Blood Sugar vs. Sugar-Free Snacks: I Ran the Tests

[@Esselle1]

Maltodextrin and maltitol are sweeteners used in many "sugar-free" snacks. The trouble is that the glycemic index for Maltodextrin is 90, for maltitol it is 52. Sugar has glycemic index of 60. So avoid these ingredients!

[@marytradii6094]

I would love to see a test of eurythritol, such as in Lily's chocolate bars. Thank you.

[@sharonfoust-mills936]

I've tested them on myself. Very little blood glucose increase for me. It's my understanding that it's actually different for everyone though based on the conditions of liver, pancreas, etc

[@terrywilliams8629]

Please do the same experiment with the natural sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit etc.

[@pandashazz27]

Yes, I would have loved her to include these types too as I use granulated stevia

[@wendya2J]

I’m trying monk fruit right now. I’d love to know for sure if it’s ok.

[@michelleelle4622]

I just recently started a low carb diet and I have purchased sugar free hard candies and keto protein bars. My stomach is a bloated mess! Now I know why 🤦🏼‍♀️ Thank you for this information

[@philais]

Rule- "if it is sweet... do not eat!"

[@NanZingrone]

As a type 2 diabetic, I use net carbs but I only deduct fiber because as you say -- and I love this particularly cautionary tale you're weaving --- except for stevia and monk fruit, sugar substitutes including the sugar alcohols spike my sugar like nobody's business. Maybe not what real sugar does, but the spikes are scary. I'm testing with a Relion testing kit because it fits my budget and I have lost 92 pounds over the last five years and am still losing a few ounces every week, and have been off Metformin for about 4 months. The info here reinforces the way I ate and gives me talking points to friends and family who have Type 2 and rely on package info. Great video.

[@jodihartsfield]

Thank you, Dr. Becky for all you do for us! 💜

[@dennisdevito2829]

I have used the sugar free pecan delights and had no problem with increase glucose levels however I do not eat it on an empty stomach only right after a meal and I never have more than one and most of the time only half.

[@juniper617]

I tried that exact Russell Stover candy. I concluded that it wasn’t great for blood sugar based on the fact that I was hungrier after I ate it than before. Not quite as sophisticated a test as yours, but we did reach the same conclusion, lol. But there are some other sugar alcohols and other artificial sweeteners that don’t have that effect on me.

[@m.searay4629]

Thanks for trying these and providing these results!

[@teutonic7113]

This was incredibly helpful.

[@theresalucas9477]

Wow, this was helpful information. Thanks for sharing it 😊.

[@caraortega4474]

I’m curious about the Adkins drinks, snacks and Saccharine. Thanks for your education and content. It helps!❤

[@fransak2723]

Thanks for the good explanation

[@rainesonne1320]

I'm too addicted to sugar to be able to give it up!😢 I've tried and the only way I could possibly go without is if I'm stuck on an island that has nothing sweet on it!

[@juniper617]

The first two weeks can be brutally hard. It helps to consume a higher amount of salt during that time. But once you get through that two-week period, it gets much easier.

[@clarkkent7973]

My sugar craving was fixed with Mounjaro (including the very lowest dose).

[@ctnbanks8753]

I always wonder about that, the sugar free snacks thanks for the explanation .

[@lukacrc]

It's the carbs that increase the blood sugar so sugar free doesn't mean carbs free.

[@lavonahmadden6684]

Thank you!

[@glennavelilla156]

Love this test. Thank you

[@amybouchard]

Thank you, Dr. Becky! I’ve been able to lose weight without the extreme hunger by reducing my carb intake after trying Levels for a month. I was surprised that my three diet sodas a day were keeping my levels higher throughout the day. I quit the diet soda and now I’m not as hungry and am down 7 lbs.

[@littlevoice_11]

Hope you do a keto protein bar test with some brands available in USA and worldwide too

[@Lkotis]

What about items sweetened with only Stevie or Erythritol?

[@beckygillaspy]

There is a lot of interest in these sugar-alternatives. Future test subjects

[@bradwilliams4921]

My last doctor told me that I was probably insulin resistant. My fasting blood sugar usually measures in the mid 90 range and on 1 occasion was slightly above 100. Your videos are inspiring me to try to eat better. Thanks for the videos.

[@Fun-pf9lw]

Thanks again for your helpful info!

[@I-can-c-u]

Thanks! Great info!

[@NoelLudvigson]

GREAT information! Great that you are willing to test these products on yourself for us! I'm highly considering a CGM purchase!! Thanks!!

[@jay62nz]

Great content in this video. I'd really like to see the comparisons of mannitol, erythritol and xylitol as found in Atkins products.

[@littlevoice_11]

Maybe you could test the protein powders. Many have sucrolose or stevia. Some are plant based low carb, others are animal based.

[@mikebardgett2875]

Great explanation of the issue

[@beckygillaspy]

Thank you, Mike!

[@sheilamann6721]

Thankyou Becky for such a clear easy to understand explanation of sugar alcohols. I have learnt a lot about food choices from you.

[@kbaz6658]

So maltitol is not a good substitute. Most homemade alternative sugar recipes I have made use erythritol, monk fruit, stevia, liquid sucralose or allulose. Not diabetic but have cut the sugar using these selections.

[@saskruffriders8234]

Dr Becky: I’m a 43 year old, 210 lb man with decent muscle mass, but 26% body fat. Should I workout less to lose the fat? When I run: I lose nothing and after I exercise, I’m hungry? Thoughts?

[@charlessommers7218]

As always good show and info 😊

[@sallieredman7349]

Hit it out of the park again, Doc!

[@beckygillaspy]

Thank you, Sallie!

[@kathysmotryski2437]

Thank you for the substantial information. It helps that I'm just diagnosed as diabetic. Good info for me to know.

[@CMAenergy]

Thanks How does Splenda / stevia product compare? It lists only erythritol

[@beckygillaspy]

There are many non-nutritive sweeteners to test. More to come!

[@littlepotato2741]

I remember when I went on a phase of eating sandwiches with store bought "low carb" bread. I looked at the total carbs and it looked pretty good. It was very tasty, but I started noticing that I started getting hungry a lot more often. And I was eating enough calories. I watched a youtuber test a bunch of these "low carb" breads while using a continuous blood sugar monitor. Holy crap! I know nutritional label numbers can be fudged around with, but this feels like a straight scam. That might be just how I felt at the time because it was really nice to have some tasty sandwiches again. well, I relearned my lesson about store bought food nutritional labels at face value. Since then, I found lots of people working on making bread at home and moved into just making it myself for my sandwiches.

[@SRuss8417]

Would drinking a Diet Coke have the same effect? With aspartame as the sweetener?

[@beckygillaspy]

Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners have not been tested...yet.

[@gwenj5419]

I have trouble controlling how many sugar free candies I consume. Also I've noticed after I indulge the next day I will have a weight gain.

[@katherinesylvester8202]

Please test erythritol, allulose, and stevia. I rarely come across mallitol on my keto recipes.

[@nancyvonschimmelmann96]

Thanks for being a Guinea pig on our behalf. Very helpful

[@1nguoixauxi2]

get monk fruit , or at least sweet grass sugar, it is better?

[@tim88114]

I would be interested in seeing how it would effect your husband since i am closer to his type of response on things. Great video !

[@SometimesMyself]

Well this is a real bummer because those Pecan Delights really are yummy! I only eat one at a time and only a couple of times per week, but at least now I know I don’t need to spend the extra money on these. I’m grateful, though, to learn that sorbitol only has a glycemic index of 9, because I use that (in the form of sugar free syrup) on my protein pancakes, pretty much daily. I had my first elevated A1C test, last spring. It was only 5.8, but I immediately cut out nearly all added sugar because I have zero interest in developing diabetes. Retesting soon and crossing fingers!

[@IaneHowe]

Here's the funniest things (not so funny) that are happening once I eat something that raises my blood sugar a lot. If it reaches around 130-150 md/dl I start getting hot like having a hot flash. If it goes higher than that my heart gets affected and it hurts and pups so much harder like I'm Afib. I hqd sushi wnd 4 small samosas 3 days ago and it went from 85 to 209 and I felt I was going to die.

[@velocitygirl8551]

Doc can you talk about how many carbs you eat? And how you figured this out? On Sept 18th I’m Keto for 4 years, but I’m 5’5” and a 113 lbs. I think it’s time to just up the carbs a bit. BUT, I’m also worried that any carbs at all will make it harder to live the way I do? Thank you 🍓

[@TheShumoby]

Lift some weights

[@ellen9579]

❣ Hi Dr. Keith❣

[@susanfindell6154]

Wow, talk about false advertising! I don’t know how they get away with it. Thank you for doing these kinds of tests, sorry you didn’t feel good. Like I learned from you, when you eat more healthy fats and less refined carbs, you naturally lose your sweet tooth…or most of it 😊

[@joyceelmer131]

A double dose of their chocolate candies, make a great laxative.

[@beckygillaspy]

Agreed :).

[@xprcloud]

DO NOT PLAY the game of how far can I bend the rules, This stuff comes out of a machine, in a factory, impersonating fruit. NOT FOR ANIMAL OR HUMAN consumption. DO NOT ALLOW IN YOUR HOUSE. get low glycemic fruit in very small quantities, eat immediately AFTER a protein heavy fatty meal, to reduce the spike, as an OCCASIONAL treat.

[@daviddorge1559]

Maltitol is also a factor to “empty” your system. Poison

[@danielsullivan9271]

How is zevia? I gave up completely again Coke Zero. I drank that and years ago Diet Sunkist. I don’t like the idea of the aspartame in anything. I drank country time lemonade and realized that too had aspartame. I’m paying attention to high fructose corn syrup. I like regular Coke too. Noticed living in Europe they used sugar and thought it tasted better. I don’t need the sugar. There it was interesting I lost 60 pounds in two months eating so much pasta cooking almost the same way and tasting the same. Passata I used instead of Redpack tomato purée I grew up with here in the USA. My maternal side is Italian. My mom ate so much food and always was slim. Hard to understand. In Italy I lost and don’t let people fool you, Italians in Italy eat a lot and whenever they want. At 11 pm sometimes eating dinner. Not 1/8 of a box of pasta. They ate 1/4 to a half a pound plus other things. Cheese and pastries. Breads too. They said most things they ate was natural non supermarket pastries or breads. That was once in a while. Pastas I eat the same brands here. Confusing. Lastly? I started drinking true lemon for kids. So so. I put two packets in 64 ounce bottle of water. So so but I want to drink other things besides water. I drink tea green and black tea 100 ounces a day. Boring but I drink it. Black tea with 2 once milk 50 Calories for 2 huge mugs. No sugar. Soda Zevia? True Lemon ? Are they ok?

[@brendabarreto4480]

Thank you Dr Becky for all the knowledge you share with us. I follow your low carb diet and intermittent fasting with great results. I recently watched a documentary on Netflix called “The Game Changers” which focusses on plant based only diet. What is your view on this diet. It informs we don’t need protein from animal products.

[@beckygillaspy]

I have heard of it, but not watched it.

[@brendabarreto4480]

Thanks Dr Becky. If you can will you please share your view on plant based only diet@@beckygillaspy

[@mandmmiller]

I was told you may only subtract 5 grams of sugar alcohol which would make the card count high as well. Honestly junk food is junk whether dugar free, grain free etc sweet or salty. None of it reacts well in my body!

[@j.patrickmoore9137]

My wife picked up some keto bread and it was.... terrible. It always seems to me that just eating different real foods makes more sense than something that is supposed to be like the stuff that you're not eating. I do like the Lindt 90% chocolate bars, I've always liked dark chocolate and they are very good.

[@jonnieinbangkok]

Feel sorry for supposedly keto eaters who are still so addicted to sugar that they will eat these candy laxatives 😂 😂 😂

[@deb9806]

I bought RS sugar free for my mom and it gave her diarrhea. She said she'd cheat with a little real chocolate once in a while.

[@098anne]

Isn’t it important to know how HIGH and how long you spike??! Even normal healthy people spike after meals. It just doesn’t spike that high or for very long. Am I misinformed??!

[@pamelalittlefield4608]

Sugar free is too gassy for me Lol!!

[@marygarrett9724]

so if my doctor gives me a prescription for the monitor my insurance will cover it?????? If not, then it's $199.00

[@Nicole-xd1uj]

It's shocking to me how many of these sugar free products have maltitol other high glycemic substances and are marketed towards diabetics. How many people are harmed by this sort of false advertising? After reading many packages in the stores and looking up a myriad of definitions, I started making my own treats with allulose and erythritol....hilariously, the ad for this video was a bakery.

[@songstermusic1]

This offer is not available in Canada. I tried.

[@brettmasonmedia]

Worlds longest advertisement. If memory serves me correctly so was your last video. This notion that a one a day 30 point spike in blood sugar is somehow devastating is preposterous. You want to build and repair effectively? You need insulin spikes. Also, the puritanical outlook that someone doing better by eating these treats instead of full blown sugar and HFCS isn’t helping themselves is also damaging. If someone is giving up mountains of sugar and HFCS and exchanging it with this then they have made a step in the right direction. Period.

[@j.patrickmoore9137]

I think you might have missed the point of her videos. She advocates for eating whole foods - focusing mostly on proteins, vegetables and healthy fats. This video explored some of the "Frankenfoods" on the market with sugar substitutes to show two that are not healthy from the standpoint of blood sugar levels as well as showing their digestive effects.

[@mollys1584]

Former sugar plum fairy! There's no free rides and I don't even looking at those snacks. Better to go cold turkey and healthier too!

[@098anne]

Ugh… the constant ads are gross

[@glasslinger]

I'll stick with pure cane sugar and eat LESS of it! (MUCH LESS!)

[@philais]

Yea, and I will stick to smoking, just the low tar ones...😂

[@MrGeorgewf]

You take too long to get to the point.

[@albertlecuyer6761]

Please get to the point.

[@dadaustin4570]

Food Mfgr. packaging labeling is criminal. When will this change?