The Best Sweeteners for Keto – Don’t Be Fooled!

What are the best sweeteners for keto? What are the worst sweeteners?

We all know the best thing we can do is give up sugar! But what are the best sweeteners for keto?

It takes time to get over those sweet cravings. My advice is to cut sugars (plural – so many different types of sugar in processed foods). Give yourself time to get over the cravings. Fortunately, keto is fantastic at helping us curb cravings. Once you’ve been on keto for a while, you should start to feel your cravings diminish. At that point, you can start introducing keto-friendly treats occasionally. Start introducing keto treats slowly and infrequently. You will probably find that your taste buds have changed. You may find that you can’t stand anything too sweet! That’s a good thing, right?

Non-restrictive

Keto doesn’t have to be a completely restrictive “diet.” This is a lifestyle change for many people. Indulging is part of maintaining that lifestyle, long term. Allowing yourself to indulge now and then will help keep you on track and keep your new way of eating exciting! Before you start creating keto treats, you need to know which sweeteners are safe and which to eat on a keto or low-carb diet. And trust me, there are plenty of artificial and natural sweeteners out there. There are a multitude of sugar substitutes out there!

Some of the names that sweeteners have can seem quite confusing. Acesulfame for example, what does that mean!? Fortunately, we don’t need to be able to pronounce them to pick out the ingredients on your food and drink labels. In this blog, I will talk about sweeteners that are keto friendly.

Love them or hate them, sweeteners can be an important part of making keto sustainable for life. We can enjoy some of them. We certainly want to avoid others.

Enjoy your keto-friendly sweeteners!

Personal preference comes into this as well. What tastes nice to one person might taste terrible to you! Additionally, some people struggle with switching from sugary drinks to the diet version. They just don’t taste the same! And there’s no getting away from it.

Your taste buds have to adjust, and that can take some time and persistence. Sure, getting through the initial transition to sugar-free can be challenging, but it’s worth it! Finding the right keto-friendly sweeteners is key!

Your taste buds will change. What tastes bitter now may taste sweeter after a month of keto. It takes a few weeks for most people to get used to the taste of diet drinks and sugar-free alternatives. So give your taste buds some time! You might be pleasantly surprised.

Understand the different keto-friendly sweeteners

Understanding the different types of sweeteners—such as polyols or sugar alcohols—makes it much easier to make better food and beverage choices.

Checking ingredients for keto-friendly sweeteners

By understanding the different types, you should be able to navigate food and beverage labels wisely. You should also be able to choose the right sweeteners for baking keto sweets yourself.

There is an abundance of research on the various sweeteners widely used in the food industry. Some are good and some are really bad. Undoubtedly, some artificial sweeteners have been linked to all sorts of health problems, and we certainly don’t want to be consuming them, certainly not on a regular basis.

It’s up to you to decide if you want to include any or none of these in your keto or low carb lifestyle.

Choose your sweeteners wisely

In the next part, I talk about the most common sweeteners used in the UK and European food and drink industry. Please note that these are sweeteners that I have tested myself and know that they do not spike my blood sugar or throw me out of ketosis.

Also note that the following is not a definitive list. It is, however, the most frequent names you are likely to see listed in the ingredients of various ‘sugar free’ foods and diet drinks in UK and European shops. So I encourage you to do a little more research on them, especially if you are diabetic (type 1 or 2) and controlling your blood sugar. Some people may have significant insulin reactions to some sweeteners, while others are unaffected.

Good Sweeteners vs. Bad – Keto Friendly or not?

In this first section, let’s deal with the “bad” sweeteners. First, the ones you should avoid!

Even if you can’t remember all the names of sweeteners, try to remember these 5. You can’t really go wrong by avoiding them.

Some of these are as bad as sugar itself. That is, they can cause a large increase in insulin levels. They can have a similar effect to sugar. The big problem is that they are added to a lot of foods labeled as “sugar free”. It’s all very clever marketing to make us think we’re making healthier choices! If you are wondering why insulin levels are significant on a keto diet, this blog can help you understand.

Bad alternatives to sugar

Most of these bad “sweeteners” can have the same effect on blood sugar as sugar itself. In other words, they can get you out of ketosis. If you’re on a keto or low carb diet and aren’t necessarily worried about being in ketosis, remember that they can trigger your “fat storage hormone”, insulin! Making it more difficult to lose weight effectively. So you still have to avoid them! They are not very good for intestinal health either. (Source 1).

The worst, most common sweeteners that aren’t keto friendly:

So, avoid all of the above. Yes, some foods contain dextrose in small amounts. With minimal carbohydrate content in the product as a whole. This means that you will need to decide how clean you want your keto diet to be.

By comparison, let’s look at the good guys (but remember, as long as you remember the 4 above avoiddon’t worry too much about remembering all the names of the “good” sweeteners).

The most common good, keto-friendly sweeteners:

Remember, everyone is different and you may or may not get along with all of these sweeteners. It’s up to you to try them out and see how you go. Side note: None of these spike my blood sugar or cause any side effects. Many people have no problems. You should test and see if they work for you. (Source 2).

These are some of the more common sweeteners and polyols (or sugar alcohols) you’ll see in the ingredients of things like “sugar-free” sweets, processed foods, and diet drinks. Obviously, a few aren’t necessarily the most “healthy” choices, but they can be incorporated into a keto and low-carb lifestyle.

Keto Friendly Sweeteners:

With this knowledge, you can go shopping for diet drinks or “sugar-free” sweets and start baking your own keto sweets with confidence. And you won’t ruin any of your great keto progress!

Be aware that some people may still experience spikes in insulin levels when consuming sweeteners. It’s up to you to test and see what you can tolerate.

I would suggest consuming only natural sweeteners such as erythritol, allulose, monk fruit, stevia and inulin. But of course you have to test to find out if any sweetener raises your blood sugar.

If you want to choose the healthiest types of sweeteners, I recommend reading on This article by Maria Emmerich.

Where to buy keto friendly sweeteners

Most supermarkets now sell keto-friendly sweeteners – NatVia, PureVia and Erythritol are on the shelves. Additionally, some may be cheaper when purchased online. Shop around and think about how much you think you’ll use. Spending a little more on a big bag of your favorite keto sweeteners can be more cost-effective than buying a small supermarket bag. A larger 1kg bag is great if you plan on making keto cakes and keto products on a regular basis.

The best keto-friendly sweeteners

If you’re looking for a really good sweetener that’s healthy, these are the ones I like and stick to:

Erythritol – I use this one from Amazon UK and the pack of 3 bags last me about 3 months – NKD live erythritol granules

My top tip – if a recipe calls for it powder Erythritol, use your blender or smoothie maker to turn the granules into a powder.

patience – Word of warning! Beware of supermarkets selling cheaper jars of sweeteners that have ‘Stevia’ plastered all over the label in big letters! It is most likely NOT pure stevia! Always check the ingredients – most of them are a mixture of maltodextrin with only about 2% stevia. Serious! Which is actually worse for you than sugar! Look for pure stevia, granules, powder, or drops (I like these drops from Amazon – Nick’s Chocolate Stevia Drops)

The fruit of the monk – available in most health food stores or online. This is one you’ll see a lot on American blogs, but it’s not widely available in the UK – yet!

Sukrin – another favorite for baking. It is a mixture of erythritol and stevia, which many people prefer, rather than plain erythritol. Sukrin natural sugar alternative 250g

Different brands, same keto-friendly sweeteners

There are a lot of different brands to choose from, especially when looking online for keto sweeteners. They are all based on almost the same types – erythritol and stevia. Use it as a guide to choose the right ones for you. and avoid the wrong ones.

Who says you can’t indulge in treats while on a keto or LCHF diet? Yes you can! Yes i do! And yes, I still lost weight! Almost 5 stone (70lbs) in fact! (Source 3)

Keto Sweets!

If you already have your favorite keto-friendly sweetener in your cupboard, why not try this super simple and delicious guilt-free keto treat? And it only takes a few minutes to prepare and cook! Try my version of the 90-second Keto Chocolate Mug Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon melted butter, I prefer salted
• 1 medium egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon of coconut flour (or 3 tablespoons of ground almonds)
• 2 tablespoons erythritol (or other keto-friendly sweetener, adjust to taste)
• 1 tablespoon of 100% unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Method:

In a medium coffee mug, melt the butter (microwave for 10 seconds). Add the other ingredients and mix very well with a fork. Microwave for 90 seconds (make sure you don’t overcook it so it doesn’t get too dry!)

Add some sugar-free chocolate chips, too, or top with some fresh double whipped cream. Enjoy.