Sweeteners

Many people living with diabetes avoid eating sugar, using guidelines like cutting out refined sugar in the form of candy, white bread, and desserts. In place of sugar, many choose to use artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame and Splenda®.

However, anecdotal reports indicate serious health issues, such as tumors and liver problems for using common sugar alternatives. Often repeated concerns about the side effects of the chemical structure of sweeteners versus natural or herbal substances confuse consumers. People living with diabetes struggle with choices that are best for their health and their future.

Fructose and sucrose are two very common types of sugar that play a huge role in the average person’s diet. Fructose is found naturally in fruit, such as apples, watermelons, and bananas. Sucrose is found in most sweet processed foods, such as candy, cookies, and that summertime favorite: ice cream.

Part of the blame is attributed to the sheer volume of carbonated soft drinks consumed in this country. Every man, woman and child in the United States drinks about 3.7 gallons of fluid a week, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp. Of that amount, about 28.3 percent is soda, making it more popular than milk, bottled water, fruit juice, sports drinks and even tap water.

Read the full article at Newsday.com.

Read additional articles on diabetes management by clicking here: Diabetes in the News.

Studies indicate that there is a very close link between corn syrup and obesity and Diabetes. Corn Syrup is a sweet derivative of corn that contains parts of fructose and glucose. The prevalence of corn syrup is a relatively new phenomenon that took off in the 1980s.

There are several types of sweetener that are widely used as sugar alternatives. These sweeteners are sometimes natural, such as Stevia and fruit juice. Other sweeteners are chemicals, such as Aspartame (as-per-teym) and Splenda. Different sweeteners are often used in different ways. For example, Aspartame is frequently used in diet beverages whereas Splenda is most often used in prepared foods and by the teaspoon.

Diet drinks do not contain sugar, which has been proven to be harmful on the body. As such, diet drinks are widely believed to be a healthy alternative to their sugar-loaded counterparts. However, diet drinks often contain Aspartame (as-per-teym) or other harmful sweeteners in order to give them a sweet taste.

Stevia (STEE-vee-uh) is a sweet herb that contains trace minerals and nutrients, when used as a whole leaf. Stevia is 300 times sweeter than sugar and does not have any negative side effects, including calories, carbohydrates, tooth decay or Diabetic problems. In fact, Stevia is the preferred sweeter among Diabetics because it does not raise blood glucose levels or require insulin to process. Stevia actually normalizes the body’s response to glucose, making it actual therapy for Diabetics.