Hi all and a happy easter to you!
What are your thoughts on diet/zero sugar drinks and sweeteners and Natural Stevia??
Are these ok to use. Sometimes I just want something that tastes sweet. I’m not sweet toothed by nature but occasionally I just fancy something sweet. I love berries and dark chocolate( Green & blacks organic 80% )
Is it ok to grab an occasional diet drink or have a sweetener in my black coffee?
I’ve also occasionally put a sprinkle of stevia in my natural full fat yoghurt or a teaspoon of sweet freedom chocolate spread to make a chocolate type desert. Am I ok with doing this as I won’t if it’s going to sabotage all my good work .

Hi Mel I am on the understanding that they are a no go. Even though it is not real sugar they still make your insulin spike. Allie and Essie are the ones to go into it deeper but as I understand they effect the fat burning. I have tried a sip of slimline tonic and it was really horrible, I could taste the artificial sweetener! We are trying to get our bodies to not crave sweet things and carbs and thus could be a sure way to break all that and start the cravings again. I have found that if I have a few nuts like pistachios with a little Maldon sea salt on them that stops my cravings dead. Hope this has helped? Birdy 💞🦜

Birdy is right, anything that tastes sweet causes our bodies to produce insulin to handle the sugar it expects is going to be entering the blood stream. So artificial sweeteners cause a spike in insulin and while this way of eating is called the blood sugar diet really what we are trying to do is keep insulin levels low so that our bodies can access our fat stores.

Hi Mel
This is only my opinion but I steer clear of all things ‘ artificial’. I don’t like the chemical nature of these sweeteners. I would not touch a Diet drink or sweeteners because I want to break free of the sugar addiction and all the faux sugars etc just perpetuate the cravings for soemthing that I do not need. Berries are sweet enough, dark choc at least 85% for me…

Some people says adding a bit of cinnamon can dispel the bitterness of black coffee ?
You are not ‘sabotaging’ anything if this is your way of adapting to a new way of eating but I would say try to wean yourself off the sugar in the long term. Sugar is a very addictive substance and it’s tough adjusting as you start out but I think it’s worth it .
Have a read of this

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/sweeteners

How occassionally do you mean? If it’s one every six months or so it probably won’t matter much, but if it’s a couple of times a week (or more!) then you’re not giving yourself a chance to retrain yourself not to want this kind of sweetness.

Remember there’s no nutrional value in these sweeteners and some suggestions that they’re harmful. If you really want something sweet, then have the chocolate or fruit, rather than synthetic stuff.

Some sweeteners are worse than others. I avoid sucralose, sugar alcohols like malitol, sorbitol and erythritol, aspartame and saccharine. They can have a blood sugar impact, feed unfriendly gut bacteria and harm the friendly ones. The jury’s still out on whether Stevia causes a blood sugar response. Some studies suggest it’s neutral. I find it unpleasantly sweet, sticky sweet almost, so I avoid it too.

The only sweeteners I use now on the rare occasions when I make low-carb desserts are pure monkfruit extract and inulin (chickory root extract) for bulk. That’s what I use in my mini-cheesecakes and when I’m making a raspberry or blueberry compote for the peanut butter and yogurt parfait that is my OH’s favorite thing in the world. They are entirely natural, and the mogrosides that make monkfruit extract taste sweet (200 times sweeter than sugar) have no blood sugar impact. Some animal studies indicate it actually helps control blood sugar levels, although no human testing has been done yet.

The problem is that sweetness itself can still ignite cravings, sort of like a psychological addiction even when the physiological process isn’t engaged. When I started on the BSD, I drank a bottle of Coke Zero a day. Within a couple of weeks they no longer appealed to me as my palate began to change. I’d still have sweetened chocolates on increasingly rare occasion over the next few months. When I discovered that 100% chocolate no longer tasted bitter to me, I cut those out too. Leaning into my newfound love for bitter, sour, tangy, intense flavors made me much happier than trying to recreate sweets I used to love in a low-carb form. It was a long process, though. Whatever keeps you on track and away from carbs should take priority.

Have reported the post from the latest spammer Anglinia advertising a restaurant.

Thanks everyone. It’s given me something to seriously consider.
Esnecca I will get some of the monk fruit extract in. This seems the best option. I do get the occasional desire for sweet tasting food and I want something at hand for when this happens. I live a few doors away from the village shop that sell an array of confectionery, cakes etc. I’ve been known to go there in my dressing gown and slippers at 7.50 to purchase a sweet treat before they shut up shop ! If I have something at hand that is not going to undo a days good work then I think I can win part of my inner battle. I am relying heavily on diet drinks at weekends on visits to our local pubs in the village. It’s hard because I live in a very tight knit village community where we all meet up at the local pubs, my wife is in the boules team and it’s where we socialise. I’m not a big drinker and much prefer non alcoholic drinks. I need to find an alternative to the pints of Diet Coke I’m getting through tho that’s for sure.

Give it your best, menapausalmel. Studies have been done on diet cola, and the research suggests that they promote
metabolic syndrome and/or insulin resistance. Our bodies can’t distinguish between sugary drinks and the artificially
sweetened type. Best,

Allie