A ketogenic diet entails avoiding high-carb items such as grains, sweets, and processed snacks. This is necessary to enter a metabolic state known as ketosis, which allows your body to start burning fat stores for energy instead of carbs.
Ketosis also necessitates a reduction in sugar intake, which can make sweetening beverages, baked products, sauces, and dressings difficult. Fortunately, here are a variety of low-carb sweeteners to choose from. The finest sweeteners for a low-carb keto diet are listed below.
- Stevia
Stevia rebaudiana is a natural sweetener obtained from the Stevia plant. It’s classified as a nonnutritive sweetener, which means it’s low in calories and carbohydrates. Stevia, unlike ordinary sugar, has been found in animal and human tests to help reduce blood sugar levels. Stevia comes in liquid and powdered forms, and it may be used to sweeten anything from drinks to sweets. Because stevia is significantly sweeter than ordinary sugar, recipes call for less of it to produce the same flavor. Only 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of powdered stevia should be substituted for each cup (200 grams) of sugar.
- Sucralose
Sucralose is a non-metabolized artificial sweetener that goes through the body undigested, providing no calories or carbohydrates. Splenda is the most popular sucralose-based sweetener on the market, because to its lack of bitterness compared to other artificial sweeteners. While sucralose is calorie-free, Splenda contains maltodextrin and dextrose, two carbohydrates in each package that provide around 3 calories and 1 gram of carbs. Sucralose, unlike other sweeteners, cannot be used to replace sugar in baked goods. Instead, use sucralose to sweeten low-carb liquids and foods like oatmeal and yogurt, and bake with other sweeteners.
- Erythritol
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, which is a group of naturally occurring chemicals that trigger your tongue’s sweet taste receptors to simulate the taste of sugar. It’s up to 80% sweeter than ordinary sugar, yet it only has 5% of the calories, with only 0.2 calories per gram. Furthermore, despite the fact that erythritol contains 4 grams of carbohydrates per teaspoon (4 grams), studies demonstrate that it may assist reduce blood sugar levels. Furthermore, because of its lower molecular weight, it rarely causes digestive problems that other sugar alcohols do. Erythritol can be used in baking and cooking, and it can be used in place of sugar in a variety of recipes.
Monk fruit sweetener can be used in any recipe that calls for sugar. The amount you use depends on what other substances may be present in various products. Some people propose using an equal amount of monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar, while others recommend halving the amount of sweetener in the cup.
