The reason I live a keto lifestyle is out of my control and creates some unique challenges for me. I started keto when I found out I had hyperinsulinism (my body produces too much insulin when I eat sugar) and it caused long term damage to my heart and kidneys. The story has been covered many times here, but I had a choice… go low carb eating foods that will not spike my insulin or take life altering medication for the rest of my life. Obviously I picked keto.
Hyperinsulinism and the Glycemic Index
Where things get unique is I have to closely monitor foods and where they fall on the glycemic index. I’m working on an upcoming podcast to get into greater detail on the index, but long story short, the higher on the index the more it will make you produce insulin. For instance, Sucrose or table sugar is high on the chart at 65, whereas keto friendly sweetener Stevia is 0.
That little caveat leads to me deciding I wanted a treat on my vacation. What did I choose? Lily’s Creamy Milk Chocolate Style chocolate bar. You know where we stand on Lily’s products so there is no need to talk about how fabulous this was. Seriously it was amazing. This blog is about three items in the product that I needed to look up to make sure it wouldn’t trigger my condition.
The Scary Products
The first was Erythritol. I knew it was a sugar alcohol and low on the index, but since I was stepping out of my comfort zone I wanted all the info. Erythritol can be considered ideal for keto. It has about 20 percent of the calories of sugar. 90% is absorbed through the bloodstream preventing most of the stomach upset of the other sweeteners. Most importantly it’s a 0 on the ever important index. Since we use it in most of our sweet recipes I knew I was pretty safe.
Second up was Inulin. Turns out this little devil is a dietary fibre that is extracted most commonly from the root of chicory. Chicory is a plant from the daisy family that has brilliant blue flowers when blooming. It’s often used as a coffee substitute. Being a dietary fibre I knew I was safe on this one as most of it will pass through the body unchanged. A lot of it though will cause you some bloating and stomach upset. Inulin does have a 14 on the glycemic index, but that is very low and would not affect insulin production much.
Does Hyperinsulinism and Dextrin Mix?
Third was one I knew very little about. Dextrin. This is a very scientifically derived compound extracted from starches through a process I’m not going to pretend to understand. It’s used as a binder or thickening agent when placed in foods. Reading about it kind of turned me off a bit as I don’t like things that are heavily processed in my food, but how could a chocolate bar be perfect? Dextin has no known scale on the index, but studies have shown that over the long term all indications are, it’s safe.
Wendy and I have always said it takes a lot to wrap your head around keto. But when you do the research and educate yourself it makes the next time easier and easier. I can enjoy Lily’s line of chocolate bars now, guilt free, and when I come across these three ingredients in the future I know my health is protected.
Bill
