Q: How can products that claim to be sugarless still have
lots of carbohydrates and be safe for diabetics?
A: The answer to your question lies in the broad
definition of carbohydrate. There are many different types
of carbohydrates. Not all are quickly metabolized into
simple sugars that quickly raise blood glucose.
There are actually four distinct classes of carbohydrates
in foods. The first class is simple sugars naturally found
in fruits, honey and sweeteners like cane sugar, cane
juice, fructose, corn syrup, dextrose, maltose, maple
syrup and fruit juice. These sugars are quickly metabolized,
cause significant blood sugar swings, and are unhealthy
for diabetics.
The second class is complex carbohydrates found in whole
grains. When eaten with a meal containing fats and proteins,
these carbohydrates are acceptable for diabetics.
The third class is sugar alcohol like sorbitol and zylitol.
Sugar alcohols are not completely metabolized and are
very slow to enter the blood stream. They are good sweeteners
for diabetics because they don’t cause significant
blood sugar swings.
The fourth class is fiber. Fiber is considered a carbohydrate
but is not metabolized at all by humans. It does not enter
the bloodstream and does not increase blood sugar.
Thus, when choosing snack foods you must read the ingredient
label and see what type of carbohydrates are in the food.
Avoid snacks that are sweetened with simple sugars and
look for snacks sweetened with xylitol or sorbitol. You
can even purchase xylitol to use in cooking at home. Zylitol
is also called birch sugar. |
