What’s your go-to sugar substitute?

keto
food
(Noah Wilson) #1

I was reading Beating Sugar Addiction For Dummies and it got me thinking about how much added sugar can sneak into the foods and drinks we have every day.

I’ve been trying to cut back on sugar, and I’m curious what everyone here uses as a substitute. I’m mainly looking for something I can use in my protein shakes without turning them into a sugar bomb.

I’ve also been trying to stay away from a lot of processed foods and sugary drinks. For me, it seems like a better approach to build better habits around sugar rather than constantly reaching for something sweet.

So what’s your go-to sugar substitute? Anything you’ve tried that actually tastes good and works well in protein shakes?

(Joey) #2

We’ve had great success with Pyur (sp?) brand organic 100% stevia - either powder or liquid drops. Make sure to get the version that is 100% stevia… Nothing else added.

The tiniest bit of this natural leaf extract is super sweet… Use sparingly!

#3

Splena liquid (commercial concentration) which is 1 drop = 1tsp sugar taste is what I use the most.

Monk Fruit (pure) is my #2. Expensive, but not really as it’s like 1/8th tsp is the equiv of 1tsp sugar taste! Lots of Monk Fruit is like 20% Monkfruit and 80% erythritol. Gotta keep an eye on that. You want 100% Monk fruit.

Protein Shakes (and protein ice cream) is what both of those go into the most as I go for around 200-225g a day.

(Bob M) #4

I use allulose, which has some studies indicating it helps with both blood sugar and insulin, and pure monk fruit (got that recommendation from @lfod14).

One study about lower glucose with allulose:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589936824000616

(Jim Fife) #5

I’ll second the allulose vote. Allulose also functions like semaglutide, in that it will slow down emptying of the stomach. It browns like sugar also.

(Laurie) #6

Stevia powder. (I don’t use the drops, as they contain ingredients I avoid.) Some people hate the slight licorice-like taste of stevia though. I hardly notice any taste, especially with strong flavors like chocolate or lemon.

Did you know that if you combine sweeteners, their sweetness is heightened? So you can use, say, 40% stevia + 40% allulose and have 100% of the sweetness.

#7

Oh I wish it was licorice :smiley: (Not like I like that.) All super sweet sweeteners has an insanely horrible aftertaste to me.
So I need to use erythritol, xylitol or some sugar (preferably lactose, that’s even carnivore).

Oh I didn’t know that. It doesn’t work with erythritol and xylitol though but maybe they are too similar, both being sugar alcohols not far from the sweetness of sugar?
There must be a huge individual difference too, just like regarding the sweetness of sweeteners. It’s quite interesting how different we feel them.

Allulose sounds perfect but it’s extremely expensive so I won’t try it. I am fine with my options and I don’t want to consume much sweetener anyway.

(Bob M) #8

Yeah, allulose has a lot of “sugar-like” properties. For instance, if you make ice cream with another sugar-free sweetener, the ice cream can get rock-hard unless you do something like add a small amount of alcohol to it. Sugar lessens this effect and is one reason why ice cream is still scoopable. Allulose has a similar property, although I still will add some MCT oils to ice cream.

(Jane) #9

What ingredients are you avoiding?

I use the Sweet Leaf Stevia drops and I looked at the label and it says “Purified Water, Organic Stevia Leaf Extract, Natural Flavors”.

For baking I use Allulose because it behaves the most like sugar from a functional standpoint.

(Noah Wilson) #10

Yeah, that makes sense. I think the individual difference is probably a bigger factor than people realize. What tastes perfectly sweet to one person can taste completely different to someone else.

I’m with you on not wanting to use a ton of sweetener either. I’m mainly looking for something that works in a protein shake without making me feel like I’m just replacing one sweet habit with another. Allulose sounds interesting, but that price definitely makes it harder to justify.

(Central Florida Bob ) #11

I use three sweeteners the most: erythritol, allulose and splenda. Of those, I use allulose the least. I use a couple of “food-like substances” that have sweeteners - both barbecue sauce and ketchup, but not much. It’s hard to say how much. My preference for erythritol is I like the mint-like cooling effect it has. And allulose because, as several have said, it cooks more like sugar.

I have a mental note on stevia that’s pretty much, “don’t do that again” because I had the bitter aftertaste issue I’ve seen talked about. I think that’s one of those things that some people get more than others.

FWIW.

(Laurie) #12

The stevia drops here contain glycerine.

(Hugh Walter Jennings) #13

I just stopped using any at all. I used Erythritol for awhile during my weight loss efforts.

I’ve just come to avoid anything with no nutritional value or health benefits. Not preachy about it though. If someone wants to sweeten their tea,coffee, etc carry on.

(B Creighton) #14

I use a cheap sweetener for my protein smoothies because I am actually trying to boost up my insulin to maximize protein synthesis. It says its a no calorie sweetener but that’s really not true… It is stevia coated maltodextrin. You can buy a big package of it at most grocery stores. Yes, the maltodextrin is glucose, but it has no fructose to build fat with, and I use this when doing keto, so the glucose gets sucked right up by the muscles.

Otherwise, I use a host of sweeteners now. One of my favorites is monk fruit coated erythritol. I used to use this in my morning yogurt, but in August I started using glycine in my yogurt, which does well to hide its aftertaste. I also used to use more xylitol - mostly in my yogurt. For my morning drink I use stevia drops of rabaudioside. I found if I use this too much though it is too diuretic, and gives me too much urgency. So, now I use monk fruit drops in my evening drink or nothing. I avoid stevia powder because it has more aftertaste, and is high in oxylate. Occasionally I use allulose - very good for any baking type of stuff or for example if my wife makes goat milk tapioca pudding. JFYI glycerine is slightly sweet, and if you have the right A. reuteri strains in you, glycerine will cause them to make bacteriocins to keep bad guys out of your small intestines. Occasionally, I use honey.

(Bob M) #15

Just listened to a podcast about glycine, and he recommended taking about 10 grams/day. My collagen peptides have a lot in them, though, possibly half the amount I take. So, I’ve been taking about 6g of glycine daily.

Here’s one location for the podcast:

(B Creighton) #16

I haven’t weighed it, but I take quite a bit - a heaping tablespoon of glycine… that’s what I want for taste reasons. I also get glycine in about a 5 gr scoop of collagen also in my yogurt… I also supplement glycine in the form of TMG in the morning and magnesium glycinate in the evening. So, I don’t need more glycine LOL… if it were possible to overdose it, I would probably qualify… I just started using it as a sweetener in my yogurt to try it. I wanted to see if it would help aching joints, etc. So far it has had no noticeable effects. It is not really any more expensive than the xylitol and erythritol/monk fruit sweetener I was using before, so am giving it a shot…

My studies have found that glycine is one of the important cofactors of making telomerase, so maybe it will eventually be shown to be anti-aging in addition to supporting collagen production.