Stumble It!
The Case for Real Chocolate
Halloween is on its way, and of course, we PWDs are bracing ourselves for all that candy — in your face. It ain’t easy to resist, even if you’re not normally tempted, because suddenly there are the bowls-full of the stuff at home and work, at the mall and at the dentist’s office. Yipes!
I noticed some chatter about how it might be good to swear off candy altogether, or to stick to the sugar free stuff. Somehow I felt an obligation to re-broadcast the warning that many “sugar free” candies have two problems:
1) they are engineered to be malabsorbed by your body. So your stomach gets upset by all those chemicals it can’t break down
2) they often contain as many, or nearly as many, grams of carbohydrate as other sweets. This means they still make your blood sugar spike.
Actually, my doctor says it’s better to eat a small amount of real chocolate than to indulge in the stuff with the big “sugar-free, diabetic-friendly” marketing labels. Because in the latter case, you really don’t know what you’re eating.
Out of this discussion and my ensuing research came some interesting tidbits from around the web:
* “Just in case you were not aware: Do you know how Splenda/Sucralose was discovered. Its scary, but it was discovered by accident when they were developing an insecticide.” Yech!
* Indeed, according to this exposé:
“Almost every artificial sweetener has been a by-product of chemical experiments where the person doing the experiments accidentally tasted the chemical they were working with and noticed it was sweet. These sweeteners are the byproduct of chemical experiments and are not a food. These sweeteners are new chemicals and our bodies are confused about what to do with them.”
* “I don’t eat any artificial sweeteners and check everything for them. They are even in toothpaste. If you are curious about them this article provides some good info: ‘Artificial Sweeteners Could Be Hidden in Your Foods and Medications.’”
In studies, artificial sweeteners have been linked to obesity, headaches, and other ailments. But we all know that plain ole sugar is bad for you too, and not just because it spikes your BG. Needless to say, we can’t win.
A certain Dr. Scott Olson insists that our best choices for sugar substitutes are Stevia and Xylitol:
~ Xylitol is a natural sugar that doesn’t raise blood sugar as high as many sugars, and actually appears to help reduce cavities.
~ Stevia is an herb that tastes sweet, but has no calories. There are research studies that show that Stevia can actually help with blood sugar control.
All good; I’m a Stevia user myself. But I’m also addicted to diet soda. With diabetes, you have to pick your battles! (It’s impossible to not eat everything that could cause something you want to avoid.)
On that note, and to perfectly contradict myself on the “real chocolate” argument, I have recently discovered — and couldn’t resist trying — Trader Joe’s Simply Lite Dark Chocolate. Yum!
This “carb safe” stuff contains only 13 grams of carb per 3 chunky squares and tastes delicious, if a teensy bit mealy. It’s still high-fat at 9 grams per serving. And it does contain maltitol, but hasn’t upset my stomach (yet). I personally found that I don’t need such a fancy extended bolus to cover it. Worth a try, in case you have trouble dosing for the real thing.
Oh and btw, Sweet N Low candy is on the way. I’m sure the natural foods pundits will have a field day with that.
Um… Happy pre-Halloween, All!
** UPDATE 10/25/09 **
I take it back: that “carb safe” Simply Lite chocolate has upset my stomach. Please refer to the initial portion of this post!
I’m with you sister! Real chocolate all the way!!!
Posted by: k2 | October 22nd, 2009 at 6:12 amI don’t do the fake stuff sweetstuff (or at least I try not to) anymore.
I gave them up when I was in my mid twenties because I figured I had so many chemicals running through my vains, that I was already partially embalmed so to speak
kelly k
If it’s really good chocolate, you don’t need a lot of it.
Posted by: Elijah M | October 22nd, 2009 at 6:46 amReal DARK chocolate – YES! Give me 2, yes 2 dark hershey’s kisses and I am good to go and just under 6g carbs (plus I read a story that says it is good for my heart!)
Fair Winds,
Posted by: Michael Ratrie | October 22nd, 2009 at 7:19 amMike
I’ve made pretty much the exact same compromise as you regarding artificial sweeteners. I use stevia in my tea and coffee, but I really love Diet Dr. Pepper. Other than in drinks, which are usually for in between meals, I don’t use artificial sweeteners at all. If I’m going to eat dessert, I’d rather eat a small piece of the real thing.
Posted by: mollyjade | October 22nd, 2009 at 7:47 amreal chocolate tastes better anyways. I savor every tiny morsel.
Posted by: Rachel | October 22nd, 2009 at 7:48 amMy diabetic husband eats the 90% dark chocolate. One square each day keeps him happy and healthy – because it really is good for you.
Posted by: Ladybugxing | October 22nd, 2009 at 10:21 amI use SweetLeaf Sweetener Stevia! It has 0 calories, 0 carbs, and a 0 glycemic index–I understand the only stevia brand or sweetener on the market with all three properties! What brand of stevia do you use?
Yeah, in South America they use stevia to treat diabetes!
I did know that about splenda–that it was originally devloped as an insecticide…crazy huh?!
I used to prefer milk chocolate, but now I have grown to like dark chocolate, which, of course, as you all know, is a good thing!
Posted by: yoda | October 22nd, 2009 at 11:11 amReally enjoyed the info about sugar free
Posted by: Molly | October 22nd, 2009 at 1:12 pmI get asked about it once in a while so these things are good to know
Thanks
Oh my, you have not had chocolate until you’ve had this: http://www.tazachocolate.com/store/Products/60darkbar. It’s well worth the price (and it’s certified gluten-free). Mmm. Mmmm. Mmmm!
Posted by: Laura | October 22nd, 2009 at 1:23 pmI don’t eat artificial sweeteners, and I haven’t eaten regular candy since my LADA diagnosis. Here’s a snarky take on sugarfree and regular Halloween candy: http://asweetlife.org/mike/featured/halloween-smackdown-%E2%80%9809/1786/
Posted by: jessica | October 22nd, 2009 at 3:14 pmStevia is definitely the way to go.
I made the mistake of eating an entire package of sugar-free red licorice in middle school one day. Uggghhh, never again! (FYI, readers, I’m 27 now.) Let’s just say your gastrointestinal system MUCH prefers the real thing.
Also, Sweet ‘n’ Low candy has been on the market for YEARS, as far as I know. At least it has been in Pennsylvania. And as far as sugar-free candies go, it’s definitely not one of my faves.
Posted by: Hannah | October 22nd, 2009 at 7:44 pmI love the Lindt chocolate bar, 85% cocoa, extra dark. Each square (1.5″ x 1.5″, 8 squares to a big 3.5 oz bar) is only 2 grams Carb! 1 square a day doesn’t raise my glucose. Unless it’s really warm weather, I prefer to eat it with a hot drink to help it “melt”…so delish! I haven’t found any other chocolate that comes even near to being that low carb. It can be found almost anywhere – the cheapest price is usually at Target or Rite-Aid when on sale.
Posted by: Beth | October 22nd, 2009 at 9:34 pmI second the Lindt 85% chocolate! And I sure hope they don’t find out health probs with stevia — seems like I eat a lot of that…. even before LADA diagnosis….!!
Posted by: Pam | October 23rd, 2009 at 10:02 amIts really good for our good health. I learned that it cholesterol-lowering benefits of real chocolate given by our health.
Posted by: George | October 24th, 2009 at 4:17 amThanks for sharing it.
I’m not diabetic. I just wanted to reduce my sugar intake and still enjoy my afternoon treat. The Simply Lite dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s is sooooooooo delicious, ESPECIALLY when paired with Smart Balance Chunky Natural Peanut Butter. I have invited numerous colleagues into my office to partake, and everyone finds the pairing wholly satisfying. No one’s missing the sugar, either. I enjoy sugary treats elsewhere on occasion, but for a daily sugar-free snack, I just don’t think you can beat my 4:00 treat. By the way, VALOR is the name of a sugar-free dark chocolate from France; it’s the BEST sugar-free chocolate I’ve tried thus far, but each bar costs like $7 to $8… and that’s CRAZY talk!
Posted by: Robert | October 24th, 2009 at 7:40 amHey Chocolate lovers. I’m a type II diabetic and gave up on chocolate because I couldn’t fine the real goods. However, I found a great diabetes coach who turned me onto the best I’ve ever tried with absolutly no bad effects on my sugars. It’s called Xocai and is not only delicious dark chocolate but was developed by a type II diabetic. As I understand it, it is cold processed which allows it to maintain all of it’s antioxidants and has no additives that you find in all the others that I have tried. It gets it’s sweetness from blueberries and acai berries. Any way, if you want info on it you can get in touch with my coach at janet.sanders@earthlink.net or her website http://www.diabetescoaching.com. She has helped me a lot and I have to admit that the chocolate that she turned me onto is the real deal.
Posted by: Joe | October 24th, 2009 at 10:58 amBest,
Joe
RE: Chocolate
I really despised DARK chocolate, until two weeks ago. I was walking around the mall (for exercise – it was raining outside) and walked into a Lindt chocolate shop. They were giving out samples (slivers!) of a new chocolate:
INTENSE ORANGE dark chocolate. Yum! I got hooked, right there and then. Chocolate has always been my favorite snack before intensive exercise. Years ago I attended a sports/exercise camp for Type I’s in Switzerland. I went with the “test group” that was supposed to be testing the efficacy of chocolate bars as a snack to prevent hypoglycemia during intensive exercise. My test group had the best BG’s of all, for the duration of the camp (about 1 week.)
Oh – and whoever wrote about Diet Dr. Pepper – I’m with you. It is delicious. I only allow myself one can per month, because when I was in college I used to drink 2 per day. For me, it’s addicting, and I do not like to put that much junk in my body on a regular basis!
Posted by: June S. | October 24th, 2009 at 6:36 pmI just wanted to point out in this season of sweets that while xylitol seems to be a relatively good thing for humans it can be very very bad (read: deadly) to our pets! Just make sure you keep it out of their reach.
Posted by: Suzanne | October 27th, 2009 at 11:49 amSee more here:
http://www.dolittler.com/2008/02/14/pet.vet.dog.cat.xylitol.toxic.poison.veterinary.veterinarian.html
As a child who had parents that spent my entire childhood trying to convince me that healthy carob was really chocolate, let me just say–there is NO substitute for real chocolate. Not sugar free, not anything. Now you’ve got me craving a Hershey’s!
Posted by: Traci Wennerholm | October 27th, 2009 at 2:11 pm