Diabetes and Artificial Sweeteners

What Is an Artificial Sweetener?

You may hear many names for sweeteners: sugars, reduced-

calorie sweeteners, low-calorie sweeteners. Only some of 

these sweeteners are "artificial." Use this list to compare 

sweeteners:

• Sugars are naturally occurring carbohydrates. They 
• contain calories and raise your blood glucose levels -- the 
• level of sugar in your blood. Examples are brown sugar, 
• cane sugar, confectioner's sugar, fructose, honey, and 
• molasses.
• 
  
• Reduced-calorie sweeteners are sugar alcohols. These 
• sweeteners have about half the calories of sugars and are 
• considered a separate type of carbohydrates. They can 
• raise your blood sugar levels, although not as much as 
• other carbohydrates. Examples include isomalt, maltitol, 
• mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol. You'll often find these 
• reduced-calorie sweeteners in sugar-free candy and gum.
• 
  
• Low-calorie sweeteners are "artificial." This means they 
• were created in a lab rather than found naturally. Low-
• calorie sweeteners are considered "free foods." They have 
• no calories and do not raise your blood sugar levels.

Types of Artificial Sweeteners for Diabetes Patients

 These artificial sweeteners are considered  to be safe for 

use by the general public. 

• Saccharin can be found as Sweet 'N Low and Sugar Twin. 
• You can use it in both hot and cold foods. Avoid this 
• sweetener if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• 
  
• Aspartame is found as NutraSweet and Equal. You can use 
• it in both cold and warm foods. It may lose some sweetness 
• at high temperatures. People who have a condition called 
• phenylketonuria should avoid this sweetener.
• 
  
• Acesulfame potassium or acesulfame-K is found as 
• Sweet One, Swiss Sweet, and Sunett. You can use it in 
• both cold and hot foods, including in baking and cooking.
• 
  
• Sucralose is found as Splenda. You can use it in hot and 
• cold foods, including in baking and cooking. Processed 
• foods often contain it.

Finding Artificial Sweeteners for Diabetes Patients in 

Prepared Foods

No sugar, low-sugar, naturally sweetened, no added sugar -- 

the list of what you encounter on products while shopping can 

be overwhelming. Use this "cheat sheet" to identify which 

products are sweetened the way you want them.

• No sugar means the product does not contain sugar at all. 
• It may contain sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners.
• No added sugar means that during processing, no extra 
• sugar was added. However, the original source might have 
• contained sugar such as fructose in fruit juice. Additional 
• sweeteners such as sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners 
• might have been added.
• Sugar free means that the product contains no sugars. It 
• may contain sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners, 
• however.
• Dietetic can mean a lot of things. It's likely that the product 
• has reduced calories.
• All natural simply means that the product does not contain 
• artificial ingredients. It may contain natural sweeteners, 
• such as sugars or sugar alcohol.

When in Doubt, Read the Nutrition Label

To know for sure what kind of sweetener a food product 

contains, check the Nutrition Facts label. Under the 

Carbohydrate section, you can see how many carbohydrates 

the product contains. You can also see how much of these 

carbohydrates are in the form of sugar or sugar alcohol.

For even more information on diabetic nutrition, read the 

Ingredients list. It should indicate any added sweeteners, 

whether they are sugars, sugar alcohols, or artificial.

So, after reading all these, diabetics should know what type of sweets are allowed for them, which will not raise their blood sugar levels.