People roll their eyes at me lately because I’m bashing sugar all the time. They point out that I eat sugar alcohols on keto, so what’s the difference? Bill did an article on sugar alcohols where he looked at what they are and if they are safe for keto. But, we are always talking about eating whole foods – foods that are in their original forms. Sugar alcohols are chemically produced. So why does keto say you can’t have sugar, even if it is a more natural food? Is there a difference between sugar alcohols and sugar?
Advantages of Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols are a sweetener that have very few calories and a different type of carbs that typically don’t count against your keto carb counts. Why? Well, because they are mostly undigested. They just go straight through your system. So, why take them in? Because we enjoy sweetness.
Many sugar alcohols have the benefit of not raising your blood sugar levels. This is especially important if you have a condition related to insulin. But, all sugar alcohols are not created equal. We try to use more natural options, like sugar alcohols companies extract from the stevia plant or monk fruit.
The biggest advantage of sugar alcohols is that it satisfies your cravings for sweet treats. When you just need a cupcake, or a donut, you use sugar alcohols. There are tons of recipes out there for you. It might not be exactly the same, but it can sometimes take away that nagging urge for the baked goods.
Advantages of Sugar
Sugar has some natural options available. You can pick up raw sugar, sugar cane, and honey. But, most of us use refined white sugar. Refined sugar takes these the natural sources and ups the sweetness factor so we get an extreme sweet taste from a small amount.
The only real advantage of sugar is that it doesn’t have a bitter or cooling sensation after we eat it. That’s it. That’s all I’ve got.
Disadvantages of Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols can lead to digestive issues. Because our bodies burn them first, and don’t really digest them, it can give us diarrhea. Maltitol, in particular, has this little side effect. In fact, some people experiencing constipation on keto take a little maltitol and they are good to go…see what I did there?
The main disadvantage of sugar alcohols is that they can cause a weight loss stall. Bill and I fell off the wagon a little bit before the holidays. We were getting keto treats every week and eating more of them than normal. It was a reaction to stress we were experiencing. So, we were doing everything we did before we lost the weight on keto, just with sugar alcohols instead of sugar. We stopped losing weight, we stopped maintaining, and our clothing started getting a bit tight.
Disadvantages of Sugar
There is no nutritional value to added sugars. Further, it makes you crave more sugar. One donut turns into 10 before you know what happened. Sugar causes weight gain, causes you to want more sugar, and dilutes your taste buds so all you want to taste is sweetness. I did a series on sugar addiction, and it is something I feel strongly about.
Many keto people look at sugar as the true cause of obesity and a decline in our society’s health. The health field labeled fat the bad guy in our diet, but many think the basis of our obesity crisis is actually sugar. I’m not a scientist, but with all the low-fat options out there, the fact that we are all still overweight as a society makes me wonder.
Last Word on Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols are also processed, and as a keto purist, I’m not a big fan of that. Bill and I try to stick with the ones that are at least processed from natural sources. Our new favourite is Vulputa. You can get it at Costco for a more reasonable price. Most importantly to me, the base for it is monk fruit – an actual food.
Are sugar alcohols good for you? No, I don’t believe so. If you take in too many, you will get kicked out of ketosis and will gain weight. The foods we eat that have sugar alcohols originate from the baked goods and candies we ate before keto. They still have significant calories. So, eat them in moderation.
Wendy
