You may need to try the keto diet if you are looking for a healthy way to lose weight. This diet prioritizes taking more fats and proteins and significantly reducing the intake of carbohydrates. It also involves reducing the intake of normal sugar, allowing the body to get sugar from stored fat.
However, a keto diet doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take sweet substances. As you avoid regular carbs and normal sugar, you can still consider low-carb sweeteners, which are friendly to the keto diet. They taste and even bake like normal sugar, but they don’t have the adverse effects of sugar.
In this guide, we provide in-depth details on keto sweeteners and why you may need to try some in your keto diet. Keep reading.
What Are Keto Sweeteners?
Keto sweeteners taste like sugar but don’t bring sugar’s negative health impacts. For instance, their intake may not promote weight gain or diabetes or even increase the risk of diabetes. These sweeteners can either naturally exist or be made artificially. Natural sweeteners come from honey, sugarcane, molasses, sorghum, and even date palms. However, most natural sweeteners are rich in carbohydrates, so they may need to be synthesized before use.
Artificial keto sweeteners are purely made with synthetic methods in the lab. They do not naturally exist in plants or animals but are created using chemicals in the lab to develop that sweet taste. Both natural and artificial keto sweeteners are great, but you may consult your dietician to guide you on the best one for your health.
Why You Should Take Keto Sweeteners
Taking keto sweeteners isn’t a must when you are on a keto diet. However, you may need to take them sometimes, even not every time. After all, the goal of a keto diet is to reduce the amount of sugar in the body, so you shouldn’t take too much of the sweeteners.
One main reason you should take keto sweeteners is to reduce the urge to take normal sugar. The sweeteners taste like normal sugar, although they are healthier than sugar. Once you take them, you reduce the desire to consume normal sugar; hence, maintain discipline in your keto diet.
Also, the sweeteners do not raise your blood sugar level. Most of them are considered free foods that do not affect the normal composition of nutrients. Therefore, you may rely on them to reduce sugar intake while maintaining a healthy body.
Common Keto Sweeteners
Here are the most common sweeteners you may add to your keto diet.
1. Monk Fruit Sweetener
Monk fruit is a common keto sweetener known for its anti-inflammatory properties. It is derived from the monk fruit, a common round fruit native to Southeast Asia. The monk fruit sweetener does not raise normal blood sugar levels and can be 300 times sweeter than sugarcane. Despite its sweetness, the monk fruit sweetener doesn’t contain calories. Hence, it’s healthy to use when on a keto diet.
2. Stevia
Stevia is another incredible product that can keep your sugar levels in check when on a keto diet. This sweetener is derived from the herbal plant in South America known as the Stevia Rebaudiana plant. Stevia is 200 times sweeter than normal sugar, but its aftertaste can be bitter. As such, you may consider adding it to your drinks or taking it alongside other sweeteners.
3. Inulin
Inulin naturally occurs in many plants, like bananas, which can be extracted to create a keto sweetener. The product has few calories, and its taste is mild and sugary. It can be your preferred option if you don’t like the extremely sugary keto sweeteners.
4. Yacon Syrup
The yacon syrup is low on the glycemic index and does not raise your blood sugar. The sweetener comes from the Yacon roots and is readily available in many online stores.
Tips for Taking Keto Sweeteners
Here are helpful tips to consider when taking keto sweeteners:
1. Check Labels Well
Read and understand the label of your keto sweetener before consuming it. Understand the ingredients used and the level of carbohydrates that may be present. After all, most sweeteners may be sugar-free but still contain carbohydrates, which you avoid in your keto diet.
2. Take in Small Amounts
Do not overuse keto sweeteners even when they are available. If possible, start the intake with a small amount and only increase the quantity with time. You should also limit the quantity of sweeteners you take over a specific period.
3. Be Cautious of Side Effects
It’s normal to experience side effects when you try something new. Common effects may include stomach upsets or bloating once you take them. Most of the impact should disappear, and there’s no cause for alarm. However, you may discontinue a sweetener that causes extreme, adverse health effects.
Choose the Right Sweeteners
Keto sweeteners come in many types but are broadly classified into natural and artificial. Carefully pick what suits you best based on your preferences and what you may be allergic to. You may also check the review to know what other customers say regarding the specific sweetener.
Conclusion
Keto sweeteners have increasingly become popular due to the wide range of benefits they offer to the body when observing a keto diet. Most of the products are sweet and provide the same satisfaction as normal sugar. They are advantageous because they do not raise the normal blood sugar level, so there is no adverse impact on your keto diet. Plus, they are readily available in many stores as well.
If you are on a keto diet and would like to take sweeteners, review the available ones and choose what will likely work well for you. You may consult your dietician first to guide you in picking the best.
