Are Artificial Sweeteners Safe for Diabetics?
Are Artificial Sweeteners Safe for Diabetics?
One of the more difficult aspects of dealing with diabetes is the fact that you’ll be making a serious switch in your diet in order to cut out any excess sugar. This can be especially difficult if you regularly consumed sodas, sweets, and other items high in sugar or carbs.
One option that comes to mind as a solution is artificial sweeteners, things that taste sweet without actually being sugar. A lot of people will critique these sweeteners, claiming that they’re actually worse for you than regular sugar, and that you shouldn’t buy into it.
This may be the case for non-diabetic people, but for diabetics, they’re actually a sound alternative. As a diabetic, you’ll already have blood sugar levels that are far too high, and taking in any extra unnecessary sugar can lead to a variety of health complications.
Realistically, many diabetes experts have found artificial sweeteners to be perfectly safe for diabetics. These will be particularly useful for people who crave some kind of sweet tasting treats, but don’t want to put themselves at any kind of risk, understandably so.
There are plenty of these sweeteners available at almost any grocery store and even available online through websites such as Amazon. You can also find these at tables at many restaurants.
Many people use these sweeteners for their coffee - especially if they used to put sugar in their coffee before. After being diagnosed with diabetes, they wouldn’t want to drink sugary coffee, but they also wouldn’t want black coffee.
This is where sweeteners find their market. Not all artificial sweeteners use the same ingredients, though; some are more suited for certain conditions than others. For example, some sweeteners, such as aspartame, aren’t heat-stable, and shouldn’t really be used as substitutes in things like cooking or baking.
On the other hand, sweeteners like saccharin are recommended for these kinds of activities, as they’re actually heat safe. Using sweeteners as a replacement for sugar in existing recipes for things like baked goods can be a bit tricky, since the finished product might turn out a bit different due to the lack of certain properties found in sugar.
Instead, try to find new recipes based off of the sweeteners to begin with. This will ensure a proper taste and consistency, whereas just substituting the sugar in sugar based recipes may lead to off colors, textures, and tastes.
