Crystal Light and GL Labels

by J
(USA)

Visitor Question:

My husband drinks a lot of "Crystal Light" (except in the no name brand). It is sweetened with Splenda I believe. I am really concerned after reading what you said about artificial sweeteners. I finally got him to kick the diet soda habit and at least this is flavored water. Being a diabetic it seems he has very few choices for a "sweetened" beverage. You recommend stevia but I read this is NOT good for diabetics and they should not consume it. What other alternatives does he have? It seems most of your suggested low glycemic sweeteners may only be available in specialty stores, if at all. Maybe some beverage recipes would be helpful? What about Sodastream?

Do regular grocery stores carry products with GL labels? I have never noticed any? Or is this something you would only see in a specialty grocer? (Whole Foods, Trader Joes etc ...?)

Lifetime Fat Loss Answers:

It is great that your husband kicked the diet soda habit and switched to flavored waters! Now if he can get away from Splenda that will be optimum. Sodastream is sweetened with Splenda. Splenda has high glycemic additives which will not allow him to effectively control his blood sugar.

Stevia, however, is an excellent choice. It is untrue that it is not good for diabetics, in fact it has been used to manage Type II diabetes in South America and Japan for 30 years.

Stevia is made from a tropical plant and has a "negligible effect on blood glucose" according to Wikipedia, a highly reliable source. I did have a reader write to me saying she saw a stevia that had maltodextrin in it which is a high glycemic additive. Don't buy that one! There are many excellent pure stevia leaf brands on the market. My supermarket carries several but you can always buy it online.

Amazon has many of the low glycemic sweeteners for sale. You might try coconut sugar or agave syrup and make a sweetened tea or lemonade. In fact, Amazon has many stevia drinks including a lemonade that is reasonably priced.

As far as the GL (glycemic load) label - I have not seen that either. However, you can stick to the low glycemic grains and only eat a single serving at a meal. When it comes to starchy foods watch your portion control and eat only foods that have high nutritive value. Read about the and the other articles here about the best foods to eat to manage your blood sugar.