Choose the right sweets based on calories, sweetness and glycemic index

Consumers with low-carb needs are often dazzled by the various sugar and sugar substitute products on the market, and rarely take the time to choose which products are most suitable for them. Based on the two starting points of blood sugar control and calorie control, this article advises consumers on how to choose a low-sugar diet.

Friends who need to control blood sugar, the prerequisite for choosing food is low glycemic index (GI) . Friends who want to control calories should give priority to controlling the calories of food. Normally, our preconceived notions will definitely think that low calorie means low glycemic index, and sugar substitutes must have lower calories and glycemic index than pure sugar. In fact, this concept is not entirely correct.

The following table is a list of the calories, sweetness and glycemic index of common sugars and sugar substitutes investigated by foreign research institutions. The basis for comparison is sucrose, which has 4 calories per gram (kcal) , its sweetness index is 1.0 , and its glycemic index is 65 . The last column of the table is very important information: because the sweetness of each product is different, in order to achieve the same sweetness as sucrose, the final calorie comparison after increasing or decreasing the dosage.

Let's first look at the calories: most sugars and natural sweeteners have the same calories as sucrose, with 4 calories per gram, but stevia and Luo Han Guo have zero calories. Except for erythritol, which is commonly used as natural sugar substitutes in nature, the sugar alcohols have lower calories, and the calories of other sugar alcohols are 50-60% of sucrose . Artificial sweeteners are zero calories.

Then look at the glycemic index: among sugars with 4 calories per gram and natural sweeteners, agave syrup has the lowest glycemic index of 15 , followed by fructose at 23 . Among sugar alcohols, maltitol, which is commonly used in baked goods, has a glycemic index of 35 . Stevia, Luo Han Guo and artificial sweeteners all have a glycemic index of 0 .

Finally, let's look at the sweetness: the sweetest of sugar and natural sweeteners is 300 of stevia and Luo Han Guo , followed by 1.7 of fructose and 1.5 of agave syrup . The lowest is 0.15 for lactose and 0.3 for maltose . Among the sugar alcohols, the highest is 1.0 of xylitol , and the lowest is 0.4 of lactitol . The sweetness of artificial sweeteners ranges from 40 to 8000 .

The comprehensive sweetness and calories are considered together. Under the same sweetness, the sweeteners with the lowest calories are Monk Fruit, Stevia, Erythritol and all synthetic sweeteners, and their glycemic index is almost the lowest. Using these sweeteners instead of sugar intake can achieve the best blood sugar and calorie control effect.

In practice, the choice of sugar substitutes, in addition to the differences in the above conditions, there are many other considerations, we will continue to discuss in the future. But this calorie / sweetness / glycemic index list is definitely an important tool that low-sugar dieters can use to filter foods.