In our wheat-free lifestyle, having an occasional sweet indulgence can be nice. Recipes such as cheesecake or cookies, for instance, require some amount of sweetener. So how can we choose our sweetener and minimize adverse physiologic consequences? Understanding the use of these benign sweeteners can be especially helpful for holiday cooking, entertaining family and friends, and an occasional indulgence. (Surely you’ve tried my Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake!)
Pick sucrose and we are exposed to the 50% fructose contained in the glucose:fructose molecule. Fructose is so awful at so many points in metabolism that it is worth absolutely minimizing.
There are several good choices but navigating among them is often confusing. Be aware that non-nutritive sweeteners, due to their sweetness, have the potential to increase appetite. Use these sweeteners sparingly, adding only enough to make your recipe slightly and pleasantly sweet. Thankfully, the majority of people who are wheat-free experience heightened sensitivity to sweetness and the need for sweeteners of any sort diminishes over time.
Stevia
While stevia has been around in the U.S. for decades as a “nutritional supplement,” it recently received a boost into mainstream use with the FDA’s “Generally Recognized As Safe,” or GRAS, designation in 2008 for its rebaudioside component, also known as rebiana. Agribusiness giant Cargill (yeah, yeah: I know!) launched its Truvía brand, which contains erythritol with rebiana, while PepsiCo launched PureVia, a combination of erythritol, rebiana, and a small quantity of the sugar isomaltulose.
Stevia plants are naturally sweet, often called “sweet leaf.” Some people grow the plants and chew the leaves for their sweetness or add the leaves to recipes.
Stevia is also widely available as powdered and liquid extracts that, in addition to the rebiana, have the other sweet components of the stevia leaf. Many of the powdered extracts are made with maltodextrin, erythritol, xylitol, or inulin to add volume or to mimic the look and feel of sugar. Maltodextrin is a polymer of glucose produced from corn or wheat. The maltodextrin may therefore represent a potential source of wheat gluten exposure for people who are extremely sensitive. Maltodextrin is also a source of calories, since it is essentially a chain of glucose molecules. While glucose provides 16 calories per level teaspoon, maltodextrin is digested less efficiently, it provides less than this but is variable depending on the length of the glucose chain. Stevia in the Raw brand made with maltodextrin and rebiana therefore lists less than two calories per teaspoon on its nutritional composition. Note that two calories per teaspoon equates to 96 calories per cup, or a total of up to 24 grams carbohydrates per cup. Carbohydrate exposure is therefore a concern when large quantities are used. Ideally, use the stevia extracts that are pure stevia or made with inulin, e.g., Trader Joes, SweetLeaf brand. Maria Emmerich advises me that the stevia glycerite form is less bitter for many people.
Liquid stevia extracts are highly concentrated with little else but stevia and water. The quantity required to equal the sweetness of sugar varies from brand to brand. The SweetLeaf brand, for instance, claims that two drops of their Stevia Clear extract equals one teaspoon of sugar, while some other brands require five drops for equivalent sweetness.
Because of the variety of ways stevia is purified and packaged, you will need to adjust the volume of powder or liquid used depending on the preparation. Most preparations will provide advice on what quantity matches the sweetness of sugar. Also, the presence of other ingredients like erythritol or maltodextrin can influence how various recipes respond; some experimentation may therefore be necessary, especially when trying a new brand of sweetener in a recipe. For instance, erythritol combined with stevia, e.g., Truvía, may not hold up as well in baking and can acquire a slightly bitter taste.
Xylitol
Xylitol is a form of “sugar alcohol,” i.e., a carbohydrate with an OH group attached, thus the term “alcohol,” a confusing designation as it contains no ethanol (the alcohol in a martini or glass of wine) nor shares physiologic effects of ethanol. Xylitol is found naturally in fruits and vegetables. It is also produced by the human body as part of normal metabolism.
Teaspoon for teaspoon, xylitol is equivalent in sweetness to sucrose. It yields two thirds of the calories of sucrose and, because digestion occurs in the small intestine rather than the stomach, triggers a slower and less sharp rise in blood glucose than sucrose. Most people experience minimal rise in blood glucose with xylitol. In one study of slender young volunteers, for instance, six teaspoons of sucrose increased blood sugar by 36 mg/dl, while xylitol increased it 6 mg/dl. Interestingly, several studies have demonstrated positive health effects, including prevention of tooth decay and ear infections in children, both due to xylitol’s effects on inhibiting bacterial growth in the mouth.
Xylitol can be used interchangeably with sugar in recipes. It also has the least effect on changing baking characteristics. While traditionally produced from birch trees, more recent large scale production uses corn as its source. (While I am no fan of corn, particularly genetically-modified corn, the purified xylitol is likely not a substantial exposure to anything but the xylitol.)
Erythritol
Erythritol, like xylitol, is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol, i.e., a carbohydrate with an OH group attached and thereby labeled an alcohol, though it has nothing to do with ethanol. It is found in gram quantities in fruit. In commercial production, erythritol is produced from glucose with a process using yeast. Also like xylitol, osmotic gas and bloating generally does not occur as it does with common sugar alcohols mannitol and sorbitol.
Over 80% of ingested erythritol is excreted in the urine, the remaining 20% metabolized by bacteria in the colon. For this reason, it yields no increase in blood sugar even with a “dose” of 15 teaspoons all at once. There are less than 1.6 calories per teaspoon in erythritol. Limited studies have demonstrated modest reductions blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c (a reflection of the previous 60 days’ blood sugar) in people with diabetes who use erythritol.
Erythritol is somewhat less sweet than table sugar. It also has a unique “cooling” sensation, similar to that of peppermint, though less intense. It may therefore confer a cooling sensation to your baked products. It also does not hold up in baking quite as well as stevia. When Truvía was used in testing the Wheat Belly bread recipes, it had a slightly bitter taste. Swerve is a commercial product that is useful for baking, a combination of erythritol and inulin.
Sucralose
Sucralose is manufactured from glucose by adding chlorine atoms. It has become the most popular artificial sweetener in the world, known to most Americans as Splenda.
Sucralose is very baking compatible, not changing in taste or texture with baking. The various forms of sucralose are usually combined with maltodextrin, such as in Granulated Splenda, and therefore pose some of the concerns listed above, including occasional abdominal complaints like bloating and gas and potential carbohydrate exposure of 0.5 grams carbohydrate per level teaspoon or 24 grams per cup, yielding up to 96 calories per cup. Carbohydrate content is therefore a potential issue only when large quantities are used. Like stevia, sucralose is also available as a liquid without maltodextrin.
Although sucralose has proven safe in worldwide consumption, there have been scattered reports of potential adverse effects. There’s the theoretical effect from the chlorine molecules contained within the sucralose molecule (since sucralose is glucose with added chlorine atoms, just as table salt is a sodium atom with a chlorine atom). However, there is no formal evidence that this has resulted in undesirable human effects. Limited animal evidence suggests alteration of bowel microorganisms; this has not been reproduced in humans.
Sweeteners to not use
Then there are the sweeteners that truly do have problems outside of potential appetite/insulin triggering. The sweeteners to avoid include sugar alcohols sorbitol, maltitol, and mannitol; they cause vigorous rises in blood sugar and provocation of small LDL particles, not to mention gas and diarrhea (unless, of course, you are not fond of your mother-in-law and would like to be entertained one evening). Avoid fructose sources, especially agave nectar, followed by maple syrup (real or high-fructose corn syrup-based), honey, and, of course, high-fructose corn syrup. (Yes, while honey has some good things in it, it is too rich in fructose. If you insist on using it, use the darkest honeys and use sparingly.) Beware of the “natural” sugars that are increasingly appearing on the market made from coconut and other plants; they are usually just sucrose or fructose.
I’ve seen “Yacon syrup” mentioned on a few websites as a good choice for a sweetener and I’ve seen it in my health food store. The claim is based on the fact that the syrup is “50% FOS (fructooligosacharides)” which don’t increase blood glucose. Can you comment on whether you think it is an acceptable sweetener for the wheat belly lifestyle?
It sounds like 20-30% of calories in yacon syrup comes from sucrose and fructose, so it is not entirely benign.
Should you choose to use it, I would use it very sparingly. Perhaps used in combination with a benign sweetener like stevia would work well, minimizing need for each.
Thanks so much for the info! Ideally, I’d like to try the sweetener from “Wheat Free Market Foods”, any idea when they’ll be selling products or shipping to Canada?
Selling: They’ve already begun.
Shipping to Canada: I’m told that’s a priority, but I don’t have a specific date. We are all aware that Canadians have enthusiastically embraced the Wheat Belly concepts!
Is Isomalt acceptable? A mouth wash I need for dry mouth has it in it, I would not swallow it, just rinse with it and spit it out. Please advise, I am trying to stay on the Davis diet.
I am currently using Wheat Belly cookbook and am losing weight. My question has to do with sweeteners. My daughter used to cook for an autistic child. She prepared all the food, twice a week, for the child and froze enough to last between visits. It was very good tasting food and was gluten free. She mentioned using glycerin and brown rice syrup for sweeteners. Do you know where to buy these, what they are, and whether or not they spike your blood sugar, so are/are not recommended? Also, do you recommend Nectresse?
Thanks!
The only addition to the list of sweeteners we use here is lo han guo/monkfruit.
I would not use the glycerin or brown rice syrup. The Nectresse is okay, but I believe it contains maltodextrin, which can screw up bowel flora.
New to all of this and would like to know if Swerve is an okay to use as a sugar subsitute?
Yes, it is a wonderful product.
I haven’t seen much of a discussion on plain old saccharin.
I find it tastes good in coffee and the lemon/lime aide or ice tea that I drink all summer. I add it just before drinking. Very inexpensive. Readily available. Not good for baked items. I tried it with homemade ice cream using Dr. D’s recipe and it was fine, with out any bitter aftertaste.
Is this an acceptable substitute ?
Dear Dr. Davis,
Thanks for your reply. The product I used was ‘Stevia in the Raw” by the Cumberland Packaging Corp. The contents are listed as maltodextrin and stevia leaf extract. Maltodextrin seems to be in a lot of products so I am fairly confidant the problem was not caused by it. I think the stevia leaf extract is the most likely cause of my adverse reaction. At least I will know to stay away from Stevia in the future.
Thanks for the suggestion of Lo Han Guo, I will try and find it, hopefully without any additives. Does it only come from China as I do not like consuming any food products from there after what they did with the dog food and baby formula.
Thanks again.
I am sensitive to gluten and so am delighted to have discovered Dr. Davis’ books. I tried Stevia last night as I am looking for an acceptable sweetener. I made myself hot chocolate using cocoa powder and substituted Stevia in the Raw for the sugar. After about 15 minutes I was sweating all over and feeling nauseous. The nausea became worse and worse until I vomited up my dinner and the hot chocolate – then I felt fine. The Stevia was the only item that I had never consumed before so I am pretty certain that it was the culprit. So now I am still looking for a sweetener and am nervous about trying Erythritol or Xylitol. Are there any naturally occurring sweeteners that can be used, as I do not want to experience the ‘Stevia Reaction” again?
Thanks for any suggestions
First, was it pure stevia or stevia + other ingredients? It could be one or more of the other ingredients.
Second, the only other benign sweetener you haven’t listed is Lo Han Guo or monkfruit; tough to find but with confident safety data. You will be seeing this on the market more and more frequently near future.
Why is maple syrup on the never use list? It is just sap boiled down.
> Why is maple syrup on the never use list?
It’s a simple sugar loaded with fructose.
> It is just sap boiled down.
That doesn’t make it healthy.
Your alternative is a xytitol maple-flavored, such as that from Natures Hollow.
I guess I thought it was a single ingredient with nothing added or treated was better than a chemical.
> I guess I thought it was a single ingredient with nothing
> added or treated was better than a chemical.
Actually, unless you buy pure MS directly from a producer, odds are high that it has been tampered with or is actually fraudulent. If it’s just “maple flavored”, it might as well be straight HFCS.
But even 100% pure, it’s not a single ingredient, but that doesn’t matter, because sugars in any form are a problem for humans, and fructose in particular. See:
https://drdavisinfinitehealth.com/2011/11/goodbye-fructose/
We are superbly adapted to use summer fruits to pack on the pounds for a food-scarce winter. We are superbly maladapted to consume sugars all year ’round for a metabolic winter that never comes.
I personally like maple sugar, but abandoned it with the wheat. Fructose is the #2 thing to drive down in your diet after wheat. You can’t get fructose to zero, but you can avoid all added sugars in what you eat.
Susan, everything you ingest is a chemical or more.
Xylitol is a natural polyol occuring in fruits (plums, berries) and foods like cauliflower. Our body makes it as well and we have an enzyme for it. The commercial powder called xylitol is of course obtained via processing of some raw material, but the final product should be just fine. And it takes and looks like sugar, although it is NOT addictive. A little here and there is perfectly fine and your teeth will like it.
Thanks, James for such an informative and pleasant answer.
Ezekial bread has wheat gluten added in it, just returned my loaf to the health food store. Not sure about Quinoa, but it is very high in potassium and is really considered a seed more than a grain.
What can you say about quinoa, which is a seed, and Ezekial bread which is sprouted grain? Thank you.
curious about rice malt and black-strap molasses, I have been using molasses and real maple syrup in my coffee under the assumption its better then sugar.
What about the sugar alcohol lactictol? I don’t see any mention of that in the post (unless I missed it?)
Go very lightly with lactitol, maltitol, sorbitol, and mannitol: They cause gas and cramps and do provoke the phenomena of sucrose.
There are better choices, such as stevia in its various forms, erythritol, and xylitol.
> … sugar alcohol …
In addition to Dr.D’s cautions, also treat these saccharides as 50% net carb, irrespective of the optimistic claims on the package.
I want to make the Grainless Granola but I’m unsure what sweetner to use. The recipe asks for 1/4 cup sugar-free hazelnut syrup or sweetner equivalent to 1/2 cup of sugar. Starbucks has a sugar-free hazelnut syrup. These are the ingredients: WATER, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MALTODEXTRIN, CELLULOSE GUM (E466), CITRIC ACID (E330), SUCRALOSE (E955), PRESERVATIVE: SODIUM BENZOATE (E211).
Is the sucralose ok? Or what would be a different sweetener I could use (and how much) other than the hazelnut syrup?
I do my best to avoid msg and artifical sweeteners, including so called “natural” sweeteners containing erythritol and rebiana or monk fruit (which I suspect is similar to rebiana being marketed as stevia) . I have found all of these to cause eye migraines. I have had major health improvements after removing gluten from my diet, but will always take raw honey over any of these sweeteners.
Dear Dr. Davis,
How is it that coconut flour is ok to use in recipes but not coconut sugar? Isn’t the flour derived from exactly the same source as the sugar, the coconut? I am referring to coconut sugar made only from the coconut without anything else added.
Thanks!
Yes, but the sugar is concentrated sugar, rather than the much “diluted” quantity in the coconut flour or other coconut products made from the “meat.”
How about coconut sugar?
Hello,
I was wondering if I could supplement my wheat free diet by using Sensa? It contains maltodextrin, tricalcium phosphate and silica. Also, I have been using raw, unprocessed, unfiltered honey since I have a lot of problems with artificial sweetners, is this OK?
Thank you!
What is the big deal about using 1/8-1/4 tsp. of raw honey on my quinoa/flaxseed hot cereal? If I’m only having 1/4 tsp. every other day, surely that’s OK?
After all, even God told the Israelites that they would find a land “flowing with milk and honey”….not “mild and Stevia!” :)
I’ve used stevia for years and have recently started using TruVia. Is the sweetener “Swerve”safe to use? I have both of your books and love the cookbook.
Looking for information on raw coconut nectar as a sweetner. Bottle states gluten free and low glycemic (GI 35). Is this a good WB alternative? If so, any suggestions how to use it?
No, it is not, Vicki. It is among the new but sugar-containing sweeteners that are not healthy replacements.
If this is the same as coconut palm sugar, the topic came up back in 2012-11, at:
https://drdavisinfinitehealth.com/2011/11/goodbye-fructose/comment-page-2/#comment-29786
A GI of 35 is not low enough, plus, exactly what saccharide is this? What are its metabolic effects other than blood sugar effects? Does it have similar side effects to fructose?
GI numbers are being gamed by purveyors of processed foods, who may or may not even be aware of what the real issues are. “Low GI” needs to be treated as just as much of a warning as “Gluten Free”, until a close examination proves otherwise.
First, I want to thank you so much for first writing both Wheat Belly Book and Cookbook and having this blog so I can keep learning more information about how my husband and I should be eating. We both are losing weight, feeling better, blood pressure going down so much that I’m going to my doctor tomorrow to have him check my meds as a couple of days ago I began feeling light headed because of “low blood pressure”. I couldn’t believe how low it got.
Well to my question…I’ve been looking for Wheat Free Worcestershire Sauce and have been unsuccessful thus far. I have found one on the internet so far, Wan Ja Shan Organic Gluten Free Worcestershire Sauce 10 oz., and it’s ingredients are: Organic Vinegar, Organic Wheat-Free Tamari Soy Sauce (Water, Organic Soybeans, and Salt), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Salt, and Organic Spices They all seem fine except I was concerned about the Evaporated Cane Juice. Is that ok?
Do you have a suggestion what store may have it. I’ve checked 2 organic stores here in Clearwater, FL and local grocery store chains.
LOVE your website; all the helpful comments and questions on the blog; comments and suggestions re recipes. I made the chili tonight off the blog using the “chili seasoning” recipe. I read the turkey chili in the cookbook and decided to make it more carb friendly and combined the 2. I used only 1 can of organic pinto beans and 1 cubed zucchini and also added 1 can of tomato sauce. It was delicious.
I’ve been telling everyone about Wheat Belly Diet that will listen. It is the best that I have felt in years! Aches and pains are going away, blood pressure going down, waistline going down, clothes fitting better, a HUGE smile on my face, and I feel blessed. I thank God for putting you in my life. May He bless you and your family abundantly.
Hoping you have a helpful tip on Wheat Free Worcestershire Sauce. Thanks again!
Great, Brenda!
About the worcestershire sauce you found. Provided the carbohydrate content per serving is reasonable (e.g., <5-6 grams “net” carbs, i.e., total carbs – fiber), you are safe.
People who experienced marked drops in blood pressure also do better by adding salt–yes, ADDING salt!
Thanks so much for the information!
I was doing some research tonight online and found a GF recipe on wheatfreefamily.com for a homemade GF worcestershire sauce … the ingredients are as follows: 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons GF soy sauce, 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer 1 minute. Cool. Store in the refrigerator. Shake well before using. Makes about 3/4 cup.
There weren’t any nutrients listed on the recipe to check. Sure there must be a way to figure it out. hmmmm
as you see, 1 tbsp of brown sugar is in the only ingredient that doesn’t fit with the plan. I
Do you think this would be ok–1 tbsp of brown sugar versus 3/4 cup sauce?
If so, i think this recipe could help a lot of people still looking for Wheat Free Worcestershire Sauce as I was and won’t have to order it. I have an old bottle that I had Worcestershire Sauce with Wheat in that I can wash up and put the GF sauce in and keep in the refrigerator. I’m sure hoping your answer will be yes, but I’ll order the other one if you say no.
I don’t know if Splenda makes the artificial brown sugar replacement that could b used…not sure if it would “cook” well though, but it may be better than real brown sugar. What’s your thoughts on a replacement for the brown sugar, if it is a problem?
Also thanks for the suggestion of adding salt if that “extra low blood pressure” happens again! Always learning … hope I never stop.
I’m also going to check the “net carbs” on the online WS if it is listed.
Thanks again!
Ooops! I forgot to tell you the great news! My doctor took me off of 2 of the 3 blood pressure meds that I was on! Working on the final one! I was so happy. I took my WB books to show him what I am doing and he had a visiting doctor with him so I educated them both on it. He was pleased and got no negative feedback! Yeah! I’m telling just about everyone I talk to about your books and am introducing them to this information website to check it out for themselves. BTW, loved the video on today’s homepage. What a great way of introducing people from his perspective how life changing can be.
I have a question regarding cooking with white sugar. I do not have diabetes, and am aware of the negative spikes in blood glucose with the use of sugar (sucrose)……I do have sensitivities to many of these “sugar-substitutes” and in all honestly, would prefer not to use them at all, instead, I’d rather use traditional white sugar(sucrose) in a baking recipe from the Wheat Belly Cookbook. I don’t plan to eat a lot of “desserts” so I am thinking it won’t be quite so bad for me to occasionally, enjoy regular sugar in a wheatless baked treat.
The question is, how do I substitute regular sugar for the listed sugar-substitutes in these Wheat Belly Recipes ? would it affect the outcome of that recipe ? I would appreciate a reference to a conversion chart if anyone or Dr. Davis might know of one ?
Thank you so much, I am looking forward to my new journey toward resolving some nasty health issues with the wheatless lifestyle.
Estimate, then taste your batter, Diane.
But I think that using sucrose is a VERY bad idea. The use of sweeteners like stevia may not be absolutely perfect. But it is miles preferable to the cataracts, arthritis, hypertension, heart disease, dementia, and cancer that develop with use of sucrose.
I’m no doctor, but I’m guessing that ingesting a limited amount of table sugar, pure maple syrup or honey once a month in one dessert probably won’t kill you. Stevia makes me dizzy. Upon discovering this, I googled it, and found many other people noting the same effect.
What’s a “limited amount”? It doesn’t take much sugar to blow your carb budget for the entire day. And the effects linger.
It’s all a matter of choices and outcomes. Guessing that it’s not a problem doesn’t make it not a problem.
The ideal solution to the sweetener dilemma is apt to be phasing them out of the diet altogether.
By “limited amount ” I was thinking like, once a month, eating 2 cookies with your coffee. For sure that will affect your blood sugar, and “ruin” your squeaky clean eating for the day. Of course just never eating any sugar would be ideal healthwise. But there are cultural considerations…indulging in nostalgia. Never driving a car would also be safer – you could bus everywhere instead and minimalize the risk of injuring your body. If you were fortunate enough not to have grown up with specific cake/cookie recipes that became ritualized in your family life, then I’m sure it would be much easier to just say good bye forever. And the crazy thing is I don’t even see myself as a traditionalist! But if I lost all the recipes I grew up with in a fire, it would be akin to losing all the family photos. Actually, it would be much worse, since looking at old photos isn’t something I would do on a monthly basis. I guess the danger is, there aren’t many alcoholics who can just have one shot of tequila a month. But hey, everyone’s different.
Thank you Dr. Davis, I will try your recommendations……..I do agree that the constant spiking of blood glucose has a long term negative effect, I will try the alternatives you recommended, just use less, “taste the batter” and see how it makes me feel after I eat it. For some strange reason, the past year or so, so many things seem to bother me when I eat them. That was my fear with these substitutes, things such as aspartame trigger migraines in me, and stevia tasted rather bitter to me…….hence my “hope” that plain old sucrose would be ok in limited amounts.
I do love your cookbook, I just bought it, initially got it from the library, but it was just so fabulous, I had to HAVE it!! :) Thanks for all the support you give us, if only the news media would take this issue more seriously and not allow big agra and big pharma to “rule the world” ……imagine a world with truly healthy and the resulting happy people ? (as I just got a health mailer from some medical clinic with their diet coaches saying “eat more WHOLE WHEAT” ! Now, when I see this sort of advice, it makes me cringe. Thank you again.
I was wondering if the sweetener called Swerve is acceptable to use instead of xylitol. It apparently claims that it does not affect blood glucose or insulin levels. There is no aftertaste and does not upset the stomach.
what do you think?
Does any know where I can a equivalent chart for all the different sugar substitutes? ESP a substitute amount if a gluten free recipe calls for agave nectar and say I want to use stevia?.Sherry
There is really no truly reliable conversion chart, as each brand differs. One liquid stevia extract, for instance, might say use 5 drops to substitute for a teaspoon of sugar, while another will say use 3 or 9. The same applies to many other sweeteners. A good start is to consult the label of the brand you purchase.
Choose your sweetener, get familiar with its properties, and ALWAYS taste your batter.
Hi Dr Davis,
What are your thoughts on molasses? I would like to come up with a Wheat belly version of my moms brown molasses bread that I grew on and absolutely love. I’m known as ‘Bread Mouth’ by my closest friends and family…..from ever since….it’s a passion….but I want to give this a go.
What on your thoughts?
Many thanks!
Hi Dr. Davis!
I eat what you recommend…EXCEPT for breakfast. For a million reasons I need a fast and portable way to eat in the morning.
I’ve been searching for a protein bar that doesn’t have too much junk in it. The latest one I’m trying has these ingredients:
-Whey Protein Isolate
-Milk Protein Isolate
-Isomalto-Oligosaccharide (IMO)
-Natural Peanut and Almond Butters
-Peanuts, Almonds and Cashews
-Sea Salt and Natural Flavors
-Lo Han Guo
-Stevia, Erythritol
-Sucralose
Can you give me your opinion please?
THANK YOU!!
Janet
Well, if you must, Janet!
This bar seems like a reasonable compromise, with no truly unhealthy ingredients.
But here’s a novel thought: Why not eat real, whole foods like eggs, olives, kale, or Brazil nuts?
I guess I should ask since I posted how great Larabars are. Are they ok?
Peanut butter cookie flavor ingredients:
Dates, peanuts, sea salt
Lemon Bar
Dates, cashews, almonds, lemon juice concentrate, natural lemon flavor
Seem great to me but you are the expert.
I’m going to guess, the from the ingredient list, that those are Quest bars (or clones thereof). Dr. Davis has previously recommended Quest, with reservations about some risk of gas. They seem to be the nearest thing to an acceptable snack bar on the market, although they are way too low in fat. They are also expensive, yet no one can keep them in stock. There’s apparently a real market opportunity for a WB-friendly snack bar.
Thanks for taking the time to give me your opinion Dr. Davis! Very Appreciated.
Why not eat real, whole foods in the morning? One reason is they seem to turn my stomach until I’ve been awake a couple of hours. If I didn’t have to take my supplements/medications with food, I would just have a cup of coffee and wait a couple of hours to eat.
I also don’t want to make a lot of noise cooking/preparing food just because I’m up at 4-5am! As sweet as my family is, they would not appreciate it.
Are there things I can make ahead of time for breakfast? What are your go-to’s? :-)
Boundless- you’re right, they are Quest bars. Yes, a WB-friendly snack bar would be great!
How about a big quiche with veggies? I made one yesterday with 8 eggs, some green beans, a tomato, fresh parsley, and garlic, and it is yummy! So easy and fast to slice up a wedge of that for a quick (and quiet!) breakfast!
See the recipes on this Blog, Janet, or in the Wheat Belly book or the new Cookbook. ALL the recipes are appropriate for breakfast!
I made a delicious wheat-, sugar-, and dairy-free strawberry cake for my wife for her birthday this past weekend. (She is miserably dairy-intolerant.) I had leftover birthday cake for breakfast the next two mornings! Because we have removed all unhealthy ingredients, foods like birthday cake, brownies, and muffins are now healthy choices for breakfast.
Making up your scrambled eggs the day before works good, MIM’s work great ot make the night before and have with your meds/coffee
LARABAR…..so yummy and are made with dates for the “glue”. U have to be careful with some as they have sugar in them but most do not. peanut butter cookie, blueberry muffin, lemon and banana bread ones are fantastic!!!!!!!!!
I am so confused about the sweeteners to use. I just bought pure via but now am thinking that it is not the right one to use? What are some good powdered forms to use? The liquids are crazy high in price. Thanks!
The liquid does seem like it’s expensive, but since it literally only uses 1-5 drops, it lasts a long time! you could use it for 2 months more or less, depending on how often you are using it.
Hey Dr. Davis!
I’m wondering if Starbucks’ Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup is alright to use in drinks, baking, etc. or will it prevent me from losing weight?
Thanks!
Do you know what’s in it, Izzy?
Chemistry question for someone out there – I’ve been experimenting with sweetener combinations in baked goods, as I don’t like the bitter aftertaste of stevia and larger quantities of xylitol upset my stomach in much the same way as the more sinister sugar alcohols.
Most recently I used 75% Sweetleaf stevia and 25% xylitol, combined to be the equivalent of one cup of sugar. The uncooked dough still had the bitter aftertaste of stevia but the finished product did not, it had the right amount of sweetness and no aftertaste.
Does stevia change during the cooking process?
Dr. Davis – your thoughts on Lakanto / Luo Han Guo please.
THANK YOU!
I made grain free brownies with erythritol and would like recommendations for other sweeteners to bake with. I love to bake and I would like a sweetener that I don’t notice in texture or with an off taste. Brand name suggestions would be helpful as well. Thank you!
@Renee: xylitol. It will also protect your teeth and other body parts.
Have you tried Swerve, Renee? It is a combination of erythritol with fructooligosaccharides that are benign. I bought it on Amazon.
Stevia, of course, is always worth a try. Look for liquid or powders made with inulin (but not maltodextrin).
What about Yacon syrup? I bought some way before I started WB, but haven’t tried it yet. Supposedly it’s lowest (GI of 1) on the natural sweetener list and also contains a probiotic.. Please advise, Dr Davis……
http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/yacon-syrup.html
I thought mannitol and sorbitol had very low glycemic index numbers. Are there other reasons they are bad for us? Thank you.
Is stevia safe? I had the idea that there were not side effects, but today had an allergic reaction to something, mostly in my eyes and so I looked up stevia reaction online. Some said that it is related to ragweed and some other stuff and I wonder if I was having that reaction as my son was mowing and I had the house windows open. I took benadryl and the symptoms are gone.
What do you think? Are you familiar with stevia allergies? Could it be that I am using too much? I only use the Better Stevia liquid extract (NOW brand) in herbal teas and lemon water.
I believe stevia is very benign, but there is always the possibility of rare allergy to the stevia or some component of the stevia extract.
I know of no information to suggest that a potential allergic reaction would be any different than that to, say, cats.
Thanks, I’ll let you know if I have any more reactions. I did read quite a bit about people having allergies to the stevia.
Thanks for you great research and info. I love the way you present it. My father would have loved your book….he was 40+ years a family practitioner in Missouri. He died at age 81.
You are quite good looking. You look somewhat like my husband who is half-Japanese and 46 years old, but my husband is much better looking, of course.
My husband listened to your book on audio and HE decided that our home was going wheat free back in July………..his wife and ten children in the home! Whoa! And we already don’t eat mammal meat because some of them have an allergy to that. But we’ve done great!
Have you heard of mammalian meat allergy? My husband had his first anaphylactic reaction at age 28. It took a while to identify it because it didn’t always happen, but then got worse. It is known that three of my twelve children have had a reaction. The five youngest I’ve never given red meat to, so I don’t know about them. The three oldest don’t have it. It’s weird, I wonder if it is genetic or has to do with the Japanese. I don’t have it and I am cracker white. They say it’s to tick bites. I live in the Ozarks and everybody gets ticks, but I don’t know of anyone else that has the allergy. And my kids that can eat red meat have had a zillion tick bites. Go figure.
Thanks again for your great work!
Susan
I’m finding it hard to substitute stevia in my recipes that call for honey. Any suggestions?
How about erythritol or xylitol? Both are useful for people who don’t like the aftertaste of stevia.
Reminder that xylitol is toxic to pets in small amounts so keep the containers and baked treats with it well out of reach of the dogs (seems like these treats generally are not tempting for cats but keep away from them too).
I have been wheat free since the beginning of June. I am a teacher and the only time I truly crave garbage food is when I am at work and had a really stressful day. I crammed an entire cupcake in my mouth one afternoon…thankfully that was all that was available! I cannot get my mind around Stevia or any other manufactured type of sweetener, it reminds me of the good ole days of Tab and how everyone thought it was wonderful, then…the real truth comes out. It seems to me if you want something sweet every now and then, organic sugar, or local honey seems so much safer. Last night I wanted a little something sweet on my yogurt so I added a tiny drizzle of sorghum syrup (made local in the Ga mtns).
I cannot afford the expense of almond flour so for right now, dessert is a thing of the past (minus 1 stress cupcake). I feel better, look better, sleep better…but I want a little sugar allowance, please.
> … but I want a little sugar allowance, please.
That would be aisle 13, near the tobacco allowances. :) No one here can tell you anything that changes the consequences of simple sugar consumption. It does what it does.
If you insist on consuming a pure sugar, use straight glucose, I’d conjecture: keep the intake below 15 grams net carbs per meal (including the glucose, which is 100% net carb). Glucose, at least, goes straight to the blood stream, and doesn’t cause the liver distraction that fructose does. Sucrose (table sugar) is half fructose. Honey is even higher in fructose. Get a blood sugar meter and check your consequences. But if you’re going to eat honey, do eat local, and make sure it really is honey. A scandal in the sweetener industry is that a lot of “honey” is mostly HFCS.
> I cannot get my mind around Stevia or any other manufactured type of sweetener, it reminds me of the good ole days of Tab and how everyone thought it was wonderful, then…
I never cared for saccharin, and was always suspicious of nutradeath, and don’t use them. Our household is trying various of the sweeteners discussed in the basenote here, and keeping an eye on developments. Stevia has a long history of use world-wide. I’m not terribly concerned with safety, but the stuff is not a match for many recipes. One family member reacts to sucralose.
Once you are on a low-carb grain-free diet, however, your taste for sweet may decline (mine has). Mimic recipes that try to match the sweetness of conventional candy aisle poisons are too sweet. Zevia, for example, (a commercial stevia soda pop) tastes like syrup to me.
The pre-historical human diet didn’t have a lot of sweet. You might find some fruit in the summer, or take some stings for honey, but rock candy wasn’t in the paleo vending machine. Humans don’t need much sweet, really.
> I cannot afford the expense of almond flour …
You might be surprised at what you can afford. First, your out-of-pocket healthcare costs are going to plummet once you go low-carb. Second, buy almond flour on line, where the prices are 1/2 or 1/3 of what the local grocery charges for Bob’s Red Mill. Third, your net caloric intake is going to fall. Fourth, your junk food budget can be zeroed out entirely – the break room vending machine has no further claim on you.
Stock up on some Quest bars for emergency treats (if you can find them, Amazon is back-ordered for a month).
Vicki, try Trade Joe’s for almond flour. Here in Minneapolis it is only $3.99 for 1 lb. It is not the real white kind but it works pretty well in most recipes.
Laura
Big fat bummer about malitol…..it is in the sugar free chocolate bars that I get at trader Joe’s….as well as all the other brands i see at the stores. They help keep me sane when everyone around me is eating cake and brownies. I thought I could eat it because I don’t get the gastro problems….I can’t believe it spikes blood sugar! I’ve never heard that before…thought it was just like xylitol and erythritol….I am sad now :(
Why not start making your own Trail Mix Bars, Doreen?
Recipe here. The basic recipe is easy to make and to modify.
A friend who has a PhD in nutrition and is a researcher at UC Davis has told me that studies on sweeteners are conducted on non-obese individuals and that since obese individuals’ metabolism works somewhat differently, we can’t assume that sweeteners work the same for them. Us, I should say. Do you have any more information on that?
Thanks!
Your friend is exactly right, Cathi.
No formal data, mine or others. However, from a practical viewpoint, I see people continuing on their vigorous weight loss experiences while using these more benign sweeteners. I have seen rare instances in which weight loss was stalled, or weight was gained, but these are very unusual.
One Quest bar buyer on Amazon reported a blood sugar spike after consuming.
If true (always a significant question with unverified internet chatter), there are several candidate ingredients in the bars, including: erythritol, milk protein isolate (perhaps some lactose came in?), and the mysterious “isomalto-oligosaccharides”.
There may be idiosyncratic responses to alternative sweeteners, but we need to keep an eye on developments with all of them. This is largely new territory, and we already know that packaged food preparers are unlikely to be doing long-term trials or even looking for odd side-effects.
The following exerpt is why I do not use Stevia:
“Stevia- *Stevia can mimick a steroid- it’s molecular structure resembles a steroid in the human body! Stevia is NOT a SCD-Diet™ “legal” food, NOT a good sugar substitute for those of us with autoimmune diseases!
**Stevia belongs to a family called Terpenoids. According to the book called- The Organic Constitutents of Higher Plants by Trevor Robinson, 2nd edition, page 158, “This class of glycosides (terpenoids) often have physiological effects on humans & mammals and microorganisms.” Perhaps the affect is good, perhaps it is bad; I don’t know, but its molecular structure resembles a steroid.
There are all kinds of steroids. The ones we take for IBD, Crohn’s and Celiac’s (ie prednisone which mimicks cortisol) reduces inflammation and scale down the immune system. But there are steroids that do the opposite. I think the point is that, plant steroids could have any number of effect in humans.
*The SCD Diet says NO sugars and NO sugar substitutes either!”
I am very sensitive to sugar and artificial sweeteners. Consumptions of these mean intense cravings for more. However ,I use organic coconut sugar (4g sugar per teaspoon) and have no cravings after eating baked goods made with coconut sugar.
p.s. Some people still believe that high fructose corn syrup is natural because it comes from corn.
Thankfully, Em, your experience is uncommon.
I have seen this happen a handful of times, but it is distinctly uncommon.
Dr Davis,
Why is it a good/thankful thing that my experience is uncommon? Is coconut sugar okay for me since it does not initiate any sweet cravings?
Thanks you for your advice!
Meaning, Em, that most people do not have to struggle with such an unusual response, though it may not be thankful for you.
No, just not generating cravings is not necessarily an index of healthy effect. There are still adverse effects that you may never perceive.
coconut sugar is rated between 35-40 on the GI list, that’s high….7 gms carbs for 1T.
It’s true for me too! I’m from Quebec, Canada, and thank god I found this book at my local Costco, because I never heard about this diet before. It’s a relief for me! no more gaz, no more pain in my hands in the morning and no cravings about any foods anymore. Actually, I’m on my 3rd week on WB and so far i’ve lost 5 pounds ( wich is great because I only have about 12 to loose!) But i often have nauseas hours after breakfast… does anybody experience that?
If this persists, Annie, it might signal some residual problem that persists after losing the wheat, such as failure to shift to healthy bowel flora, a lack of stomach acid (hypochlorhydria), or insufficient pancreatic enzyme release.
Many people obtain relief by starting with a couple months of a probiotic, e.g., 50 billion CFUs per day. If that fails, a formal evaluation by a functional medicine practitioner or naturopath might be in order.
Thanks a lot for your answer Dr. Davis, I have so much admiration about wath your doing for all of us…. I will try probiotic every day from now, and I really hope to feel an amelioration soon, cause it’s difficult to eat right now. I have other pains (hips, ankles…) and i believe this way of life is the answer for me.
Xylitol is great. One thing to keep in mind, however, is starting slow with using it. Initially you won’t have the required gut bacteria to digest much of it and overdoing it will cause, ahem, big toilet problems. I overdid it at first, and I did not have a good time. Now, I can eat as much as I want after getting adjusted.
It can be found on ebay for about $5 a pound, so much more than sugar, but not too bad if you’ve adjusted to a low-carb, low sweetness diet.
Thanks for the post Dr. Davis. That info cleared things up for me. I also wanted to let you know that I posted week 4 with photo concerning your book. Have a great weekend! Jenny Jo
http://jennyjosweightloss.blogspot.com/2012/10/people-taking-control-week-4-of-wheat.html
Thanks for the heads up, Jenny Jo. After 4 weeks, you have made incredible strides–and it is such a transformation of your face!
I’d like to post a link to your blog for others to see the results!
Thank you Dr. Davis. I would love it if you shared my link. This is the first time since I started aging that I know that I am in control of my eating. It really feels terrific. Again, thank you for writing your book, I now have hope.
I use mostly liquid sucralose http://sweetzfree.com/ and some erythritol for texture, where needed. I would like to know more about Nectresse or rather the monk fruit extract that is in it.
I also use stevia in liquid form, xylitol in my protein shakes and sucralose in my iced and hot teas. No problems with any of them.
Good to see that Sweet Leaf has a cola! I’ve used their root beer flavor in the past.
“Thankfully, the majority of people who are wheat-free experience heightened sensitivity to sweetness and the need for sweeteners of any sort diminishes over time.”
Very true for me. After eating wheat-free, low carb for a year, I tried Heinz ketchup again and was surprised at how sweet it tasted.
Try some conventional candy, Dave, and you’ll REALLY be shocked at how sickeningly sweet it is!
I’m curious about the new sweetener, Nutresse. Claims to be all natural, made from monk fruit.
Do you know what is in it, Deb? Fructose, sucrose, glucose, etc.?
I looked on the website and it says the ingredients are : Erythritol, Sugar, Monk Fruit Extract, Molasses, so I’m assuming it wouldn’t work.
I should have read the label more carefully … erythritol, SUGAR, monk fruit extract, molasses.
No WONDER it tastes so sweet. INTO THE TRASH WITH YOU.
So, the (really, really) unspecific claims on the coconut sugar (organic coconut sap crystals) of a “low” glycemic index of 35… are they just glucose and sucrose molecules, in a naturally occuring form? Is that what you mean?
One of the problems with these sweeteners is that 1) the manufacturer is often vague on what exactly is in the product, and 2) they typically have no understanding whatsoever about the advisability or health effects of the sweeteners.
Why else would manufacturers pass off “organic agave nectar” as a healthy alternative sweetener when in reality it is among the most destructive of things for health imaginable?
I came across this blog about Truvia — “Honestly sweet or dishonestly marketed?” The blog was written by Bruce Bradley, who had “worked for over fifteen years as a food marketer at companies like General Mills, Pillsbury, and Nabisco.” He calls himself a ‘food industry insider.” I think you’ll find his post about Truvia quite interesting. His website focuses on exposing the food industry companies for what they are. Here’s a snippet from his post about Truvia:
Quote: “It’s impractical to use natural sources. So Cargill manufacturers Truvia’s erythritol by chemically converting genetically modified corn into a food grade starch which it ferments to create glucose and then processes further to create erythritol. Ah, the gentle hand of Mother Nature. Sorry for the sarcasm, but really Cargill? All Natural? Truvia sounds more like a GMO lab experiment than a sweetener straight from nature.” End quote.
http://www.brucebradley.com/food/truvia-honestly-sweet-or-dishonestly-marketed/
I have to admit, this sounds like something you would say!
Thanks, JoAnne!
I, too, have my reservations, but so far I have not identified any data or experiences to suggest there are any adverse effects of this processed product. So far . . .
“I have not identified any data or experiences to suggest there are any adverse effects of this processed product. So far . . .”
Another comment somewhere on the blog mentioned that Nutria can – in some people — produce rapid heartbeat, palpitations, and tightness in the chest. I was grateful for that post because, about a month ago, after experiencing a week with rapid, pounding heartbeats at the slightest exertion as well as several bouts of chest pressure, I went to the ER fearing a heart attack.
I spent the night in the hospital, passed a stress test and was released the next day. Now, I felt perfectly fine in the hospital and chalked it up to some new sensitivity to caffeine and so cut my coffee intake to a half-cup in the morning. By coincidence, I switched back to Sweet ‘N Low because I preferred its taste to the Nutria I had started using about a week before.
Of course, the problems never repeated themselves and it all remained a mystery until I read the comment and confirmed that many people have had the same experience. And, no, I haven’t tried to duplicate the effects. Too chicken.
P.S. Just want to add that, since going wheat-free a couple months ago, I’ve lost the weight, had my arthritis diminish to the point of often forgetting it’s there, and feeling generally great.
Nutria may bear further investigation, though.
Can you tell us what is in Nutria, Craig? I’ve never heard of this sweetener.