Sugar Alcohols: The Sweet Truth

If like me you are a diabetic, then you have seen a number of products that cater to diabetics that are labeled as 'sugar-free' the emphasis primarily being on candy and snack foods. In addition, over the last few years as low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) and ketogenic (keto) ways of eating (WOE) have become popular a number of companies have began to offer meal or energy replacement bars which are touted as being 'sugar-free' or 'low carbohydrate'. These products claim to offer all of the sweetness of sugar without the side effects of raising sugar levels and or low net carbohydrate counts to help keep you in ketosis. Essentially, the companies that produce these products are telling consumers “you can have your cake and eat it too” if it contains sugar alcohols instead of sugar. Unfortunately, its not that simple.

Just exactly what are these sugar alcohols that are being used to replace the sugar in these 'sugar-free' and low carbohydrate products? Sugar alcohols are created from a variety of fruits, berries, and even corn. These plants or plant products go through a chemical process in which the natural sugars (carbohydrates) in the plant are altered to form a sugar alcohol (polyol) that contains less carbohydrates than sugar, but still maintains it's sweetening power. The most common sugar alcohols derived from these plants that are found in commercially made products include: erythritol, lactilol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt, and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH). Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates are mixtures of high-order polyhydric sugar alcohols such as maltitol and sorbitol. The following table lists some of the most common uses of sugar alcohols in commercial products.

The Sugar Alcohols
Type	Calories Per Gram	Sweetness Compared To Sucralose	Typical Food Applications
Sorbitol	2.6	50 - 70%	Sugar-free candies, chewing gums, frozen desserts and baked goods
Xylitol	2.4	100%	Chewing gum, gum drops and hard candy, pharmaceuticals and oral health products, such as throat lozenges, cough syrups, children’s chewable multivitamins, toothpastes and mouthwashes; used in foods for special dietary purposes
Maltitol	2.1	75%	Hard candies, chewing gum, chocolates, baked goods and ice cream
Isomalt	2.0	45 - 65%	Candies, toffee, lollipops, fudge, wafers, cough drops, and throat lozenges
Lactitol	2.0	30 - 40%	Chocolate, some baked goods (cookies and cakes), hard and soft candy and frozen dairy desserts
Mannitol	1.6	50 - 70%	Dusting powder for chewing gum, ingredient in chocolate-flavored coating agents for ice cream and confections
Erythritol	0 - 0.2*	60 - 80%	Bulk sweetener in low calorie food
HSH	3	25 - 50%	Bulk sweetener in low calorie foods, provide sweetness, texture and bulk to a variety of sugarless products
* FDA accepts 0.2 kcal/g, but some other countries, such as Japan and the European Union, accept 0 kcal/g.

Blood Sugar Effects

There are a quite a large variety of candy and or sweet goods that are sold using sugar alcohols that are touted as being sugar-free and sold as diabetic friendly. My father who is a type two diabetic loves the little Russel Stover brand of chocolate candies which are of course labeled “sugar-free”, but contain large amounts of sugar alcohols. The question is are these products really sugar free, and if so, do they keep your blood sugar (insulin) levels from rising after they are consumed? According to the American Diabetes Association “sugar alcohols provide fewer calories than sugar and have less of an effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) than other carbohydrates.” According to the University Of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, sugar alcohols may still have a significant impact of your blood sugar levels “don’t be fooled – sugar alcohols are still a form of carbohydrate, and they still affect your blood sugar levels, if not as dramatically.” The Harvard School of Medicine Joslin Diabetic Center on their website regarding sugar alcohols state “Many so-called 'dietetic' foods that are labeled 'sugar free' or 'no sugar added' in fact contain sugar alcohols. People with diabetes MISTAKENLY think that foods labeled as "sugar free" or 'no sugar added' will have no effect on their blood glucose. Foods containing these sugar alcohols need to have their calorie and carbohydrate contents accounted for in your overall meal plan, as it is carbohydrates that raise blood glucose levels.”

So what does this all mean? Well, sugar alcohols are not sugar, but, depending on the type they can still have a moderate effect on blood sugar levels. On their website for Diabetic Education the UCSF Medical Center states that in order to determine a more accurate impact of sugar alcohols on blood sugars “when counting carbohydrates, include half of the sugar from the sugar alcohol.” Therefore, when looking at nutritional labels of products that contain sugar alcohols you should take the total amount of the sugar alcohol and divide by two as about half of the sugar alcohols will be absorbed and impact your blood sugar levels. So let's take a look at the Millville Elevation Carb Conscious Caramel Chocolate Peanut Nougat Bar that I myself have eaten.

Elevation Carb Conscious Caramel Chocolate Peanut Nougat (2 Net Carbs per package)

Total carbohydrates – 20 grams

Dietary Fiber – 8 grams

Sugar alcohols – 10 grams

I have always learned that you should take the total number of carbohydrates and subtract the dietary fiber and all of the sugar alcohols to get the total net carbohydrate count of the end product (total carbs – sugar alcohols – fiber = net carbs). Following this formula, we see that the Elevation bar does equate to 2 net grams of carbohydrates per bar. According to the UCSF Medical Center, a more accurate way to determine the impact that sugar alcohols have on your blood sugar is to divide the total number of sugar alcohols by half, then subtract them from the total amount of carbohydrates to determine net carbs. So when we take the sugar alcohols which are listed as 10 grams and divide by half, we get a total of 5 grams (10 / 2 = 5 grams). Now lets re-work our formula to calculate the net carbohydrates of the Elevation bar in question. If the total amount of carbohydrates is 20 grams, and the fiber is 8, and revised sugar alcohol count is 5 grams, we get a total of 7 net carbohydrates (20 – 8 – 5 = 7 grams), not 2 net carbs.

So while the package of the Elevation bars lists net carbohydrates as 2 grams, according to UCSF Medical Center formula, it actually has an impact on your blood sugar as if you are consuming 7 grams of carbohydrates. While 7 grams of net carbs does not seem like a lot, it is still three times more than what is listed on the package. I must admit I was quite shocked, and felt somewhat deceived by the manufacturers package labeling. It's not just Millville and Atkins, it's all the manufacturers that produce 'sugar-free' or 'no-sugar added' products that contain sugar alcohols. They all follow the standard formula that total carbs – fiber – sugar alcohols = net carbs, even though they know that sugar alcohols have an impact on blood sugars.

Ketosis and Fat Burning

For those of us who have embraced a LCHF / Keto way of eating (WOE), the big question is will the consumption of sugar alcohols delay or interfere with ketosis and fat burning? According to 'Ask The Nutritionist' on the Atkins website, “Sugar alcohols are not fully absorbed by the gut, which means they provide roughly half the calories that sugar does. Thanks to this incomplete and slower absorption, there is a minimal impact on blood sugar and insulin response. Because of this, sugar alcohols don’t significantly interfere with fat burning.” What is missing from this statement is that roughly half the calories also means they contain roughly half the carbohydrates, and we know carbohydrates impact blood sugar levels as well as ketosis.

Dr. Andreas Eenfieldt from Dietdoctor.com during his communication with the Atkins company regarding one of there products that they clam is only 5 nets carbs responded “subtracting 100% of the sugar alcohol from “net carbs” is misleading to your customers as about half of the maltitol is absorbed.” So the answer to this question seems pretty straightforward, and that is that sugar alcohols can definitely blow you out of ketosis. This is because most people look at a nutritional label and think that sugar alcohols are carbohydrate free and as we have seen they definitely are not. It is this misconception or lack of dietary education that causes consumers to eat way to many hidden carbohydrates which in turn blows them out of ketosis.

Look, I admit it, I knew better, and I fell for the same marketing ploy and have on occasion eaten some of these products. The worst part is that I am not new to the LCHF / Keto way of eating. My wife and I adopted the ketogenic WOE more than a year ago, so if you are new to the LCHF / Keto way of life, take solace in the fact that even those of us who have been eating this way for a while can still make mistakes. My advice to you is to omit these products from your eating regimen, or at the very least, make sure that you count the carbohydrates correctly. A snack bar that contains 7 net carbs, may not seem like a lot if you are on a moderate carbohydrate eating plan (50 grams of carbs or less per day), but can definitely blow you out of ketosis if you are following a strict carbohydrate eating plan (20 grams of carbs or less per day).

Bloating, GI Motility, and Diarrhea.

My experience with sugar alcohols is somewhat limited, I generally do not eat sugar-free candies or products that contain sugar alcohols. However, I have on occasion eaten the 'Elevation Carb Conscious' bars made by Millville and sold at Aldi which are similar to the Atkins bars. Depending on the flavor of the bar, they contain 9 – 10 grams of sugar alcohols (primarily maltitol) giving them a net carbohydrate count of 7 – 8 net carbs per bar (see UCSF net carbs formula above).

As mentioned earlier, because sugar alcohols are not totally absorbed by the gut, they have less of an impact of blood sugars and the insulin response than sugar. It is because sugar alcohols are not totally absorbed by the gut, they can have some unwanted side effects which vary in severity depending on the person. According to Ask The Nutritionist, “since a portion of sugar alcohols aren’t fully absorbed in the gut, there is the potential that consuming too much may produce a laxative effect or cause some gastrointestinal problems. Most people can usually handle 20 to 30 grams a day.” Personally, I have found that while sugar alcohols do not cause me to have abdominal cramping or diarrhea, they do tend to cause me to have a lot more flatulence. My wife, however, who has mild irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) tends to have more complications with abdominal cramping and diarrhea as well as flatulence when she consumes products that contain sugar alcohols. According to the American Diabetes Association, “sugar alcohols can have a laxative effect or other gastric symptoms in some people, especially in children.” So my advice would be to avoid giving your kids products such as Atkins or Millville's low carbohydrate bars, or any candies that are labeled 'sugar-free' that contain sugar alcohols. So if you have any friends or family members who are diabetics make sure you educate them regarding the potential risks of children and sugar alcohol consumption.

The one sugar alcohol that does not seem to cause GI complications is erythritol. While erythritol is a popular powdered replacement for sugar in the LCHF / Keto community, it appears to be rarely used in commercial products. So why isn't erythritol used more often in 'sugar free' and 'low carb' products? Maybe it simply costs to much to be used as a primary sweetener in ready made products, or maybe it is the 'cooling effect' it has on the mouth which some consumers do not find appealing, I simply have no answer for that question.

Conclusion

The bottom line, sugar alcohols are safe in moderation, and while they have a lower impact on blood sugars, they still contain carbohydrates which can not only raise your blood sugar, but knock you out of ketosis if they are not consumed in moderation. I realize that not all sugar alcohols effect blood sugars or ketosis in the same way, but I believe the UCSF formula (total carbs – fiber – half of the sugar alcohols = net carbs) for calculating the 'net carbs' of any products that contain sugar alcohols is way more accurate than that proposed by food manufacturers (total carbs – fiber – sugar alcohols = net carbs). This is especially important for those of us who are on a strict low carbohydrate (20 grams or less a day) regimen. Heck, if you ate two of the Akins or Elevation bars each day you would have actually consumed a total of about 14 net grams (7 per bar) of carbohydrates as opposed to the 4 net grams (2 per bar) as listed on the package. That's more than three times the carbohydrates!

While consumption of sugar alcohols affects each of us differently, remember that when consumed in amounts of 30 grams or more a day they may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and or diarrhea. This is especially true for children, so my personal opinion would be to avoid giving products with sugar alcohols to your little ones. Look, sugar alcohols have their place, I am not saying you should avoid them, but I am advising you to take care when consuming them in certain products. Of all the sugar alcohols erythritol, and xylitol seem to have none or at least minimal GI side effects (gastrointestinal discomfort, and or diarrhea), but at the end of the day, they are still sugar alcohols so you should use them sparingly until you can determine how they will affect you and your family. 

As always, we ask that if you have found this article informative and useful that you share it with your friends and family, as well as sharing it on other social media platforms. Don't forget to check out of Facebook page CulinaryyoULCHF and send us a friend request, and or add us to your circle of friends on Google+. You can also simply click the 'follow us' button on the left hand corner of our blog page so that you will not miss any of our latest articles.

References:

Ask The Nutritionist: The Scoop On Sugar Alcohols, www.Atkins.com, accessed October 24, 2017.

Diabetes Education Online, University Of California San Francisco Medical Center, 2007-2017. Accessed October 1, 2017.

Diaz, Jessica, RD, What Do Sugar Alcohols Mean In Carb Counting, www.livestrong.com, October 3, 2017.

Eenfeldt, Andreas, MD, Atkins, Greed And The Fairy Tale Cookies, www.Dietdoctor.com, April 4, 2014.

Gunnars, Kris, Bsc, Are Atkins Low-Carb Bars Healthy? A Critical Look, Authority Nutrition, October 3, 2013.

Modderman, JP., Safety Assessment Of Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysates, US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, August 1993.

Sisson, Mark, Sugar Alcohols: Everything You Need To Know, Mark's Daily Apple, February 15, 2011.

Sugar Alcohol Facts, Ketogenic Diet Resource, accessed October 20, 2017.

Sugar Alcohols, The American Diabetes Association, May 14, 2014, accessed September 17, 2017.

Sugar Alcohols Fact Sheet, Food Insight, October 14, 2009, Updated April 24, 2017, accessed October 25, 2017.

The Best And Worst Low Carbohydrate Sweeteners, Ruled Me, accessed September 1, 2017

What Are Sugar Alcohols? Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, accessed October 24, 2017.

Liquid LCHF Flavored Coffee Creamers

I guess I could survive the morning without having any coffee if I had too, but I don't have too, and to be honest I love a good cup of coffee. Not just any coffee mind you, I have been accused of being a 'fru-fru' coffee drinker. That is to say, I like my coffee with plenty of cream and generally the flavored kind. Don't get me wrong, I can drink it black, and have on many occasions, but only when necessary. One of the great things about the low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) eating program is that I discovered that heavy cream is far more beneficial and has less carbohydrates (0.42 carbohydrates per tablespoon) than the Great Value powdered creamer I was using (3 carbohydrates per tablespoon). BTW, that's 7 times less carbohydrates in the heavy cream, than the cheap powdered coffee creamer. Because I was using 2 tablespoons of powdered creamer (6 carbs per cup), the first step in making my coffee not only healthier for me, but making it more enjoyable was to switch to using 2 tablespoons of heavy cream (0.84 carbs per cup).

Now, on to the 'fru-fru' part. Before I was diagnosed as a diabetic, I loved to use International Delights flavored coffee creamers in my coffee, because they contained enough sugar that all I had to do was add the creamer to my coffee and like a miracle it was not only sweet, but flavorful, and creamy. I would like to officially blame 7-11 for my addiction to these creamers as I used to buy a 24oz coffee for $1.19 and load it up with 'French Vanilla' flavored creamer when I worked in the big city when I was quite a few years younger. The problem with these creamers is that they contain 5 carbohydrates per tablespoon, all coming from sugar. So if I only used 2 tablespoons (and I probably used more) it would contain 10 carbs, and that's half my carb intake goal for the day, Yikes!

So I gave up the flavored coffee creamers a few years ago, but I always enjoyed them, and decided that there had to be a way that I could make my own version of these flavored creamers that contained a minimal amount of carbohydrates. After all, the biggest hurdle is to find a suitable zero calorie substitute for the sugar. If you have been reading our blog, then you will know that in the last few months we have discovered liquid sucralose and began introducing it into our diet as a substitute for the granulated Splenda and we love it. Once I had a good liquid sugar substitute, I knew I could make my own flavored coffee creamers.

In this article, I will show you how to make my versions of many of the popular flavored coffee creamers available from Coffee-Mate, as well as International Delights. I am not going to claim that I am a pioneer in making my own creamers, in fact, I based my initial trial recipes off a blog post that used sweetened condensed milk as the base for the creamers, but as we know sweetened condensed milk is loaded with sugar. From there a simple substitution of heavy cream and some tweaking of the flavorings and after a few trial runs I believe I have the recipe down.

The Recipe

The recipe for all of the flavored creamers in this article start with a 'creamer base'. This creamer base is simply 1 cup of heavy cream with 3 to 4 drops of liquid sucralose added to it for sweetness. To this base you simply add the flavorings of your choice to make a specific type of creamer. We buy heavy cream in the 1 quart container, and make a couple of different one cup (8 ounces) flavors of creamer at a time. You could scale up this recipe to make a bulk creamer base, and then add your flavorings to make a whole quart of one specific flavor, just remember you need to increase the amount of both the sucralose and the flavorings. Having said that, I personally believe the one cup batch is the most versatile, and this is how I make my flavored creamers.

LCHF Creamer Base

1 cup heavy cream

3 – 4 teaspoons liquid sucralose

Take your creamer base, and add one of the following flavorings and place in a jar and shake well to mix the ingredients and your ready to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee.

Chef's Note – I use liquid sucralose (25% concentration) as my sweetener of choice, the ratio is 1 drop of sucralose equals 1 teaspoon of sugar. You can of course use liquid stevia, but I never have. According to stevia.net, it takes 3 – 4 drops of liquid stevia to equal one teaspoon of sugar. Therefore you would need 9 – 12 drops of stevia to make this LCHF creamer base.

LCHF Creamer Base

Per Batch – Calories 821, protein 1 gram, fat 88 grams, carbohydrates 6.6 grams

Per Tablespoon - Calories 51, protein 0.31 grams, fat 5.51 grams, carbohydrates 0.42 grams

Coffee Mate French Vanilla

Per Tablespoon - Calories 35, protein 0 grams, fat 1.5 grams, carbohydrates 5 grams

International Delights French Vanilla

Per Tablespoon - Calories 35, protein 0 grams, fat 2 grams, carbohydrates 5 grams

The Flavorings

We use the following recipes to make some of our favorite coffee creamers. They are listed alphabetically, not by preference just to make it easier. Remember the ingredients listed in these flavor variations is to flavor one cup (8 ounces) of the creamer base. You will note that in some of the following flavorings we use the Torani flavored syrups, make sure you get the sugar-free ones, they are made with liquid sucralose. Doing this keeps the carbohydrate count effectively zero.

Almond Joy

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

½ teaspoon coconut extract

¼ teaspoon almond extracted

Bailey's Irish Creme

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Butter Toffee

½ teaspoon butter extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

French Vanilla

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Hazelnut

1 teaspoon Hazelnut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Peppermint Patti

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

¾ teaspoon peppermint extract

¼ teaspoon coconut extract

Somoas

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

2 teaspoons Torani caramel syrup (sugar free), or ¾ teaspoon caramel extract

½ teaspoon coconut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

White Chocolate Macadamia nut

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

½ teaspoon macadamia nut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Now, there are a wide variety of other flavors some more popular than others. Including the seasonal varieties of that you could make and there are quite a few recipes for making your own flavored coffee creamers out there on the internet. Now that you know how to make the LCHF creamer base, it is simply a matter of adding the necessary flavorings that you like.

Using Powdered Flavorings, Spices, and Sweeteners

Using powdered flavorings, spices, and or sweeteners (Erythritol, Xylitol, Splenda etc...) requires a few more steps as you need to make sure that the powdered or granulated ingredients are throughly dissolved in the creamer as you do not want a gritty cup of coffee. Because of the milk proteins in heavy cream, it should be heated gently and slowly in order to avoid a scorched flavor and or film forming on the top or bottom of the pan. While you can heat your heavy cream in a small saucepan on the stove directly on the burner, you will have less problems if you use one of the following methods when making your flavored creamers using powdered spices and flavorings.

The Double-boiler Method – Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add your LCHF creamer base, flavorings, spices, and sweeteners. Heat just until bubbles form around the edge and steam begins to rise from the heavy cream. Stirring frequently will prevent a film layer from forming. Once you are satisfied that all of the powdered spices and flavorings are completely combined, then remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. Pour into a container of your choice and store in the refrigerator.

The Microwave Method – Pour the LCHF creamer base, flavorings, spices, and sweeteners into a microwave-safe container and microwave on medium-high (70%) power, and heat for 15 – 20 seconds at a time, just until steam begins to rise from the bowl. Be careful not to overheat the heavy cream as it will curdle. Once you are satisfied that all of the powdered spices and flavorings are completely combined, then remove the bowl from the microwave and allow to cool. Pour into a container of your choice and store in the refrigerator.

Chef's Note: The times and power settings are based on a smaller 700-watt microwave oven. If you have a more powerful microwave then you will need to adjust cooking times to suit your particular microwave.

Chocolate Coconut

2 teaspoons powdered cocoa (adds 2.1 carbs, 0.13 carbs per tablespoon)

1 teaspoon coconut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Hazelnut (Frangelico)

2 teaspoons powdered cocoa (adds 2.1 carbs, 0.13 carbs per tablespoon)

1 teaspoon hazelnut extract

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnabon

½ teaspoon powdered cinnamon

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon imitation butter extract (optional)

Double Chocolate Fudge

2 teaspoons Torani chocolate syrup (sugar free)

2 teaspoons powdered cocoa (adds 2.1 carbs, 0.13 carbs per tablespoon)

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg Nog

1 teaspoon rum extract

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Pumpkin Spice Latte

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

The Competition

Just in case you are wondering, Coffee-Mate and International Delights both make a limited run of sugar-free versions of some of their popular flavored creamers using sucralose, but they also contain maltdextrin and some corn syrup milk solids. So while the are sugar free, they are not totally carbohydrate free.

Coffee Mate French Vanilla Sugar-Free

Per Tablespoon - Calories 15, protein 0 grams, fat 1 gram, carbohydrates 2 grams

Coffee Mate French Vanilla Sugar-Free

Per Tablespoon - Calories 20, protein 0 grams, fat 2 grams, carbohydrates 1 gram

Cost Analysis

Well I am going to tell you up front, that it is not cheaper to make your own flavored coffee creamers. At the time that I am writing this article, one quart (32 ounces) of Great Value heavy whipping cream is $4.14 at my local Walmart. A quart of International Delights flavored creamer sells for $2.98, a quart of Coffee Mate flavored sells for $3.18, and a quart of Great Value flavored creamer sells for $2.48. In addition, you will need to purchase some flavor extracts and or Torani sugar-free syrups to make a variety of flavors, increasing your end product cost even more. I estimate that it costs me about $4.50 to make a quart of flavored creamer at home. That's about 40 to 50% more to make my own flavored creamer. Having said that, the cost-benefit ratio to me is invaluable.

DIY LCHF 32 ounce flavored creamer $4.50 ($0.14 per ounce)

Great Value 32 ounce flavored creamer $2.48 ($0.08 per ounce)

Coffee Mate 32 ounce flavored creamer $3.18 ($0.10 per ounce)

International Delights 32 ounce flavored creamer $2.98 ($0.09 per ounce)

So, while it does cost me more money to make my own flavored creamers, they contain seven times less carbohydrates than the commercially prepared creamers, and they do not contain any preservatives, and they contain up to 60% more fat which, which wait for it….is good for those of use on a LCHF diet, including people that are diabetic.

Conclusion

The bottom line, making your own flavored creamers is an excellent way to limit the number of extra carbohydrates that most people fail to think about when they are having their morning coffee. If you are diabetic, then making your own flavored creamers is a great way to add not only flavor to your coffee, but also allows you to control the amount of sugar and carbohydrates that you consume. Making specialty flavors using powdered spices, flavorings, and sugar substitutes does take a bit more time and work as you have to heat up the cream in order to make sure the powdered and granulated ingredients are throughly dissolved, but for many, they effort is well worth it.

With the right favorings and extracts, the combination of liquid creamers that you can make is only limited by your imagination. I have included some of my families favorites here, but there are definitely more combinations than I have listed in this article. So I encourage you to experiment and enjoy. As always, if you have found this article informative and useful, we ask that you share it with your friends. Don't forget to send us a friend request on our Facebook page CulinaryYou LCHF, or add us to your circle on Google+ so that you can keep up with the latest articles from our blog.

Other Related Articles On Our Blog:

Liquid Sucralose, A Great LCHF Sweetener, November 20, 2016.

Make Your Own Starbucks Frappuccino

References:

Coffee-Mate, Liquid Coffee Creamers, accessed December 1, 2016.

Everything You Need To Know About Liquid Sucralose, International Food InformationCouncil Foundation, August 24, 2016.

International Delight, Liquid Coffee Creamers, accessed December 1, 2016.

Liquid Stevia Conversion Chart, A Tale Of Incredible Sweetness, Stevia.Net, accessed December 9, 2016.

Liquid Sucralose, A Great LCHF Sweetener, November 20, 2016.

Liquid Sucralose

Like many diabetics I have been using Splenda low-calorie sweetener (the Great Value version at Walmart) for about four years. The problem is that like many people, I never really payed much attention to the carbohydrate count of this low-calorie sweetener. Until I decided to go low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) I never thought much about counting carbohydrates. This week I decided to take my LCHF regimen to the next level by replacing the powdered Splenda which I have been using with liquid sucrolose.

Why you may ask? Well, the granulated or powdered Splenda is made of sucrolose, but it has maltdextrin added to it for bulk, therefore, 1 cup of Splenda contains 24 carbohydrates. This means that the coffee, sweet tea, kool-aid, and homemade Gatorade that I have been drinking each day contained many unwanted carbohydrates. In fact, the two cups coffee (2 carbohydrates) I have in the morning, 16 ounces of sweet tea (3 carbohydrates) at lunch, and 24 ounces of kool-aid (4.5 carbohydrates) with my dinner on the way home contained a total of 9.5 carbohydrates. That's one-third to one-half of my total carbohydrate intake goal for the day. That's a lot of carbs if you are trying to keep your total carbohydrate intake in the 20 – 25 per day range. So I started looking for alternatives.

That's when I discovered liquid sucrolose which contains zero carbohydrates, but tastes just like sugar.

I am not sure when the maker's of Splenda decided to finally make a liquid version, but it is quite expensive. If you search the internet, you will find a wide variety of manufacturers that sell liquid sucralose. Prices for liquid sucralose can vary quite a bit, with some being quite expensive, still they can be purchased on the internet for quite or a lot less than you will find on your local supermarket shelves. With the exception of the EZSweetz brand, most of the liquid forms of sucralose are sold in a 25% concentration. EZSweetz Travel version is 50% concentrate, and their family size is 25% concentrate.

What Is Liquid Sucralose?

Because they do a better job of explaining what exactly sucralose is than I would, the following information comes from the International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC) website.

“Sucralose adds sweetness to foods and beverages without adding calories or carbohydrates. As an alternative to sugar and other calorie-containing sweeteners, it can play a role in weight management programs that combine sensible nutrition and physical activity. While the process to make sucralose begins with sucrose, or table sugar, the final product is different from sugar. Sucralose is made by replacing three select hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms, resulting in an intensely sweet, no-calorie sweetener.

Unlike sugar, the body does not break down sucralose into calories for energy. Yet, both sugar and sucralose activate the same taste buds on your tongue. Most of the sucralose people consume is not absorbed and passes through the body. The little that is absorbed is excreted in the urine, and doesn’t accumulate in the body...Sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar, and it can be used in place of or combined with sugar in cooking and baking. Sucralose has been studied extensively and has been found to be safe by experts and researchers around the world. Government agencies worldwide, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have also reviewed the science on sucralose and found it to be safe for human consumption.”

That pretty much about sums it up. Despite what you may have read, according to the FDA, sucralose is safe. In addition, the Mayo clinic has also endorsed the use of sucralose as a safe sweetening alternative to sugar. Ultimately, the decision to use sucralose as a sweetener is up to you. I encourage you to do your own research so that you can make an informed decision regarding the use of sucralose. Personally, I have found liquid sucralose to be an amazing sugar substitute that does not affect my blood glucose levels. As a diabetic, I have found liquid sucralose to be quite amazing.

How To Use Liquid Sweeteners

Liquid sucralose can be used in both hot an cold beverages as well as baking and cookign sauces. I have used liquid sucralose in my 'Sweety Q' Kansas City style barbecue sauce with great results. Having said that, the hardest part of using liquid sucralose is getting the right amount of sweetness. Because liquid sucralose is so concentrated (25%) you have to be careful when adding it to recipes. For example 1 drop of sucralose has the sweetening power of 1 teaspoon of sugar. So if you are heavy handed with the bottle, you can easily add to many drops to your recipe or beverage of choice. I recommend buying a seperate bottle with a good dropper to help you control the drops as I have read that some varieties and containers do not seem to have good ways to measure drops.

Because many of the liquid sucralose containers you may purchase do not have instructions printed on the bottles, I have included the most common measurements for 25% concentrated liquid sucralose. For a printer friendly version of how to use liquid sucralose see the end of this article.

Where To Buy Sucralose

I purchased my sucralose from a vendor on Amazon, but there are a number of products and vendors on ebay and other web sites as well. Even Splenda has jumped into market by offering their own version of liquid sucralose. Most of the liquid sucralose available on the internet come in the standard 25% concentration, and prices for such vary depending on the seller. I purchased a 16 ounce bottle of 'JD Liquid Sucralose' for $27.49 ($1.71 per ounce) on Amazon and shipping was free because I am a Prime member. Compare than with the liquid sucralose sold under the Splenda name that is sold at Walmart for $4.19 for a 1.68 ounce bottle ($2.49 per ounce), that's a 32% savings by buying it off Amazon. Even though we have adopted an LCHF diet, we still maintain a pretty rigorous food budget, and anything we can do to stretch our food dollars we do, so buying the liquid sucralose from Amazon was a no brainier for us.

The Ingredients

The ingredient list for liquid sucralose is pretty straightforward. It is made of sucralose, water, and the food preservatives potassium sorbate and citric acid. The amount of water in the liquid sucralose determines it's concentration (sweetening power). There should be no other ingredients listed on the label. As mentioned, most of the liquid sucralose that you can buy on the internet is listed as 25% concentration.

Conclusion

The bottom line, every gram of carbohydrate you consume can raise your blood sugar by 3 to 5 points. For the average person this may not be a problem, but if you are a diabetic or someone on a LCHF diet, each gram of carbohydrate you consume matters. So those 9.5 grams of carbohydrates that I have been drinking using the granulated Great Value Low Calorie Sweetener (Splenda clone) has the potential to raise my blood sugar by 28.5 to 47.5 points over the course of the day. Granted these carbs are divided up over a 12 to 16 hour period, for a diabetic, any reduction in your blood glucose levels is positive thing especially if it keeps you off or at a lower dose of insulin.

For several years after I was first diagnosed with diabetes we used the granulated Great Value Low Calorie Sweetener (Splenda clone) and it worked well, but the liquid sucralose works even better and it does not have any additional additives that contain hidden carbs to raise your blood sugar. Another great thing is that it tastes just like sugar with not bitterness or aftertaste than some sweeteners have.

At the end of this article I have included a text version of the graphic that contained the conversion measurements for liquid sucralose to make it easy for you to copy and print for your home use. I hope you have found this article to be informative and helpful and if so we ask that you share it with your friends. Don't forget to send us a friend request on our Facebook page CulinaryYouLCHF, or add us to your groups on Google+.

Printer Friendly Conversion Information

Liquid Sucralose 25% Concentration

1 teaspoon sugar = 1 drop liquid sucralose

1/4 cup Sugar = 12 drops of liquid sucralose

1/3 cup sugar = 16 drops of liquid sucralose

1/2 cup sugar = 1/4 teaspoon liquid sucralose

3/4 cup sugar = 1/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon liquid sucralose

1 cup sugar = 1/2 teaspoon liquid sucralose

2 cups sugar = 1 teaspoon liquid sucralose

References:

Burani, Johanna MS,RD, CDE, Practical Use Of The GI, American Diabetes Association, 2006.

Everything You Need To Know About Sucralose, International Food Information Council Foundation, August 24, 2016

Mayo Clinic,Artificial Sweeteners and Other Sugar Substitutes, accessed September 2016.

National Cancer Institute, Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer, accessed September 2016.