This is a great sugar substitute, doesn’t cause any insulin spikes, tastes like sugar with no bitter aftertaste, and you don’t have to worry about the carb count because it goes thru’ your system without being absorbed at all, because it’s actually a “sugar alcohol”.

So far research has shown it to be very safe, but it will have gastric upset effects if you consume too much. Out of all the sugar alcohols, tho, it’s creates the least stomach upsets.

It will not set off a craving for sugary foods either.

You can find many recipes on YouTube for low carb desserts using erythitol.

Once in a while I take 1 T cream cheese ( to soften put in microwave for a few seconds), 1 T coconut butter, a few drops of almond extract and erythitol and whip it to make something that tastes just like cheese cake. I also add a few sunflower seeds. No cooking is needed.

You can also use peanut or almond butter or whatever you want, unsweetened cocoa powder, etc.

I bought my erythitol from amazon.

Hi Ilovecatsndogs,
I understand where you are coming from, I know its hard, and I know at the start you want to find ways to continue with your traditional eating patterns. I have been there myself. I only picked up the BSD book at the start because of the promise of dropping a lot of weight quickly and I fully intended to go back to old eating patterns once the weight was off. I went through a period of researching low carb cooking, and I even have a packet of this sweetener in the cupboard that I bought intending to make Christmas treats in December 2017. – In the end I was so busy in the weeks running up to Christmas that when I did stop work I slept through most of the festive season.
Dr Fung suggests that all artificial sweeteners should be off the menu. – While the following research was on a different artificial sweetener it does demonstrate some of the issues with regard to sweeteners. –
We have taste receptors on our tongue which release insulin in response to anything which tastes sweet. When you think that the average adult human has between 4.5 and 5.5 litres of blood, and difference in the amount of sugar dissolved in the blood for a normal to a diabetic is less than 1 teaspoon of sugar you can understand why the body is on high alert to remove sugar from the blood stream, so Insulin is produced as soon as we taste anything sweet, and its insulin levels rather than the count of carbs which control if our bodies are burning our fat as a fuel source or not.

Also it depends who the tests were run on, healthy individuals, obese, T2D. – When I do a search on papers on this sweetener the first couple that came up were all tested on healthy young males and didn’t look at the insulin response.

Finally the research below makes the point that inclusion of artificial sweeteners in the diet encourages people to increase the number of calories eaten. – ——- Which is obvious really, if you are thinking about adding deserts to a meal. –

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/261179.php

I know emotions have been running high on this point recently but from hanging around on the forum for 22 months now, I see a pattern. Those who embrace the idea of changing their Way of Eating for the rest of their lives, moving over to cooking meals that have a low insulin impact, seem to be the ones who successfully move into maintenance and in the long term report a lessening of the cravings for carbs. While those who think in terms of how can we loose weight and still satisfy our cravings for carbs, tend to be the ones who struggle in the long run. So the best advice I can give to anyone is to spend their time learning new ways of cooking that provide the richness in their diet from healthy fats.

Hi jgwen and thanks for the interesting discussion.

However, I am not craving carbs at this time. I enjoy cooking and experimenting, and was a restaurant and hotel cook for many years, so it’s something I enjoy.

I posted this because I thought it might be helpful to someone who is perhaps having a craving for something sweet and thinking about making an “oops”, and having the real sugar treat with real carbs.

From what I have read, sugar alcohols don’t cause insulin spikes. They leave the body just like they enter the body, undigested and not absorbed. Other sweeteners like Splenda and aspartame do cause spikes.

And no I am not looking for similar foods to fill any void that a carbless life style will have. I am doing very well actually, with 8 weeks under my belt and 30 lbs. lost. I have tons of energy and my hair is now super shiny. I had a few hiccups in the beginning, but feel like things are pretty effortless now.

I am following BSD because I am prediabetic and need to lose a chunk of weight. Therefore, I have no choice but to eat this way for life, or I will come down with type 2 diabetes. I was following a low carb diet for about a year before I found BSD.

If I shouldn’t be posting sweet treats, then sure, I won’t. I don’t want to upset anyone here on the forums, with my posts. It’s not my intention. 🙁

Also, I feel good not feeling full. I suffer from gastroparesis (paralyzed stomach) due to a terrible error my surgeon made to my vagus nerve when he removed a grapefruit sized tumor from the tail of my pancreas. Besides losing my perfectly healthy spleen in order to reach the tumor, he had to remove a third of my pancreas, so it is imperative to get the fat out of my pancreas, since it doesn’t work at 100% anymore. So the prediabetes and impaired pancreas are the reason I was drawn to the 800 BSD.

Hi Ilovecatsanddogs; that surgery sounds horrendous. Your results have been stupendous! You may have come across postings from Esnecca (who I do hope will come back), who did so much research into alternatives – she posted in particular a recipe for mini pecan/cinnamon cheesecakes – her go to alternative sweeteners are monkfruit extract and inulin fibre (sadly yet to appear on the high street…). I tried the mini cheesecakes once, without the sweeteners, but with fresh raspberries on top, which were delicious! I think you can track down via the search function; there are also recipes using lupin flour; it is a whole new world of ingredients, and as a chef you might be especially interested in the alchemy! All best.

Having read quite a bit of research on sweeteners they are considered to be very safe and if someone really finds them helpful then they should use them although I would say as a method of getting rid of sugar and maybe even weaning away from sweeteners eventually. The problem with sweeteners is not whether they spike insulin but how they fool the body into thinking it is getting nutrients and when it doesn’t as there are no (or very few) calories in sweeteners it sets off a craving for something else to satisfy it. I personally use stevia in my one cup of coffee daily, less than quarter of a teaspoon so I am not banging a no sweetener drum but for some people it can increase the craving for sweet things and make the carb withdrawal last longer. I never had carb flu or cravings and I dont have a ‘sweet tooth’, so I am very lucky in dietary terms. When we are out for dinner and friends are tucking into a great big pud and I am not, they say ‘oh you are so good’. No I am not, I really dont care for puds. My downfall is savoury things like…. did start to mention what but crossed it out because I was salivating.

Hi ilovecatsndogs,
Well done on your 8 week success. Just to be clear, there are no rules about posting sweet treats and i’ve been “hanging around” these fora since 2016! All contributions and recipes gratefully accepted. There are folk who are quite extreme in their practice, e.g. 20g carb or less and folk who are less extreme e.g 50gm plus or more..with successful punters using many different models of bsd/fast800/ cleverguts/formal LCHF and all in between. Koko and thanks for your suggestion!

Hi Ilovecatsndogs,
As Towanda57 says, there are no rules on posting recipes. –

On some sites such as the facebook group for Dr Fung there are moderators who control what can and can not be posted. There isn’t that sort of structure with the forum. Sometimes there are posts that pop up selling snake oils, or promoting restaurants and there is the report option on the forum for those types of message. When someone reports one of these posts to the moderator we tend to also post a message on the forum saying that we have reported it to save others from also reporting it and then the moderator removed both posts.

I do like the fact that we can share different pieces of research on the forum and different points of view. I have only seen that turn into a nasty experience a couple of times. Which given the number of people on the forum is a very positive situation.

It sounds like you have an enviable skill in having the knowledge and skills to experiment in cooking. There have been people in the past who have added to our knowledge by sharing different recipes and I am sure others will appreciate an additional voice posting ideas.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/erythritol

Don’t count the carbs as they end up being zero since your body will not absorb or digest erythitol. Use sparingly to avoid stomach upset..

I’ve read a bit of kris gunnars writing, he seems quite a sensible bloke, have you seen much by him?

Hi Towanda!

I don’t think I have but maybe. I google articles I find interesting plus watch a lot of YouTube. Dr. Berg is full of good info and promotes a keto diet, but not counting calories.

I, on the other hand, count religiously and keep notes on my cellphone memo pad, since I’m on the 800 fast. I eat once a day and stick to intermittent fasting.

I lost the first 20 lbs. in the first two weeks, then nothing for week 3 and 4, then an additional 8 lbs. in week 5, 6, 7, and 8 ( which finishes today).

Do most people take a break or do they just continue on the 800?

Thanks everyone for the replies! Much appreciated.

This is a great YouTube video of a couple on keto who try a wide variety of sugar free sweeteners and use meters to test their sugars. It was pretty surprising!

https://youtu.be/CYfqvTZWilw

Hi ilcnd,
Many folk continue for as long as it takes, depends on starting reasons, some have T2D and/or metabolic syndrome and are trying to put it into remission, reduce need for meds, others seek BMI reduction, weightloss and shape shifting, others have had dexa scans and are very keen to alter the picture! It depends on where you are starting from and where you are aiming to get to.
The really big deal is managing life and food when the target is reached..that as ever is the tricky one and needs vigilance. There are a number of approaches and ‘true believers/zealots’ for each approach..There’s much wisdom to browse on these fora..with their tens of thousands of responses. A conversation for another time perhaps.. you’re doing brilliantly, so keep doing what you are doing and best wishes!

Thanks Towanda!

If people are going to stay on this diet for life, it’s daunting because 1 food group is cut out basically. Therefore, a high percentage may end up dropping out in the long term. To never have sweets or bread or mashed potatoes again seems harsh.

But because you can bake and make desserts using erythritol, or bread with almond and coconut flour or cauliflower mash ( the added cream cheese is the secret ingredient) I think many will stick with this way of life and not feel as though they are missing anything.

Perhaps research does show that sweeteners may set off cravings for those who used to eat a lot of sugary treats, but in the long term these “tools” may help many stay on the low carb train, because they won’t feel deprived. It’s a lot easier than training your mind to the idea you will never eat these things again. In that way, “alternatives” are very very helpful. Much better than having a “cheat” though even “cheats” serve a purpose as long as you’re willing to jump back on the horse the very next day.

The goal is not perfection. The goal is to stick with it, despite slip ups. We can be too hard on ourselves and that can destroy a diet and our personal confidence.

Anyway, please give erythritol a try first before deciding to cheat! Or any of the other alternatives to carb-y food!