Sugar and sweeteners — what should I be aware of?

In this film you can learn about sugar and sweeteners and how they affect your blood sugar.
Sugar is a simple type of carbohydrates that makes your blood sugar go up quickly.
Sugar is available in many different forms.
This can be as white granulated sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar and syrup.
In relation to how your blood sugar goes up, it makes no difference whether you use one kind of sugar or another.
It is the quantity of sugar that matters.
The more sugar you eat, the more it will go up.

If you want to eat or drink less sugar, you can partially or entirely replace sugar with sweeteners.
There are various kinds of sweeteners.
Some sweeteners cause a slight increase in blood sugar, while others do not affect your blood sugar at all.
If you want to replace sugar with sweeteners, it's a good idea to choose the kinds that don't make your blood sugar go up.
The sweeteners that do not affect your blood sugar are typically found in light soft drinks and juice-based drinks.
So you can drink these without your blood sugar going up.

The sweeteners that increase your blood sugar are called polyols or sugar alcohols.
They are converted into sugar in your bloodstream and therefore they make your blood sugar go up.
However, you'll experience a smaller increase than if you eat ordinary sugar.
You will find typical sugar alcohols in products such as sugar-free drops, chewing gum and candy.
If you are eating candy or other items that contain sugar alcohols, be aware that sugar alcohols can cause diarrhoea or other stomach issues.
It is therefore a good idea not to eat more than 20-25 grams of sugar alcohols at a time.
This corresponds to a small box of licorice.
Commonly used sugar alcohols are called sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol.

You can see on the product declaration what sweeteners have been used or if there is any sugar in the products you buy.
If you are not sure which sweeteners you can use, you can speak with your dietician or diabetes nurse.