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[Chrissy41 1]

My 69 year old dad has recently been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. He lives with me and my 6 year old daughter. Naturally I have snacks (cookies, ice cream, etc) in the house for my daughter, which Pop would occasionally snack on, until recently. Last week I bought him some sugar free Russell Stover candies, Adkins snack bars and Low Carb ice cream (Breyers, I believe) just so he'd have something to snack on and wouldn't feel deprived or left out. Over the weekend we learned about sugar alcohol and he feels it defeats the purpose. So, with that, I was hoping for some feedback and advice as to which sugar free brands do not contain sugar alcohol that I can get for my Dad to curb his sugar tooth. Also with Valentines Day tomorrow, I'd love to be able to give him something that he'll enjoy. Thank you!

[Dave_KC 3,010]

What have you learned on Sugar alcohols?  There are different views on them and what they do, and whether or not they actually raise blood sugar.  For many they do have some level of affect on blood sugar.  

 

Now, in case it's unclear, they are not typical alcohol or alcoholic beverage type alcohol.  

[TX_Clint 18,855]

Ingredient Sweetness GI Cal/g

Sucrose(sugar) 100% 60 4 

Maltitol Syrup 75% 52 3

Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate 33% 39 2.8

Maltitol 75% 36 2.7

Xylitol 100% 13 2.5

Isomalt 55% 9 2.1

Sorbitol 60% 9 2.5

Lactitol 35% 6 2

Mannitol 60% 0 1.5

Erythritol 70% 0 0.2

 

All sugar alcohols are not created equal. I have found that Erythritol has no effect on my BG at all.

[NoraWI 4,809]

Good information, Clint. Thanks!

[meyery2k 26,031]

Chrissy -

 

My personal experience with sugar alcohols is that they do not affect my glucose readings.  I still try to buy the brands with the least amount of carbs.

 

If you have Safeway in your area, I have found the Safeway branded No sugar ice cream pre-packed is good and has far less carbs than Breyer's.  They have Butter Pecan and Vanilla.  They also make great fudgesicle like bars and a chocolate coated vanilla bar (like the old Eskimo Pies) that are good.

 

Blue Bunny NSA has also worked well for me but I prefer the Safeway brand since it has less carbs.

 

They must taste good because when my daughter was home from college, she and her friend ate a quart of my ice cream while watching horror movies.  They discovered that sugar alcohols will cause a stomach ache if you eat too many of them.

 

Diabetes and pre-diabetes doesn't necessarily have to take away all of life's fun.  We adapt.

 

If your Dad can get a Relion Prime meter from Walmart and strips (they are the cheapest) he can test before eating the ice cream and then test 1 hour, 2 hours, and maybe 3 hours (if he has not returned to near starting after 2 hours).  It is very possible you will see that this can be eaten without too much effect.

 

Another alternative is to make homemade LC ice cream.  It can be done, it is pretty simple, and it tastes good.

 

You are all to be commended for taking this seriously and taking control of this now. ~ Mike

[Kit 27,391]

You might look at fat bomb recipies.  They are simple to make and don't affect my blood sugar at all, at least in the quantities I eat.

 

My favorite is a basic chocolate peanutbutter.

 

4 Tbsp coconut oil

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

4 Tbsp natural peanut butter (check the labels.  You want one that only contains peanuts and salt.  Otherwise they have sugar in them

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Sweetener to taste

 

I put the first 3 ingredients in a large measuring cup and microwave in 15 second intervals until everything has melted.

Add in cocoa powder and sweetener and stir to mix (it should mix easily).  You can taste at this point and adjust sweetener to personal preference.

 

At this point, pour into molds and stick in the freezer for about an hour until solid.  I normally pop them out at this point, stick in a zip lock bag, and store in the freezer.

 

On sweetener - I personally use Davinci or Torani SF syrups for my sweetener.  Others can be used, but they are what I personally prefer.

 

For mold, I like using mini muffin tins.  This recipe as is makes 18 and they come out to around 1g total carbs per piece.  Everyone I've gotten to try these things love them.

 

Search around online as there are a huge number of recipes out there for fat bombs.

[Chrissy41 1]

I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your replies and very helpful tips. Since this is all new to me, and not being educated enough about diabetes, every little bit of advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks again!!

[meyery2k 26,031]

Chrissy - You are welcome.  Ask all the questions you need to.  We have all been where you are.

 

In time you will see that the diet actually offers a great deal of variety.

[adiantum 35,271]

Hello Chrissy, welcome to the forum.

 

Instead of buying these treats, it could be much better if you made them yourself.

I'm sure even your daughter would get benefit & pleasure from baking days.

 

For a quick snack all you need is baking paper, parmesan cheese & a spoon.

 

Place a heaped spoon full of cheese on the paper & cook in the microwave 1 minute.

 

Makes awesome cheese cracker.

[jwags 9,219]

I used the Atkins bars for 9'years and they never raised my bgs at all. But I did dvelop serious stomach problems and breast cancer. It makes me wonder about all those chemicals. I still use tiny bits of erythitol in some of my baked goods. While sugar is bad for a diabetic, what really raises blood sugars is grains. So be careful with breakfast cereals, bread, crackers, pretzels and anything with grains like pasta.

[Chrissy41 1]

jwags,

 

I was sorry to read about your stomach problems and breast cancer. I too, often wonder about the chemicals. Thank you for your input, it'll definitely get put to good use!! I did buy my dad 3 boxes of Dreamfields pasta, but after seeing the amount of carbs, my dad freaked out and now refuses to eat it. I have a lot to learn!!!!

[Kit 27,391]

From what I have read, Dreamfields turned out to be a lot of hype that ended up untrue.  Never tried it myself though.

 

There are a few pasta alternatives.  Shirataki Noodles is one.  They're just about 100% fiber and don't make much of an impact blood sugar wise for a lot of people.  I've only tried them a few times.  I prefer the angel hair ones as thicker has too much of a rubbery texture for me.  You want to make sure you rinse them well.

 

Spaghetti Squash is another popular option.  I've not tried it myself however.  I really need to one of these days.

 

I'm a recent convert into zucchini noodles (zoodles).  I've not used them for a traditional spaghetti in tomato sauce, but I've with cream sauces, asian stir frys, and the like.  They really soak up the flavor of whatever they are cooked with.

 

You can make your own pasta out of eggs and cheese.

http://www.uplateanyway.com/keto/fettuccine-low-carb-pasta/

 

Apparently they are based on the fathead pizza dough recipe.  Here's a site with some links to further ideas off that's base.

http://healthylivinginbodyandmind.com/24-fathead-cheese-dough-recipes-low-carb-gluten-free/

[dowling gram 6,388]

If you are looking for a sweet treat for valentines day go to "all day I dream about food" I love her cinnamon coffee cake with cream cheese icing and make it every Christmas to keep me from eating all the sugary stuff. There are many other recipes there too. I have yet to make something from her site that wasn't good. I just wish she had a cook book out.

[Moonpie 5,856]

You can eat the dreamfields pasta,  maybe your Dad can try a tiny portion with you.

[meyery2k 26,031]

I have had great results with zucchini sliced as noodle, shiritaki noodles, and a product called Tofutti which is tofu and shiritaki mixed together. Of the 3 the tofutti is most reminiscent of pasta but the other 2 work great for me as well.