Search On : All Words Any Words Phrase

Family Health Magazine
DIABETES

Sweeteners
How and when to use them

As someone with diabetes, you should know how and why using sweeteners can affect your health. There are two basic types of sweeteners. Nutritive sweeteners contain about four calories in each gram. These include fructose, sugar alcohols, sugar and honey. Non-nutritive sweeteners, which provide no calories, include saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium (Ace K) and sucralose. Artificial sweeteners, if used properly, allow people with diabetes something sweet without a serious impact on their blood sugar. Ask the dietitian on your diabetes team how to include artificial sweeteners in your meal plan. When cooking or baking with artificial sweeteners, start with a recipe developed for the sweetener you are using. Substituting an artificial sweetener for sugar in a regular recipe may produce varying results.

SWEETENER	BRAND NAME	ACCEPTABLE * DAILY INTAKE (per kg of body weight)	EFFECT ON BLOOD SUGAR (BSL)	USE IN COOKING AND BAKING	IS IT SAFE?	HOW IS IT AVAILABLE?
Aspartame	Nutrasweet™, Equal™, Sugar Twin™ (blue box)	40 mg	Does not increase	Not recommended for foods that may take a long time to cook	Safe, except for people with phenlketonuria	Tablet, liquid, granulated and powder form, used in hot and cold drinks, cereal, fruit drinks, pop and chewing gum.
Sodium Cyclamates	Sucaryl™, Sugar Twin™ (yellow box), Sweet N' Low™, Safeway Substitute	10 mg	Does not increase	Can be used	Safe, not recommended in pregnancy	Liquid, granulated, tablet and powder form, used in hot and cold drinks, cereals, fruit drinks and other products.
Saccharin	Hermesetas™, Sweet N' Low™	2.5 mg	Does not increase	Avoid, turns bitter when heated	Safe in small amounts	Liquid, tablet and granulated, available from pharmacist
Sucralose	Splenda™	9 mg	Does not increase	Can be used	Safe	Powder form, used in soft drinks, chewing gum and other products
Acesulfame Potassium (Ace_K)	Sunette™, Sweet One™	15 mg	Does not increase	Can be used	Safe, those on a potassium-restricted diet or who are allergic to sulfa-based antibiotics should discuss use with doctor	Powder form, used in candy, gum, soft drinks, desserts and other products
Sugar Alcohols	Sorbitol, Mannitol, Xylitol	Information not available	May increase	Information not available	Safe in small amounts, may have laxative effect in large amounts	Diet candies, gums, jam, syrup, sore throat lozenges, bakery prodcts and other products.
	Isomalt	Information not available	Information not available	Can be used	Information not available	Not available to the consumer, found in commercial bakery products
Polydextrose	Litesse™	Information not available	Up to 50 g has no effect	Information not available	Information not available	Not available, used in frozen desserts, baked goods, candies, salad dressings, gelatins, puddings, popsicles and other products.

NOTE: 1 KILOGRAM (KG) = 2.2 POUNDS (LBS) Some products may include one or more sweeteners. Remember to read the label for the ingredient list and nutrition information. Foods that are listed as sugar free or no sugar added will affect your blood sugar level if they contain carbohydrates. Health Canada reviews all scientific research and literature on the effectiveness and safety of artificial sweeteners. Regulations are then approved for use and a recommended daily intake is set for the sweeteners. Note: if you are pregnant, discuss use of artificial sweeteners with your doctor and dietitian. For more information about sweeteners,contact: Equal 1-800-323-5316 Splenda 1-800-561-0070 Sucaryl 1-800-361-7852 Ask for Customer Service. Sugar Twin Recipe 1-800-268-0692 Customer Service, www.diabetes.ca, Diabetes Education Centre or the Canadian Diabetes Association Office in your area.
*Discuss your maximum safe intake with your dietitian.

FAMILY HEALTH is written
with the assistance of

While effort is made to reflect accepted medical knowledge and practice, articles in Family Health Online should not be relied upon for the treatment or management of any specified medical problem or concern and Family Health accepts no liability for reliance on the articles. For proper diagnosis and care, you should always consult your family physician promptly. © Copyright 2012, Family Health Magazine, a special publication of the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc., 10006 - 101 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 2S6 [DI_MDc01]

Articles in the Diabetes section of Family Health OnLine are sponsored by:

Safeway ad

Family Health Magazine DIABETES

Sweeteners How and when to use them

Family Health Magazine
DIABETES

Sweeteners
How and when to use them