29 Comments
Do you ever purchase sugar-free candy instead of full-sugar candy for yourself?
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I chose other as sugar free chewing gum is the only one. It helps keep my mouth moist. Most sweet things are not desired by my taste buds any longer. I still like fruit, but cookies, candy, desserts do not taste good since the onset of T1D.
When I was a kid we used to buy sugar free candy. Most of it tasted pretty bad. Some of it gave me terrible stomach pain.
I have transitioned to a whole food, low fat plant-based way of life and it has improved my T1D immeasurably. But that means no more candy 🙂
Yes but rarely. Too much of that stuff and you will pay.
Pre-T1D, I used to say sugar-free and low-fat items were not allowed at my house, unless they were naturally that way. It’s still pretty true. That means that I have pretty much given up sweets. I still eat some, but now it’s a carefully considered decision and usually includes giving up some other kind of carbohydrates for the day/meal. I have noticed that my insulin versus glucose rise seems to match up better with plain old sugar carbs than it does with some others.
No, sugar free products are not gut microbiome healthy and a waste of money – looking at the ingredients is hair raisingly scary.
I try to avoid artificial sweeteners. I don’t like to put artificial things into my body. Perhaps, the only exception may be chewing gum. However, I have not chewed gum in a year. My wife buys candy (with sugar) which I only eat when my blood sugar is low.
I used to get those things for myself and for my daughter, but they typically have more calories than regular candy and sweets. About the only sugar-free things I get nowadays are diet drinks
Check the carb count! Many of it is actually higher in carbs than the added sugar version.
I very seldom purchase candy, and when I do it is to treat reactions.
I thought being diabetic always meant “sugar free, no sugar added, or artificial sweetners”. When I eat sugar free chocolates, I have to stay home because of the gas and gastro intestinal upsets. Yes, I like the taste but not the aftermath. I do better with sugar free cookies, popsicles, and no sugar added ice cream. It is the sugar alcohols that are upsetting, especially Maltitol. So I make a sugar free pumpkin pie or custard with splenda or stevia that tastes great with no side effects.
PS. The advantage of eating low sugars is they don’t spike as much or as quickly as sugared candy. Stay away from Maltitol!!!!
I purchase sugar free cough drops with stevia or xylitol.
Russel Stovers makes some good sugar free candies. I don’t buy them often, but they’re a nice little treat every now and then
I only purchase full sugar candy. I use Smarties or jellybeans when I am low. But I also buy Lindt chocolates but I know I can only eat one piece.
When I was first diagnosed in 1975 I got some sugar free fruit tablets with sorbitol. They did dreadful things to my gi tract and it wasn’t until I read the warning on the package that I understood why. All sugar alcohols – like sorbitol, malitol, xylitol etc can have a laxative effect if eaten in any quantity. I haven’t bought anything sugar free since. Although I have received sugar free items as gifts from well meaning people.
I used to shop for the “best tasting” sugar free candies for holidays so I could tell people I didn’t want pies and cakes. Over the last 8 years or so, I’ve become a naturalist, that is, if it’s not of this earth, it doesn’t enter my mouth. I use stevia products but they still spike my sugar a bit. I still bolus when I use them.
No! Not unless I’m in need of some Golightly and prefer to handle it at home instead of the hospital. That’s never happened, by the way. Just give me the real thing, less carbs in it any way, and no GI issues.
ALWAYS!!! But I buy a bag of Lifesavers to keep a few in my purse in case of a reaction. The last time I got a bag has to be at least 6 months ago!!!
Other- Yes and no. chocolate, no- it bothers my digestive system. Hard candies, yes. That said, I don’t buy candy often at all. Also I don’t use it for insulin reactions, it is almost all far less fast acting than juice.
When I was a kid my parents tried but they were all horrible tasting, so it went always quickly. Now in my old age, I know I can have want I want as long as it isn’t a lot and I adjust my insulin dosing. I don’t do it often but once in awhile those peanut butter cups call me!
In my opinion, there is no such thing as sugar free. There is sugar, they just get away with false advertising by calling it sucrose or some such. And it usually causes digestive issues. I don’t buy candy except at Halloween. I too try to go with non-processed food if I am being disciplined. It helps with diabetes, it helps with digestion, it helps with my lab results. Before being diagnosed, I ate chocolate and drank sodas and had terrible digestive issues. I am much healthier after my diagnosis and learning about food and it’s impact.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If I can find “sugar free” chocolate, yes. Of not, then no. Sugar free is usually not as good as regular chocolate.
Ever since I realized “sugar free” often meant higher carb, the actual sugar content wasn’t an issue. Counting carbs to me means total carbs (adjusting for fiber).
I keep Ethel m dark chocolate bars around. One bar lasts me a week . I a,so am hooked on “real” peanut butterm&ms! Gotta have treats. Just know how to manage them😁
I answered yes, but it’s really only for sugar free cough drops. I do purchase mostly sugar-full candy!
No way. I enjoy a bit of good chocolate now and then. When I desire to eat candy as a treat I eat a piece of the real deal and bolus accordingly. Same with ice cream. As to the sugar free candy and dairy treat products – Yuck – too much GI distress from unnatural ingredients and not worth wasting the money. The sugar free chocolates they sell now days have just as many carbs as the sugar sweetened stuff. As a kid with T1D well meaning relatives and friends would send or give me sugar free candy gifts with weird chemical sweetener ingredients and after trying one or two pieces I would tell my mother to toss them. The after taste and the after affects were unpleasant.
I agree with the others, the details from Connie. Also, the delayed effect of the sugar alcohols (sorbitol, mannitol… words ending in ‘ol’) made the timing of insulin with digestion too complex to deal with. Today, I enjoy a piece of chocolate with prebolusing. The sugar gets into my system quickly and is then gone. No more chasing the ‘ols’.
WORD OF WARNING!!! Check the nutrition label for Total Carbs! Sugar-free does NOT mean carb free! It is legal to label food as Sugar Free if it does not use processed sugar. The majority of Sugar Free Candy/Cookies/Snacks have nearly as many carbs as the non-sugar free. Buyer Beware!