Sweeteners and carbs

(Jeremiah ) #1

Hi fellow ketonians God’s blessing to you all today! Hey just had this topic on my mind and am hoping you can steer me in the right direction. I’m trying to find a loop hole with the carbs and sweetners while I’m fasting. It like most Stevia is 0 total carbs and wouldn’t effect a fast but erythritol shows about 4 gm per tsp! Does this count on macros? Also monk fruit extract is supposedly a keto friendly sweetner. Any one that wants to share their experiences with these would be appreciated! Especially if you’ve tested blood Ketones and or blood sugar levels or acetone levels. God bless ketonians!

(G. Andrew Duthie) #2

Erythritol, Xylitol and other sweeteners ending in “tol” are a class of sweeteners called sugar alcohols. They are not sugars, and are only metabolized (if at all) in the lower GI system. Erythritol appears for many to be the most well-tolerated of the sugar alcohols, while others, like maltitol (often found in sugar-free chocolates, for example) can provoke symptoms including bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

Xylitol is not recommended for dog owners, as it is toxic to dogs.

Sugar alcohols are usually listed as part of the carb content of foods, but because of the way they are (or aren’t) metabolized, most people don’t count those against carb macros.

It’s important to understand that individual reaction to sugar alcohols vary widely. Some people find they cannot use sugar alcohols without impacting ketosis, while others tolerate them just fine.

This applies to other sweeteners as well, since there’s a school of thought that says that the sweetness can provoke an insulin response, completely separate from the metabolization of the actual substance.

Complicated, I know, but there you go.

(Jeremiah ) #3

Thanks Dev. That seems to me to be a positive response and I’ll take it as such since you stated that most people don’t count sugar alcohols and have a low glycemic index. It hasn’t ever kicked me out before. There only thing so far that has kicked me out so far that I know if is tonic water I used to mix a drink. It was loaded with unknown sugars.

#4

I’m not sure what kind of loop hole you are looking for, but according to Fasting expert Jason Fung, you shouldn’t be using natural or artificial sweeteners of any kind while fasting. That would be a strict rule, however, if you find by testing your blood that it doesn’t cause trouble and it helps you fast, that would be your decision to make. Everyone is different! I choose not to use sweeteners when I fast because I think I would just be teasing myself!

(Mike Glasbrener) #5

Agreed. BS is just a proxy for what we all are really trying to manipulate lower, basal insulin levels. The lower BS lowers helps lower insulin levels. However, if you consume a product that doesn’t affect BS but raises insulin it’s kind of self defeating. Yes it didn’t kick you out of ketosis. But you aren’t gaining the benefits of ketosis. I personally avoid them. Some people can consume them without problem. However, just examining ketones or BS may not give them the complete story.