34 Comments
When purchasing condiments or dressings (i.e. ketchup, BBQ Sauce, Mustard, etc.) do you ever buy the products labeled “sugar-free”?
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Mustard easy
Worcheshire easy
Soy sauce easy
Ketchup hard
A1 sauce impossible
BBQ sauce impossible
I cannot list salad dressings as I do not use any of them. A carb is a carb no matter how you count it. I am much more interested in sodium content which, in America, is close to absolutely impossible. ( ͡~ ෴ ͡°)👎
G Hughes Smokehouse is pretty good sugar free BBQ sauce.
If “a carb is a carb” but you say ketchup is hard to dose for and A1 & BBQ sauce are impossible; would that not make their carbs different? (or did I misunderstand your comment?) Thanks!
Karen– I mis-communicated. I meant easy/difficult/hard to refer to my ability to purchase or find the product. It appears others are able to find or suggest where to find them, though.
I buy condiments but rarely buy those that even have sugar. I make my own salad dressing and Mayo and mustard do not have it. I buy catsup but rarely use it. It is red sugar to me and I just dont care for it.
It depends on what the actual carb count is, sometimes “sugar free” is a misleading marketing gimmick.
If anything I check carbs, not sugar-free. Sugar-free products are often higher in carbs than their counterparts.
I usually look for the low fat version or fat free version of condiments, lower sodium and lower sugar are good choices. Except the sugar substitutes are chemicals to avoid except for stevia. So it is a confusing issue reading nutritional labels. I am surprised that India does not have any nutritional labels on their products. Their people are probably much happier because it is a mind altering sometimes for me.
I DON’T BUY THIS PRODUCTS
I use mustard and Mayo, which are naturally sugar free but not labeled sugar free. I rarely do ketchup or BBQ sauce, but I have bought sugar free natural ketchup for others in the house more for the better flavor. I make my own salad dressings mostly with no sugar however I occasionally will use a small amount of honey.
I have never used a lot of condiments, even pre-diabetes. The exception might be an occasional use of BBQ sauce, but I put it on the side and put, literally, a couple drops on every other bite. It’s so little it’s almost not worth the effort. I’ve always preferred tomatoes on hamburgers/sandwiches over ketchup, so that’s not a problem.
Usually not available. Depends on the type of sugar substitute they use. The only one I buy often is Ketchup with reduced sugar.
ditto
Definitely NO. I avoid all foods labelled sugar-free. I’d rather eat sugar and take more insulin than eat artificial, man made substances. I’m a thorough label reader, and make efforts to avoid food with artificial ingredients, or ingredients that are not natural.
Nope. I choose condiments and dressings that have natural ingredients w/o artificial additives and preservatives. Or, better yet, I make my own. I do not totally avoid sugar – even a body with diabetes can process a small amount of natural sugar within reason.
I pay more attention to whether something is low sodium! And never sugar-free. Reduced sugar, maybe, if I see it and/or know whether I like it. Otherwise I know how to bolus for sugar… but all the salt added to everything seems far more dangerous.
Mustard and Mayo don’t have sweeteners, but high fructose corn syrup is frequently used in ketchup. I buy the ketchup without it, and BBQ sauces can be highly sweetened, but I don’t like them. My insulin insurance copay amounts to $550-600 every two months, so I don’t eat lunch, and don’t eat foods that require more insulin.
I read the label. Just because something is sugar free does not make it low carb. Then if it passes the carb count test, I read the ingredients. Just because something is sugar free does not mean it contains chemicals. There are ‘artificial sweeteners’ which ARE chemical and then there are non-nutritive sweeteners which are natural but pass through our systems without metabolizing. We look for sugar free products that either have no sweeteners in them or natural non-nutritive sweeteners.
I already fill the butter tray in the fridge with my insulin, and my family is not going to allot any additional fridge space for diabetes stuff. 😀
I’m convinced butter trays are in fridges exclusively for insulin 😂
Greg and Lucky –
LOL!!!
Me too!!!
😀
Read the label. If it’s something that’s usually sweet see what’s in it. If it has sugar can just not overdo amount and adjust bolus to cover all carbs.
I read labels to get ingredients and also total carbs, grams of sugar.
Only for bbq sauces and salad dressings. Not for ketchup or mustard.
I don’t buy sugar free ice cream, candy, chocolate chips, etc. why would I buy sugar free BBQ sauce? I do buy Smuckers Natural Jelly/Jam because it does have fewer carbs per serving & pancake syrup for the same reason, usually Mrs. Butterworth.
BBQ sauce sometimes. And I used to buy sugar free Mt. Olive sweet relish when I liven in TN but haven’t found it living in AZ or CA.
Yes when available, which is not that often.
I carefully read labels and will not buy, or knowingly eat, artificial sweeteners.
I have not used condiments in general for quite a few decades as my taste buds started changing before a diagnosis of diabetes. I stopped liking salad dressing and preferred a small amount of cheese and prefer fresh vegetables as opposed to condiments. I sometimes use mayonnaise, but this lacks sugar.
I usually look at the carb count and that is one of the biggest factors besides taste, that is, that concerns me. It is not infrequent that those labeled “sugar-free” have just as many or even more than the regular ones in my limited amount of looking!
Agree with everyone else. Doing that would be like eating at McDonalds and ordering a Diet Coke. We all have our lines we have drawn. If someone presses me to eat dessert, I somehow can say absolutely not. Put it in my fridge, it’s eaten. Really no rhyme or reason to what I will and won’t eat. I won’t add sugar to my sweet potato out, but I will eat BBQ ribs occasionally. Go figure.
We tend to purchase low sugar or no sugar added but avoid most products stating sugar free because they generally contain artificial sweeteners and other preservatives and chemicals that wreak havoc in other ways.
I’m not a big condiment fan, but once in a blue moon I like ketchup on potatoes/baked fries. The sugary ketchups are too sweet so I use reduced sugar (not artificially sweetened) since it tastes better to me.
“Sugar-free” labeling is a cruel, dangerous marketing ploy for diabetics. If you check the label, many times the total carb count is nearly identical to the “NON-sugar-free” version of the product. Regulations for ‘diabetic-safe’, carb-free and sugar-free labeling needs to be approved by a group like the ADA.