Keto Ingredients- sugar replacement

Why can't you have sugar on a ketogenic/low carb diet?

Believe it or not...SUGAR IS A CARBOHYDRATE! FRUIT = SUGAR = CARB!

That being said, I am not saying that fruits are bad for you. In fact, fruits are more NUTRITIOUS than sugar. Sugar is just empty calories.

However, fruits or sugar are not the best on a ketogenic/low carb diet because it has too much carbohydrates.

This post is not about fruits so I will touch on that next time.

In this post, I will delve deeper into the mystical world of low carb sugars!

1. Sugar is 100% carbohydrate.

For 1 tsp, about 4 grams, there are 4g of total carbohydrate which all come from sugar. 

   *Carbohydrate can come in the form of fiber, sugar or sugar alcohols.

         Continue reading for more information on fiber and sugar alcohol.

*picture taken from https://www.verywellfit.com/granulated-sugar-nutrition-facts-calories-and-health-benefits-4119871

   But let's face it...who consumes only 1 tsp of sugar.

The carbs in the sugar adds up and for a ketogenic diet, which usually the maximum carb count is 20g,

 you will be kicked out of ketosis with just 5 teaspoons of sugar, which is a little less than 2 tablespoons. 

 2. Have you heard of "empty calories"?

Sugar is an empty calorie food; It is devoid of any nutritional value, i.e. not very good for you. 

 3. It is also associated with health problems like diabetes and obesity. 

   It spikes your blood sugar and stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin.

Insulin is responsible for telling your cells to use the sugar for energy or store them in liver, muscle or fat cells for future use.

It is the main hormone for storing fat.

So reducing insulin response will allow your body to burn fat already stored in the body.

Increasing insulin tells your body to store fat.

When your cells start to ignore the signals from insulin, it is called Insulin Resistance.

Being insulin resistant makes your blood sugar rise and increase the chance of developing pre-diabetes or diabetes. 

 4. Sugar is like a DRUG! 

   Research say that sugar affects the brain similar to drugs and can be as addictive as cocaine!

If you ever tried to cut out sugar, you might know what this means. You get headaches, irritation, craving, similar symptoms to withdrawal. 

    https://www.brainmdhealth.com/blog/what-do-sugar-and-cocaine-have-in-common/

So in conclusion, ketogenic, low carbohydrate diet or not, it is beneficial for your health to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet and transition over to sweeteners that do not elevate your blood sugar. 

Before we get started...How to calculate net carbs (the carbs that count)

Net carbs are the carbohydrate that is absorbed by the body. 

Fiber and sugar alcohols are not absorbed by the body so we can subtract them from our net carb count*** (YAY!)

Our body cannot metabolize or use sugar alcohol as energy. 

***This is not true all the time. For some sugar alcohols, you need to subtract half of the carbs from the sugar alcohol. 

So...

Bear with me. We are going to do a little math!

Net Carb = Total Carbs - fiber - sugar alcohol 

So it the nutritional label says:

        Total Carbohydrate 4g

            Dietary Fiber 2g

           Total Sugars 1g

               Includes 0g Added Sugars 

               Sugar Alcohol 1g

Then the NET CARB would be 1g

4g - 2g - 1g = 1g

I hope that helps you calculate your net carbs. 

Now let me show you the types of sugar I use.

Different types of sugar alternatives

1. Sugar from plant extract- these are considered "natural sweeteners"

Stevia

      Stevia is extracted from the leaves of a plant known as Stevia rebaudiana. 

     It has zero calories, does not affect the blood sugar/insulin levels. 

     It comes in liquid or powdered.

There are different types and different tastes so it takes some trial and error when it comes to finding one you like. 

     Stevia is more sweeter than sugar so a little goes a long way. Make sure you read the directions to find the appropriate sugar to stevia swap. 

      PROS: Cost effective, natural sugar alternative, zero calorie, does not raise blood sugar, can find a lot of soda/food that are sweetened with stevia, easy to purchase (can find in almost any grocery store), a lot of different brands and style available

      CONS: has an aftertaste, drops hard to swap out for sugar because you don't know the exact conversion rate, the screw area of the bottle gets crusty after a while

Monk Fruit

      Monk fruit sweetener is made from Luo Han Guo, a fruit native to southern China. 

     It has zero calories, does not affect the blood sugar/ insulin levels.

     It is 100-250 times sweeter than regular table sugar.

Because it is so sweet, you can find a lot of sugar alternatives that mix the monk fruit extract with erythritol (see below for facts on erythritol).

     It comes in liquid or powdered form.

     Most common brand of monk fruit sweetener is the Lakanto brand which comes in a variety of styles.

        PROS: a little less aftertaste compared to stevia, comes in many types to choose from, 1:1 sugar substitute making it easy to use, can find in some health food stores, zero calorie, does not raise blood sugar

       CONS: has a slight aftertaste, expensive for amount, hard to find in generic grocery stores, hard to find 100% monk fruit sweetener as most are mixed with erythritol

Allulose

      PROS: taste like sugar without aftertaste, natural, low calories and zero net carbs, zero glycemic response, does not cause tooth decay, claims it does not cause gastrointestinal upset (everybody is a little different)

      CONS: expensive, hard to find, need a large amount to sweeten something 

***NOTE: Since writing this blog, I have noticed that different brands of allulose tastes different! 

The brand I used to use (https://amzn.to/324p0up) has a subtle sweetness and you need to use more of it than other sweeteners. However, the new brand I bought (https://amzn.to/32038jO) is much sweeter! 

Yacon Syrup

      Most people have not heard of this sweetener. 

     It is a very dark syrup that has been extracted from yacon plants. 

     The consistency is similar to molasses or thin honey. 

     It has a deep taste to it. Very unlike table sugar. It is not overwhelmingly sweet, more like a subtle sweetness.

     It has 7 calories and 4g of total carbohydrate half of which are from fructooligosaccharides, which cannot be digested by the human body, per 1 tsp.

     Fructooligosaccharides, or FOS, are said to be beneficial to the gut because they are food for the good bacterias in the gut.

        PROS: has a subtle, thick taste to it that is hard to find in other low carb sugar alternatives, good alternative to recipes that call for molasses or brown sugar, natural sugar alternative, good for gut bacteria, high fiber, may help decrease hunger hormone

        CONS: can have a bitter aftertaste, very expensive, hard to find, might raise blood sugar a little (glycemic index of 1 as opposed to table sugar which is 63), is not zero calorie, consuming large amounts can lead to digestive distress, cannot use it in recipes with high temperature because it breaks down structure of the FOS

2. Sugar Alcohols- these are derived from some type of sugar, i.e. corn

Erythritol

     This is probably the sugar alternative I use the most.

A majority of Keto-ers probably use this as their primary source of sweetener. 

     It is zero calories, 4g total carbohydrate all of which are from sugar alcohols for 1 tsp or 4 grams. 

     It does not affect the blood sugar. It is 70% as sweet as table sugar.

Best known for having a cooling aftertaste. 

     You can find it in granulated and powdered sugar (swerve is a very well known brand). 

       PROS: relatively cheaper compared to other sweeteners, available at health food stores, zero calories, no affect of blood sugar, easy replacement to sugar, 

        CONS: Does not dissolve well (there might be a grainy texture to your baked goods- see tip below), might cause digestive upset, hard to find at grocery market, some people do not like the cooling aftertaste, baked goods seem to dissolve in the mouth due to the sensation of erythritol 

Tip: 

Instead of purchasing granular sugar alternative and a powdered form.

Just use your blender and make the granular sugar into powdered sugar!

This is what I do with my erythritol.

Make sure the blender doesn't get too hot and melt the sugar.

Once powdered, place it in an air tight container and use as needed.

Keep the lid open to cool before locking. 

This will greatly improve the texture of your baked goods! 

Switch from Thrive market

        It is made from erythritol, fructooligosaccharides, and monk fruit.

        It has zero calories, zero net carbs and low glycemic index. 

        It can be used as 1:1 sugar replacement.

        PROS: cheaper than allulose, zero calories, zero net carbs, low glycemic index, can be used as 1:1 sugar replacement, very minimal aftertaste, dissolves easily

       CONS: It does have a slight monk fruit aftertaste, need a thrive membership to purchase, not as cheap as erythritol

Final Conclusion

There are a lot more different types of sugar alternatives on the market like xylitol, sorbitol, saccharin, etc but these are the ones I have purchased and that I use because they are safer than the others. 

Left is regular table sugar, right is granulated sugar alternative.

Looks the same, feels the same. 

If you are looking for a low cost sugar alternative and do not care about the aftertaste, I would recommend stevia and erythritol. Using a mixture of both together really lessens the aftertaste!

If you really care about aftertaste, allulose is the way to go.

It is more expensive and you do have to use much more. I am hoping it drops in price once it gets popular. 

If you want to see how these sugar alternatives affect blood sugar, I would recommend checking out KETO CONNECT's blood sugar experiment.