All About Sweeteners

Having diabetes used to mean a lifetime of meals that lacked the most pleasant aspect of taste: sweetness. Today, rules for avoiding sugar have been relaxed. New low calorie sweeteners can give you sweetness that tastes as good as sugar, without the extra calories. As a result, people with diabetes today can eat meals that are well-rounded in taste, as well as in nutrition.

The Sweet Life

Table sugar (sucrose) used to be seen as unhealthy for people with diabetes. Doctors and dietitians assumed that table sugar was more quickly digested and absorbed into the blood than starches, like potatoes and breads. They thought that table sugar would cause a larger rise in blood glucose.

They were wrong. More than a dozen studies have shown that sugars in foods don´t spike blood glucose any higher or faster than starches. The American Diabetes Association has changed its nutritional recommendations to say, "scientific evidence has shown that the use of sucrose as part of the meal plan does not impair blood glucose control in individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes."

The picky guidelines that told you exactly how many teaspoons of sugar you could eat per week have been dropped. However, one important rule remains: you need to work sugar into the meal plan that you have set up with your dietitian. Sugar is not a "free food." It counts as a carbohydrate. When you choose to eat foods that contain sugar, you need to substitute them for carbohydrate foods in your meal plan.

What is a sugary food?

The Nutrition Facts labels on almost all packaged foods will tell you how many grams of sugar are in a serving of that food, as well as how many grams of total carbohydrate. Your registered dietitian can help you read the new food label. He or she will also do a nutrition assessment to tell you how much carbohydrate to eat at each meal.

The Aftertaste

The new recommendations are good news, but there are still reasons to limit the amount of sugar you eat. Sugary foods are often foods without much nutrition. They have calories, but lack the vitamins, minerals, and fiber that are important to your health. Foods made with a lot of sugar are often also high in fat. Look at the exchange values for foods such as ice cream, cake, and chocolate. One-half cup of ice cream equals one (1) starch and two (2) fat exchanges. Eating too many high-fat foods puts you at risk for heart and blood vessel disease.

Remember that different people have different responses to food. It´s a good idea to check your blood glucose after you eat a sugary food. You may be able to eat a serving of a food with sugar without much change in your blood glucose levels. Or you may find that your blood glucose level shoots up and you need to use care when eating sugary foods. If you take insulin, your dietitian may be able to teach you how to increase your dose when you plan to eat something with sugar or extra carbohydrate.

a.k.a. Sugar

There are many types of sugars in nature. You should be aware that the Nutrition Facts label groups all types of sugar together under the category "sugars." Regular table sugar is called sucrose. You may recognize some other sugars on labels because their chemical names also end in "-ose." These include: glucose (also called dextrose), fructose (also called levulose), lactose, and maltose. Other kinds of carbohydrates are sugar alcohols: sorbitol, xylitol, and mannitol.

Fructose and the sugar alcohols may have a smaller effect on your blood glucose levels than sucrose or other carbohydrates. These sweeteners are fine to use in moderate amounts, but there is no reason to use large amounts of fructose or sugar alcohols in place of sucrose. Large amounts of fructose may increase blood fat levels.

Sucrose is known by several names, depending on its form and how it was processed. Molasses, beet sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, confectioner´s sugar, powdered sugar, raw sugar, turbinado, and maple syrup are all are basically table sugar and have similar effects on blood glucose.

Other natural and processed foods are very high in sugars. These foods include: carob powder, corn syrup, sugar cane syrup, honey, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate.

Low Calorie Sweeteners

Don´t throw away your low calorie sweeteners just because sugar is safer than you thought. Low calorie sweeteners are "free foods." They make food taste sweet, and have no calories and do not raise blood glucose levels. They do not count as a carbohydrate, a fat, or any other exchange. They can be added to your meal plan instead of substituted.

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of these low calorie sweeteners. The American Diabetes Association accepts the FDA´s conclusion that these sweeteners are safe

Saccharin

Saccharin can be used in both hot and cold foods to make them sweeter. As you may know, large amounts of saccharin have caused cancer in laboratory animals, such as rats. Rats are often good models for humans, but in the case of saccharin, they appear not to be. Evidence from studies done on people suggests that saccharin does not cause cancer in humans.

Aspartame

Aspartame (NutraSweet) is another low calorie sweetener. You need to use only a tiny amount to sweeten food. People who have the rare disease phenylketonuria (PKU) know not eat or drink anything with phenylalanine. Because aspartame-containing products have phenylalanine, those products carry the labeling "Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine."

High temperatures can decrease its sweetness so check the manufacturer´s Web site or call their toll-free number for guidelines when using aspartame in recipes.

Sucralose Sucralose (SPLENDA) is the newest low calorie sweetener on the market. Sucralose can be used anywhere sugar can be used, such as in beverages, baked goods, and processed foods. Like other low calorie sweeteners, you may need to add some sugar to recipes to improve texture. All of these low calorie sweeteners may help people who have diabetes or are overweight reduce calories and stick to a healthy meal plan. In addition, these sweeteners are useful for reducing calories and carbohydrates when used instead of sugar in coffee, tea, cereal, and on fruit.

For Dessert

Whether you choose to eat foods with sugar, low calorie sweeteners, both, or neither, there are four helpful hints to a sweeter life with diabetes.

• Work with a registered dietitian to develop a meal plan unique for you. A nutritional assessment will help you learn how much carbohydrate at meals and snacks keeps your blood glucose in your target range.
• Limit saturated fats, which often go hand-in-hand with sugar in some sweet foods.
• Learn to read the Nutrition Facts on food labels to know how much fat, protein, and carbohydrate you´re getting.
• Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and whole grain foods each day.

This article came from American Diabetic Association website. Acesulfame-K is probably not approved in Canada, but is available in USA. Although this artificial sweetner was approved by the FDA in 1988, some people are still concerned about its safety. See the article below. Tell this person to use any other that is available in the market, or get it from south of the border.

From the book SAFE FOOD by Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D, Lisa Lefferts and Anne Garland

"Acesulfame K, sold commercially as Sunette or Sweet One, was approved by the FDA in 1988 as a sugar substitute in packet or tablet form, in chewing gum, dry mixes for beverages, instant coffee and tea, gelatin desserts, puddings and nondairy creamers. The manufacturer has asked the FDA to approve acesulfame K for soft drinks and baked goods.

The public is waiting for an artificial sweetener that is unquestionably safe. But this one isn't it. Even compared to aspartame and saccharin (which are afflicted with their own safety publems - see below), acesulfame K is the worst. The additive is inadequately tested, the FDA based its approval on tests of acesulfame K that fell short of the FDA's own standards. But even those tests indicate that the additive causes cancer in animals, which means it may increase cancer risk in humans. In l987, CSPI urged the FDA not to approve acesulfame K, but was ignored. After the FDA gave the chemical its blessing, CSPI urged that iat be banned. The FDA hasn't yet ruled on that request."

Source: Americian Diatectic Association website
http://www.diabetes.org/nutrition-and-recipes/nutrition/sweeteners.jsp

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