recipe can handle less than 330. It gives this cold artificial feeling in baked goods, you can overcome this by adding cinnamon or black pepper if the recipe can handle it. Adding a bit of cinnamon or even black pepper to a brownie will give you surprisingly wonderful results.
It is suitable for KETO, low-carb, and diabetic diets, but may cause blood clots if over used.
Notes: At a Glance
- vascular health.
Erythritol is found in many foods and drinks, but is not required to be listed on nutrition labels.
Artificial sweeteners have become a widespread way to reduce sugar and calorie intake. Regulatory agencies generally consider artificial sweeteners to be safe. But little is known about their long-term health consequences. Growing evidence points to a link between certain artificial sweeteners and cardiovascular problems. But the connection hasn’t yet been proven.
Erythritol is a common artificial sweetener. Low amounts occur naturally in fruits and vegetables. It is also made inside our cells as part of normal metabolism. But when used as a sweetener, erythritol levels are typically more than 1,000-fold greater than levels found naturally in foods. Erythritol is in an ingredient category called “sugar alcohols,” which are not required to be listed individually on Nutrition Facts labels.
An NIH-funded research team led by Dr. Stanley Hazen at the Cleveland Clinic examined the relationship between erythritol and heart attacks and stroke. In an initial study with more than 1,000 people, the team looked for compounds in blood whose levels were linked to future cardiac risk. They tracked major adverse cardiovascular events over three years, including death and nonfatal heart attack or stroke. Results appeared in Nature Medicine on February 27, 2023.
The team found that elevated levels of erythritol and several related artificial sweeteners were associated with the risk for cardiovascular events. To confirm this result, the researchers examined two more groups of people in the U.S. and Europe totaling almost 3,000. They also developed a method to better distinguish erythritol from related compounds.
These measurements reproduced the association between erythritol and cardiovascular events. People with the highest erythritol levels (top 25%) were about twice as likely to have cardiovascular events over three years of follow-up as those with the lowest (bottom 25%).
Next, the team wanted to better understand how erythritol might increase these health risks. So, they exposed human platelets, which control blood clotting, to erythritol. Doing so increased the platelets’ sensitivity to blood clotting signals. Increasing blood erythritol levels also sped up blood clot formation and artery blockage in mice.
The scientists next asked how diet affects erythritol levels in people. To find out, they measured blood erythritol levels in eight healthy volunteers after drinking a beverage sweetened with erythritol. Blood erythritol levels increased 1,000-fold and remained substantially elevated for several days. For at least two days, the erythritol levels grew more than high enough to trigger changes in platelet function.
These results suggest that consuming erythritol can increase blood clot formation. This, in turn, could increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. Given the prevalence of erythritol in artificially sweetened foods, further safety studies of the health risks of erythritol are warranted.
“Sweeteners like erythritol have rapidly increased in popularity in recent years, but there needs to be more in-depth research into their long-term effects,” Hazen says. “Cardiovascular disease builds over time, and heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. We need to make sure the foods we eat aren’t hidden contributors.”
—by Brian Doctrow, Ph.D.
Xylitol
Xylitol is as sweet as table sugar so it can be used one-to-one in that sense. It is used in sugar free gum and is actually good for your teeth. It also can be used in baking however you may find that is has drying effect.
It has a slight effect on blood glucose level, it is certainly much less than regular sugar but still has an effect. Most importantly, when calculating net carbs you cannot simply remove the entire xylitol amount as you do with others, you may reduce only half of it. If you’re not aware of it, it will kick you right out of ketosis.
Similar to other sugar alcohols, it will cause digestive issues.
It is a bit tricky for Keto Dieters, it could be OK in low quantities.
Isomalt
This product has been used for many years by cake decorators as you can create amazingly clear and glass-like cake decorations with it. It is about half the sweetness of sugar and may seem half the calories but you need to use twice the amount so it has the same calories and same carb amount as sugar. Its glycemic index for the same sweetness is about one-third of table sugar.
All in all, isomalt should only be used as a nice ingredient in cake decorations only. The digestive problems it causes amount to ridiculous levels. If you really want to test it, do it on a weekend that you have no other plans.
Definitely NOT an option for KETO or low-carb dieters.
Mannitol (NOT OK for any dieters)
It is not very commonly used in food production and is actually a medication. It also is used to sweeten medications. In large quantities (like to sweeten a cake or candy) it has serious side effects, and those side effects are not as simple as diarrhea. It can cause heart rhythm problems, electrolyte imbalances, and kidney problems. It should NOT be considered an option in baking or cooking. Its glycemic index is low and it’s about half as sweet as sugar.
NOT OK for any dieters.
Maltitol
It is close to table sugar in sweetness and its glycemic index is more than half of regular sugar. When you consume it, say in a cake, its effect on your blood glucose level is like eating half of that cake. When used in syrup form its effect on blood glucose is the SAME as table sugar, while in powder form is less so.
For Keto dieters, this is NOT an option. Having zero calories and zero carbs but jumping your blood sugar is one of the worst things you can do to your metabolism, and your body is going to react in many ways including insulin resistance.
As a result, you have to be careful about sugar-alcohol sweeteners. Unfortunately, many so-called ‘keto snacks’ or ‘keto candies’ are not actually keto-friendly just because of the sugar-alcohol they use as a sweetener. Your best option is the sweets that use natural sweeteners like Allulose, Stevia, and/or Monk Fruit. As you know our favorite keto sweets are Allulose chocolates.
