When you are diagnosed with diabetes, it can alter how you deal your daily life activities, most especially with your old habits and your daily food consumption. Diabetes management can be both overwhelming and challenging, but choosing to do so will help in your speedy recovery.
One of the most significant factors in dealing with diabetes is limiting your intake of sugar or glucose. It involves consuming the right kinds of foods or beverages to ensure that your blood sugar levels do not increase or drastically spike. This affair is part of diabetes management.
Aside from choosing the best food to consume daily, one determinant that diabetic people should also consider is the usage of sweeteners, such as sucralose. But what is sucralose? How does it affect individuals with diabetes? How does it affect insulin treatment?
What is Sucralose?
Also known as Splenda, this sweetener is an artificial type that could also be a good alternative or substitute for sugar. Since this sweetener is noncaloric, it is a famous ingredient for many types of food and beverage items or products. It is proven to be safe for consumption by diabetic individuals.
What makes this sweetener special is its zero calories’ properties. So, if you are on a diet or trying to lose weight, sucralose is the perfect choice for you. However, you must also know that sucralose is sweeter than sugar. That means that using a little amount of this sweetener should be used.
Benefits of Sucralose
Just like other sweeteners today, sucralose has also its exquisite share of benefits and advantages.
Consider the following benefits of this sweetener:
- Lower calorie count – Although this sweetener is also derived from regular sugar, it does not provide any amount of calorie to the body. It means that the body will not obtain any side effects, such as obesity. Aside from calories, this sweetener does not contain fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
- Dental Health – One of the many reasons why people experience tooth decay is because of the presence of bacteria inside the mouth, which are being fed off by sugar. However, in the case of sucralose, it does not associate with bacteria, which means that tooth decay is impossible to happen.
- A good sugar substitute – As mentioned, sucralose is a good option for those who want to lose weight. If you are on a diet, sucralose is a great alternative to sugar since it contains zero calories. For those individuals who are observing a keto diet, partnering their meal plan with sucralose is highly suggested. Aside from the great taste it provides, it does not make you obese or overweight.
- Prevents episodes of diabetes attack – One of the best features of sucralose is that it isn’t entirely absorbed by the body. Aside from that, the body does not identify it as sugar. As a return, your blood sugar levels are not affected. This will prevent your body’s level of blood sugar from spiking or increasing. Sounds amazing, right?
What are the risk factors linked with this sweetener?
Not all sweeteners are pure and harmless, even sucralose has its fair share of risk factors. Consider the following:
- It can impact gut health – Your gut plays a vital role in your overall well-being and general health. Studies have been conducted mentioning the possible effects of sucralose on the good bacteria situated on your gut. It is proven that sucralose can somehow eliminate a good number of these bacteria and cause inflammation, which in return affects other bodily organs.
- It can increase someone’s risk of having diabetes – While it’s said that sucralose is safe for diabetic individuals, the research identified the possibility of acquiring diabetes after using sucralose too much. It might not yield in terms of calories, but it is suspected to bring about glucose intolerance.
There have been a lot of claims about the auspicious properties of sucralose towards diabetic individuals. However, just like consuming sugar, intake of sucralose must be done moderately. Just because it has already proven effective to many people, whether they be diabetics or nondiabetics, doesn’t mean they should always or frequently.
Part of diabetes management is making sure that there is no malign object that causes the blood sugar levels to spike. Aside from following the accurate meal plan, choosing the best food or ingredients also matters, and this includes different sweeteners that are available today.
In terms of sucralose, using it should be done in a moderate manner. Aside from sucralose, there are other types of food that diabetics can consume without the worry of diabetes attacks. There are nutritious foods, such as a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. As long as the management of this disease is in line with the instructions of the healthcare professional, the recovery and treatment process should go smoothly.
