Sugar-free candy?

[Shashi]

I have a sweet tooth, but since I'm now eating healthy and trying to lower my triglycerides and cholesterol, I can't have sweets anymore. I found Russell Stover's sugar-free candy (particularly the chocolate covered coconut candy, which tastes just like a Mounds bar.) I usually eat three small pieces a day, which is considered a serving.

But I'm wondering if there is anything harmful about eating this candy. It contains 9 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat) and sucralose, which is Splenda. How safe is this? Is it okay to eat one serving of this candy a day to satisfy my sweet tooth? Or should I ditch it too?

[Sequoia]

Hi Shashi,

I have a terrible sweet tooth, and my personal opinion on the subject is that the best thing to do with a sweet tooth is to KILL IT!!!

That's what I did to mine when I found out several years ago that I had Type 2 diabetes...I starved my sweet tooth to death. It took several months of no sweets at all, but I find that now I can occasionally enjoy a small piece of something intensely sweet without craving more. It takes time for one's palate to readjust to a major change.

I choose not to consume anything with artificial sweeteners in it (other than pure Stevia in a rare dessert), so I don't have an opinion on Sucralose.

[unscrambled]

From the diabetics I know, malitol (the sugar alcohol in those things), has a blood sugar impact, suggesting that it is absorbed in the same way that sugar is.

My approach to this if you're not up for the wholescale killing of the tooth is to eat higher quality chocolate, with a higher cocoa percentage, but eat less of it. I find that one square of fancy chocolate is as satisfying as a whole bar of the less fancy stuff. Maybe that's psychological, but it works.

Plus there's all kinds of evidence about the health benefits of dark chocolate, so hey.

[COJeepGirl]

I don't know what the general feeling/opinion is on this but there are many ways to get creative with unsweetened cocoa/cacao powder, dried fruit, nuts and dates or date sugar. Date sugar is basically dried, ground dates. Chef AJ has several recipes that look interesting. Larabar also makes a line of chocolate date/nut bars that do not have added sugar. The name of the line is Jocalat.

May be an idea to get your chocolate on without refined sugars or sugar substitutes.

[JayEm]

Unscrambled does about what I do about chocolate. I get these things called chocolate covered cocoa nibs. Each individual piece has about 1 calorie (they are tiny). I usually eat about a dozen pieces, one or two at a time. One of the little containers (technically two servings) will last me for days or even weeks. Also, dark chocolate generally has less sugar in it, and there are benefits to your heart from eating it.

Before my allergies started getting so bad, I would also eat a lot of fruit. If you crave ice cream, for instance, frozen fruit blended with yogurt can come kind of close, particularly if you mix cocoa powder and frozen bananas. Or oatmeal with a square of dark chocolate melted into it, and sweetened with just a bit of honey--delicious! Not sugar free, but good for you nevertheless.

I tend to get a horrible taste in my mouth from artificial sweeteners, so I avoid those. I've also seen a lot of reports that the fake sugars, along with high fructose corn syrup, tend to be associated with bad health outcomes. There's no proof that they *cause* it, but they are *associated*.

My approach for reducing sugar or fat in foods is just to eat less of them. With desserts and treats, I usually don't keep them in the house, and when I'm at the store, I'll decide that if I *really* want one later, I can always go out again. (When I'm not feeling sick, I say that I can only get them if I walk to the store for it--exercise in order to get the treat!)

My town has a nice chocolate shop, and they will let you buy a gift certificate and spend it one piece of chocolate at a time. My partner gave me one last year for Valentine's day, and even with getting treats for other people, $20 lasted me until December.

And definitely try the chocolate oatmeal! On a bad day, I make it in the microwave, and it only takes a couple of minutes. Oatmeal has been shown to reduce "bad" cholesterol, and it might also help to prevent type 2 diabetes. If you use unsweetened coconut milk (they often sell it in cans near the "ethnic" food section of the grocery store), you can even have the chocolate-coconut taste you like.

[rainykatie]

wow that is a LOT of saturated fat! i dont ever eat 'fake' sugars, mostly because i hate how they taste but they are also not natural. if i am craving something sweet i go for something like prunes or dates. sometimes i'll have a chocolate vitamuffin (found in the freezer section at the grocery store) or a small bowl of coco puffs cereal

at the end of the day i wouldnt stress about it too much. i try to stay away from sweets but give in from time to time because, hey, we only live once.