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Today, it is easier than ever to cook and bake with sugar substitutes thanks to the wide variety of products available.

It wasn’t so long ago that most available sugar substitutes had strong off-flavors or, even worse, unfortunate gastrointestinal effects. (Check out the hilarious and horrifying review comments on this Amazon listing for the maltitol syrup-sweetened sugar-free gummy bears to see why the fear is very real.)

Nowadays there are so many options that it’s tough to know where to begin. How do they impact blood glucose? Are they easy on one’s stomach?

Some of these sweeteners have been widely available for decades, and others have gained popularity only recently.

A note: we have excluded popular sugar alternatives like agave syrup and coconut sugar. These may or may not be healthier than pure sugar, but they definitely have an identical blood sugar impact. This article will concentrate on sweeteners that do not provoke a blood sugar increase, and are therefore of special interest for people managing diabetes. That said, some of the sweeteners on this list are more diabetes-friendly than others, depending on what your personal needs are.

Check them out:

The New Sugar Substitutes

If you’re new to low-carb, you might not be aware of how many good new options there are for sugar alternatives.

Allulose: 

Allulose may be our favorite zero-carb sweetener. The reasons are simple:

1. Of every alternative sweetener we’ve tried, it tastes the best, which is to say that it tastes the most like true sugar. There is no aftertaste, no chemical flavor, no strange mouthfeel issues.
2. It appears to have zero impact on blood sugar.

The science backs us up. In a 2018 study, allulose was actually found to slightly reduce the blood sugar of people with type 2 diabetes.

Allulose is not as sweet as sugar, but it works extremely well in baking recipes, and can even be turned into caramel.

Monk Fruit:

Monkfruit powder is another sugar alternative that we can recommend highly. It’s extremely popular in the keto community, especially when sold under the brand name Lakanto. The Lakanto company sells monk fruit sugar in multiple varieties, including brown sugar, granulated white sugar, powdered white sugar, and has a range of products, from maple sugar and chocolate sauce to brownie mixes.

Monk fruit comes from the lo han guo fruit, found in China. It does not impact blood glucose and does not seem to cause gastrointestinal symptoms in users. It’s much sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a long way. Low-carb bakers love the way it behaves in recipes.

Users should be aware that monk fruit products often contain a smaller amount of erythritol, for an improved flavor profile and usability.

Erythritol:

You’ll find this under many brands, most notably as Swerve. You can find granular, powdered, and brown sugar versions of erythritol, often formulated so as to offer a 1:1 replacement for sugar, making it easy to use for baking. Many popular low-carb or sugar-free recipes use Swerve.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol. It is almost completely calorie-free and has no known impact on blood sugar.

PubChem states erythritol is two times as sweet as sucrose. While most people seem to tolerate it well, there are some reports of eaters experiencing gas or bloating, so it may be smart to watch how much you include in your diet.

Stevia:

Stevia is a newly popular alternative sweetener. You can find it in grocery stores as SweetLeaf, Pyure, Stevia in the Raw, and several other brands. Derived from the leaves of a plant native to South America, stevia is an all-natural sweetener that is several hundred times sweeter than sugar, according to the FDA. It is calorie-free and won’t raise blood sugar.

Stevia is divisive because many tasters find that it has a bitter aftertaste. Many low-carb eaters absolutely love it, though. If you’re buying low-sugar packaged foods that use stevia, be sure to check the ingredients, because it’s often combined with sugar.

There are actually different types of stevia, and one of our staff members strongly prefers a type called “Reb A,” which is made from only a certain extra-delicious part of the plant. If you’ve tried stevia and haven’t liked it, it might be worth looking for the Reb A variety.

Xylitol:

Xylitol is another sugar alcohol: it’s about as sweet as sucrose but lower in calories. It does raise blood glucose a little bit, which may make it a less optimal choice than its cousin erythritol. PubChem explains that xylitol is a five-carbon sugar alcohol that can be found naturally in many fruits and vegetables.

This sugar alcohol may cause gastrointestinal distress in some individuals at a certain threshold intake. It may be possible that once the body acclimates to the sweetener, more can be consumed with no unwanted side effects.

Xylitol is often found in candy and sugar-free gum because it inhibits the growth of bacteria in the mouth.

Beware: xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs, so probably not ideal for a pet owner.

Traditional Sugar Substitutes

You’re probably already familiar with the flavor of these – most of them have been ubiquitous for decades. In our opinion, the alternative sugars below are more likely to have strange flavors and chemically aftertastes, and they’re also less likely to be useful in low-carb baking recipes. But many people love them! And they also probably won’t raise your blood sugar.

Aspartame:

Found on the market as NutraSweet and Equal. According to the American Cancer Society, it is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and is not for those with phenylketonuria disease. It’s also calorie-free and does not raise blood sugar but is not recommended for use in cooking or baking.

Maltitol:

Maltitol is a sugar alcohol commonly used as a way to make foods “sugar-free.” It doesn’t make foods “carbohydrate-free” however, as it still affects blood glucose somewhat. An analysis on PubChem references a study that found that Malitol has 38% the blood sugar impact of pure sugar, and that it was absorbed more slowly. However, beware: this chemical is known to provoke gastrointestinal problems.

Saccharin:

Sold as Sweet and Low, Sweet Twin, Sweet’N Low, and Necta Sweet. According to the FDA, saccharin was discovered in 1879. It is 200-700 times sweeter than sugar and is not as popular as it used to be, due to its bitter aftertaste and difficulty for use in baking.

Sorbitol:

According to the PubChem Chemistry Database, “Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol found in fruits and plants with diuretic, laxative and cathartic property.” Also, it contains “one-third fewer calories and 60 % the sweetening activity of sucrose and is used as a sugar replacement in diabetes.” As you can see, sorbitol can be a laxative, and still raises blood sugar. Be aware of this when choosing sorbitol!

Sucralose:

This is most commonly known as the brand name Splenda. Sucralose is calorie-free and doesn’t raise blood sugar. It can be tricky to bake with due to how sweet it is (about 600 times sweeter than sugar).

Use What Works for You

When choosing a sugar substitute, your goal is to enjoy the flavor as much as possible while maintaining steady blood sugar levels and avoiding unpleasant side effects. Your own experience will be unique. Some people are sensitive to some of these sweeteners, and some are not, so individual results have to be prioritized. It’s also possible that you’ll have different blood sugar responses than predicted in this article. And in matters of taste, of course, there can be no disputes.