Sugar and Sugar Substitutes

I am a lifelong type 2 diabetic. I have been on Metformin since 2005, when I was diagnosed, however once aware of the symptoms I realized that they have been a part of my life since I was at least 13!  My last carb reading was 5.3, yes I can score into the perfectly normal range by controlling what I put into my mouth.  But, let us face it, when it is Girl Scout cookie season that number is going to be significantly higher for a period of time!

When I am cooking, you will notice that I do call for sugar in my recipes but understand that is for those whom are not diabetic and wishing to try the recipe. If you are diabetic then we both know that "sugar" is not going to be sugar.

Sugar is derived from various sources: sugar cane and sugar beets are the most common.  It is bad for you whether you are diabetic or not.  So, many substitutes were sought:  

Aspartame ... aka NutraSweet aka Equal, is a chemical with a laundry list of what is wrong with it, but people buy it anyway.  I would avoid this chemical at all times unless you like the idea of cancer, epileptic seizures and oh so much more attributed to it by doctors!   It can even convert to alcohol when exposed to heat and a DUI is not really what you want in the middle of Nevada in summertime!  (one of my friends!)  For me, it gives me really bad headaches - so restricting blood flow to the old bean is not good.  NOT recommended!

Beech, Birch and Maple sugars are naturally occurring sweeteners made from evaporated tree saps.  I grew up with them in northern Europe and they have subtle flavors all their own and work well for all forms of baking but for teas, coffee or lemonades - not a good choice in my book.  Lemonade should not taste like pancakes.

Cyclamate - oh where to start!  The oldest of all artificial sweeteners (1930's) it was banned in the US by the FDA due to a California study finding that it caused cancer in 8 out of 250 rats (1969?).  It should be pointed out that a human would have to consume 350 cans of diet pop sweetened with cyclamates a day to match that study!  I met one of the chemists from the California study decades after the ban and she admitted the study was bogus.  But, in the US, the product remains banned.  I would recommend against exposure to this chemical as one of my acquaintances, whom had drunk this heavily as a child, did die of bladder cancer 30 years later.  So, caution ...  NOT recommended!

Nutiva is a new to the market, a coconut based sweetener made from palm tree flower bud sap drippings.  Odd, but okay ....  It is a brownish color and is used volume for volume for sugar in baking.  Browns well in baking, has a subtle caramel flavor that is not unpleasant in tea and was liked by my taste testing panel.  It also was a winner in the chocolate chip cookie taste test as well  (I only managed 2 cookies the panel scarfed the other 30!).  The interesting part is that it has only one-third the carbohydrate load of normal sugar!  Also, it is not as sweet as Sugar.  So, although not the best choice, since it is still a sugar, you can still use it and know that you are at least watching your diabetes while cheating!  It is my new go to sugar selection for cooking and baking.  From this point forward anything that is baked will actually be done with this product.  So you can see for yourself that it bakes quite normally.

Saccharine once banned because of its close tie-in with Cyclamates, was restored to the market some years ago.  Good for baking, has a brown sugar equivalent offering as well, browns and acts just like sugar.  I rarely use it and then only sparingly.  Just not so comfortable with its safety.  So, out for lunch I will grab the Sweet-n-Low pink packet (not all pink packets are Sweet-n-Low!) and then only use maybe a fourth of a packet in a 12 ounce mug of tea.

Splenda ... a chemical whose properties are completely misrepresented by its owners, to the extent of false advertising. Yes, your body does breakdown this chemical because:
A) you can taste sweet, which is a chemical reaction;
B) I am violently allergic to it!

And it seems that there are many whom are as well.  I was an early user of this product, importing it from Canada for several years.  But, it does not bake well and in volume has an odd after-taste. NOT recommended!

Stevia is a Mexican shrub with a very sweet taste to its leaf.  I was such an early user of Stevia leaf that the white powder got me more than once approached by police for possession of cocaine at restaurants!  But, one taste of the powder and, after they were done retching from the sweetness, point was made.  The problem with Stevia is that it does have an odd after taste when used in abundance. So you would think that a muffin would taste like a muffin, only it does not - it tastes odd and it will not brown either in the oven!  So great for sweetening tea in the morning or on a bowl of cereal - it has not much else going for it.  I carry packets of this in my daytimer so that I can avoid the packets of pink death (Saccharine) when dining out.

Xylitol is another Mexican shrub whose leaf yields a very sweet taste.  It is not widely cultivated and a little goes extremely a long way.  I have yet to see this in much more than in gum or occasionally a candy.  So, not available for baking but should it be, it will have the same problems as Stevia.

In my baking or cooking: Nutiva or very rarely sugar.
In small doses:                  Stevia or sugar in tea or on cereal.

Whatever your choices, keep those carbo load numbers down!