Sweeteners

Food
21

Hi Gerri,

My Endocrinologist agrees with you that the GI may not be the best tool, in fact the testing that we’ve been discussing and hoping to formalize soon will look at Glycemic Impact on type 1 diabetics.

The preliminary tests we’ve done on type 1 diabetics have had them wearing a Dexcom meter to see the results from fasting and without insulin for 3 hours during the test. We only have data from a handful of participants but what we saw was a modest upward curve over 3 hours not a spike. This information is not complete enough for us to publish but we are currently recruiting for a more formal study and when I can publish results I will.

This is the primary reason I recommend that whenever people eat a new food they test it fasting. Then eat the food and then test every 30 minutes for 2 hours. This way you know what your bodies reaction is and how to manage the food.

Olive oil is the only oil I add and it is a very small quantity. The fat in our bars comes mostly from the Almonds, Sunflower Seeds and Flax. The vegetable oil is in the banana chips which are in the chocolate flavors only. We eliminated the banana chips from the fruit flavors and are planning to do so from the chocolate flavors as well.

As for Agave having the same impact on your blood sugar as honey and sugar, I believe this is possible. We all respond differently to different foods. I have that issue with sugar alcohol, it converts just like sugar for me. I am curious if you have tested Agave with nothing else or as part of a food (not a drink).

The reason I ask is that my thought is that if a food is easy to digest then most of the work your stomach would do is already done and blood sugar conversion is much quicker.

Send me a private message with your address and I’ll send you a 4 pack of Granola Gourmet bars so you can try them.

22

Hi Brian,

5.9 is great! You’re doing lots right:)

I was a vegetarian for decades before being diagnosed. I tried really hard to maintain a vegetarian diet, but couldn’t. Kudos to any PWD who can. Wish I could.

I’m very active & feel no lack of energy. In fact, I have more energy than before:) I think back on my former carb laden meals (pre-diagnosis) & now know why I used to fall asleep on the sofa after dinner. Thought I was just tired from the day, but it was that deadening effect of too many carbs. Truly, I was a carb junkie. Always ate healthy (no refined anything), but it was over kill.

Breakfast: eggs & cheese, or a flaxseed/nut granola I make w/unsweetened almond milk, or flaxseed pancakes (when I have time), flaxseed/nut muffins. I eat very low carb breakfasts because I have dawn phenonmenon.

Lunch: Salad (mostly dark green leafy) with protein (salmon, tuna or cheese), veggie soup, avocado/cream cheese/cucumber/scallions rolled up in nori seaweed like a wrap, peanut butter in nori (am addicted to peanut butter), or whey isolate protein shakes (unsweetened almond milk, whey isolate powder, unsweetened dark cocoa, or cold decaf coffee, stevia for sweetener).

Dinner: Fish (or meat–still having a hard time with red meat & I don’t like poultry), small salad & low carb veggies, or a veggie quiche, flaxseed crust pizza. I drink a glass or two of red wine with dinner.

Snacks: (I don’t snack much because I rarely feel hungry.) nuts, flaxseed muffins or flaxseed crackers (homemade).

Desserts (when I have to make): almond flour cookies, nut crust pumpkin mousse pie, coconut macaroons, etc. I also use coconut flour for baking, in addition to almond meal. Very low carb.

Oils: olive oil for salads, coconut oil for sauteeing, frying.

My meals are 12-15 carbs, less for breakfast. Protein–about 4-6 ounces per meal. I’m a small person.

Have a friend with chickens & ducks. She gives me fresh eggs from her happy, free range chickens & ducks.

I don’t eat any grains. The only fruit I eat is small amounts of berries.

23

Hi Gerri,
Thank you for the detailed response! Much appreciated. I am going to try out some of your menu suggestions!

-Brian

24

I’ve also had problems with sugar alcohols. Seems that some people are uneffected & others have spikes.

I first used agave in baking. Not good for me. Since I had a whole bottle, I started using it to treat lows, which worked well:) So, I’ve taken it basically alone for this. Works the same as sugar or honey for me, also as quickly.

GI is an interesting theory, but not a reality for people with diabetes. Like your endo, I don’t think it’s a tool & is misleading for people with our problem.

25

I have a Minimed CGMS and would be happy to test a bar for you and report back the results. I don’t like the idea of not taking any insulin for something with all that sugar in it though. I’m skeptical, as much as Gerri, but I’m not going to claim what you say about your product is impossible because I’ve seen foods barely impact me (blueberries and strawberries for instance) even though they appear to have potential to spike my blood glucose levels up sharply.

If I see my blood glucose moving up in 30-60 minutes though I’m going to bolus because an excursion above 160 or so is usually hours of work for me to correct and no food is worth that effort.

Can you be more specific as to what a “modest curve” is? I actually prefer carbs that are in and out relatively quickly, as opposed to something that is going to come back in three hours and kick me in the nuts. There is a name for food like that, it’s called pizza, and I avoid that most of the time too. :slight_smile:

26

Great idea, Jason. Your Minimed is a better method. I’m not a particularly good test subject because I have gastroparesis. I’ve seen food hit me 5 hours later.

So agree with you about carbs that digest quickly that we can blous for, rather than correcting for later. I tried an Extend Bar a while ago. Wasn’t pretty waiting for their slow absorbing, high fiber carbs to hit.

27

My sister told me to use Splenda last Sep 08. I was using Splenda and I loved it. Diagnosed with D Jan. '08. My brother was visiting from Arkansas 2 weeks back, and he had been using Splenda since about Sep '08. His doctor around Jan '08, said his sugar was a little high. He told me some of his friends told him not to use Splenda, that it has a lot to side effects. I looked up on the net and the side effects. I quit using splenda about a week and a half ago and started using refined sugar. My BS levels have dropped tremendously, I was running between 140s to 260’s. Since I quit Splenda, I had to quit taking Glipizide, I still take my metformin. Today my 14-day meter is 113, my 30-day is 124(these had been about 156/164 respectively). Yesterday, myBS were 97FBS-morn, 2 hours afterlunch 97, 2 hours after dinner and two cups of coffee with table sugar 110. My diet has not changed other than I have cheated and also been drinking regular soda for about a week. Google Splenda and Side Effects and make you own decision.

28

Sugar actually good for diabetics? You wonder if these artificial sweetener’s block insulin receptor sites would that not be funny? I wonder in the 1,000,000 chemicals that we have released into our environment since the last war if some of them do block receptor sites and if this is contributing to the massive increase in obesity.

29

Stevia was just approved by the US FDA for sale as a sweetener.

Another comment said it “isn’t very good for baking.” Perhaps he should tell that to the baking companies in Japan, where about 30% of commercial breads and many other baked goods have used stevia for years now.

I use the actual dried plant in my tea with good results. I have also used powder and liquid forms, and presently I have small tablets purchased here where I now live in Ukraine.

Finally, there is some indication that stevia may also help reduce blood sugar, although if this is true from my experience I’d say the effect seems to be a mild one if any.

As for it being a “natural plant extract”–while true, that is not necessarily a good thing in itself. Remember that there are various poisons that are also natural plant extracts.

However, many foods we are accustomed to sweetening are perfectly fine by themselves without adding a sweetener at all. For example, many herbal teas are naturally good tasting and don’t need sweeteners. I only use it for a few types of more bitter teas–such as an herbal blend widely sold here for helping with glucose control.

32

The EU has banned sales of stevia because there is evidence that high dosages increases some cancers and male infertility.

As to being plant sourced, that’s no guarantee of safety, so is nicotine, conliine, cyanides, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and grayanotoxins are some of the toxins in various plants. Oh! I left out the nightshades - potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant also deadly and black nightshade. These plants contain several toxins. In the ones we eat it such as the potato all parts of the plant, including eyes on the tubers contain toxins, only the potato is toxin free. If exposed to light there will form a greenish tinge which is mildly toxic. Night toxins are tropane alkaloids: solanine, atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine.

33

I’m pretty sure that isn’t true now and hasn’t been the case for a long time. It might have been true when this very old thread started.

34

Further searching is inconclusive of connections of stevia to any heath risks.

35

Just to be clear, I have no knowledge either way about health risks. I was just clarifying that it isn’t banned in the EU.

36

Gerri,

Apples ususally have about 20-25 carbs and have been a regular part of my diet since diagnosis. Everyone is different but many of us can manage fresh fruit in moderation.

Maurie

2 Likes