The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes

Have you been looking for a way to sweeten your coffee without sugar? When you have diabetes, sugar and carbohydrate intake must always be dealt with. So, it is nice to rely on a sugar-free coffee that has minimal impact on blood sugars and still tastes great. Here are some taste-tested alternatives to sugar in your coffee:

Allulose

Allulose is our favorite alternative sweetener – in fact, we have an entire article on how much we really like a lot it! Of each alternative sweetener we’ve tried, it tastes the best, which is to say that it tastes the most like true sugar. There is no aftertaste, no chemical flavor, no strange mouthfeel issues.

You can buy allulose from a number of varied suppliers, and every sample we’ve tried has been equally good. Some, like Wholesome, pictured above, also sell allulose in a liquid form, which makes adding to coffee or tea even easier.

Photo by Lakanto

Monk Fruit (aka Lo Han) liquid or powder

This is probably our second favorite sweetener to put in hot coffee. It’s natural and doesn’t make me worry as much as when I consume aspartame or sucralose. Like allulose, it comes in a liquid form – you can squirt or drip it right into your coffee mug. The flavor is authentic and sweet, and has extremely little strange aftertaste. Highly recommended!

Photo by Swervesweet.com

Erythritol liquid or powder

Erythritol has lovers and haters. For our tastes, it’s not quite as yummy as allulose or monkfruit, but it’s better than aspartame and saccharine, the sugar alternatives that we grew up with. It shouldn’t affect your blood glucose levels much, but some folks complain about gastrointestinal distress – something to be aware of!

Swerve, pictured above, is a special brand of erythritol that has a couple of extra ingredients to improve the texture and flavor. Swerve is very popular for low-carb baking, and many people in the diabetes community are fiercely loyal to the product.

Photo by NOW Foods

Xylitol

In our opinion, this is just ok in hot coffee. It’s fine in iced coffee, as is just about every sweetener. There is an aftertaste that that messes with coffee’s inherent goodness, and none of us desire that. Of course, many people in the community love Xylitol, so it may be worth a shot. If you don’t like it use it to make cookies! Xylitol seems to have a small impact on blood sugars as it is considered a low-glycemic sweetener. It is also harmful to dogs, so especially if you have small dogs, you’ll want to be aware.

Photo by Pyure

Stevia

Stevia can have a strong chemical flavor, but some absolutely love it. Stevia is a natural sugar alternative, from the leaves of the stevia plant – it is very sweet.

Stevia comes in powder or in liquid, and can even be found in flavored drops, in case you want an instant hit of hazelnut or pumpkin spice in your coffee.

There are actually different types of stevia, and one of our tasters strongly prefers a type called “Reb A,” which is made from only a certain extra delicious part of the plant. If you’ve tried stevia and haven’t liked it, it might be worth looking for the Reb A variety. One brand we like is picture above – Pyure.

Photo by Torani

Sucralose

Sucralose has been around for a while, and is easily found at the grocery store in multiple forms.The popular Splenda brand is made from sucralose. Low-carb coffee and beverage lovers know that Torani Sugar-Free syrups use sucralose, and come in 37 different flavors. They’re a classic hit for a reason–they taste great in hot and cold drinks.

Photo by Equal

Aspartame

These blue packets have been around for ages. Many people have been happily eating aspartame for decades, but in our opinion, it just can’t compete with the new generation of alternative sweeteners.

Give Time to modify and Beware Hidden Sugars

If none of these alternatives suit you, seriously consider having iced coffee–nearly all work well in cold coffee, especially if you don’t overdo it. (The cold temperature tends to blunt the force of the off flavors that alternative sweeteners sometimes have.) Another thing: it takes a week or so to adjust to the tastes of each of these, so if you think one doesn’t taste awful but just funny, consider having it each morning for a week to see if your taste buds adjust. Almost all of these options will taste better as you get more used to them.

Be aware that if you add milk to your coffee, you’re adding simple carbohydrates. You could try cream or unsweetened almond milk instead; adjusting to these flavors may also take some time.

Last but not least, we’re all individuals with our own tastes so while some of these options or others not listed might not be for me, they might work well for you. Also, there are many combination products on the market you might like which take two different sweeteners and combine them into one product, which might improve the taste for you. But beware of combinations of sugar-free sweeteners, like stevia mixed with actual sugar.

Share what you like to use in your coffee in the comments!

Diabetes Daily

The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes