Is sugar free candy okay for people with diabetes? Discover the facts about whether candy can be consumed by those living with diabetes, the considerations around regular and sugar-free candy, and practical tips for managing diabetes and enjoying the occasional sweet treat.

Misconceptions about Diabetes and Candy Consumption

There are many misconceptions about people with diabetes and their ability to consume candy. Some believe those with diabetes should completely avoid any sugary treats, while others think sugar-free candy is a free pass. In reality, people with diabetes, both children and adults, can enjoy candy in moderation as part of an overall balanced diet, with the right planning and considerations.

Candy and Diabetes: The Facts

Contrary to popular belief, people with diabetes are not required to completely eliminate candy and other sweets from their diet. Like anyone else, those living with diabetes can enjoy the occasional treat, as long as they account for the carbohydrate and calorie content and adjust their diabetes management plan accordingly.

The key is understanding how different types of candy, including sugar-free options, can impact blood sugar levels and then taking the necessary steps to mitigate any spikes. With proper planning and portion control, candy can be safely incorporated into a diabetes management routine.

Navigating Sugar-Free Candy

Many people with diabetes turn to sugar-free candy as a healthier alternative. While these options may have a lighter impact on blood sugar levels due to the use of artificial sweeteners, they still contain carbohydrates and calories that need to be factored into diabetes management. Consuming too much sugar-free candy can also lead to gastrointestinal issues due to the sugar alcohols used as sweeteners.

Timing and Portion Control

When it comes to enjoying candy with diabetes, timing and portion control are crucial. Eating a small piece of regular candy closer to a meal can help “soften the blow” of the blood sugar spike, as the body is already preparing to process the carbohydrates from the meal. Portion control is key, as even a single piece of candy can significantly impact blood sugar levels.

Practical Tips for Managing Diabetes and Candy

Here are some practical tips for people with diabetes who want to enjoy the occasional candy treat:

• Count the carbohydrates and adjust insulin or medication accordingly.
• Opt for candies with a lower glycemic index, such as those containing nuts or peanut butter, which can have a slower impact on blood sugar.
• Eat candy close to mealtimes to help mitigate blood sugar spikes.
• Limit portion sizes and be mindful of overall carbohydrate intake.
• Consider sugar-free options in moderation, but be aware of potential gastrointestinal issues.
• Communicate with your healthcare team to develop a personalized plan for incorporating candy into your diabetes management.

The Bottom Line

People with diabetes, both children and adults, can enjoy candy in moderation as part of a balanced diet. The key is understanding how different types of candy, including sugar-free options, can impact blood sugar levels and then taking the necessary steps to manage those effects. With proper planning and portion control, the occasional candy treat can be safely incorporated into a diabetes management routine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can people with diabetes eat any type of candy?

Yes, people with diabetes can eat candy, including regular sugar-containing candy, as long as they account for the carbohydrate and calorie content and adjust their diabetes management plan accordingly. Moderation is key, and certain types of candy may have a slower impact on blood sugar levels.

Is sugar-free candy a better option for people with diabetes?

Sugar-free candy can be a better option for people with diabetes compared to regular candy, as the use of artificial sweeteners can result in a lighter impact on blood sugar levels. However, sugar-free candy still contains carbohydrates and calories that need to be factored into diabetes management, and overconsumption can lead to gastrointestinal issues.

How can people with diabetes incorporate candy into their diet?

To safely incorporate candy into a diabetes management plan, people should:

1. Count the carbohydrates and adjust insulin or medication accordingly.
2. Opt for candies with a lower glycemic index, such as those containing nuts or peanut butter.
3. Eat candy close to mealtimes to help mitigate blood sugar spikes.
4. Limit portion sizes and be mindful of overall carbohydrate intake.
5. Communicate with their healthcare team to develop a personalized plan for incorporating candy into their diabetes management routine.

Is Candy OK for People with Diabetes?

Eating candy can be a controversial topic for people with diabetes.

Misconceptions about sugar and candy being off-limits for people with diabetes can be found in the public mindset, in media and entertainment, and within the medical community itself.

With the Halloween season upon us, both kids and adults with diabetes as well as their loved ones and friends may face this issue even more often than at other times of the year.

This article will explore if people with diabetes can actually eat (and enjoy) candy, how much may be allowed, and whether sugar-free candy is worth considering.

Short answer: Yes, people with diabetes can eat candy.

Adults and children with diabetes (no matter the type) are just as entitled to a sweet treat occasionally as anyone else. Like everything else, details and context matter most, and moderation is key for anyone living with diabetes when it comes to food choices. High sugar foods and drinks can impact glucose levels more quickly and dramatically, so understanding how those influence your diabetes management is important.

Misconceptions about diabetes and eating candy

People with diabetes often face stereotypes and stigma related to what they can and cannot eat, including candies that contain sugar.

While eating habits and consuming sugar can play a part in the development of type 2 diabetes, it’s certainly not exclusively a cause. Type 2 is linked to genetics as well as lifestyle habits, and eating too much sugar occasionally is not a direct cause for someone developing this condition. As to type 1 diabetes, neither someone’s eating habits nor candy consumption is related to the development of this autoimmune condition.

Statements like “You can’t eat that!” or less judgemental (but still judgy) question-comments like “Should you be eating that?” often do more harm than good — especially for children and teenagers, who can feel stigmatized and different from their peers.

Language and attitudes about diabetes matter, and should be kept in mind when approaching the topic of sugar or candy for adults and children with diabetes.

Was this helpful?

People with diabetes must consider extra planning if they want to eat candy. They need to be cognizant about counting carbohydrates and dosing insulin correctly if they happen to use that hormone to help manage their condition.

It’s important to remember, too, that people with diabetes are typically watching the total carbohydrate count of food and drink, and not necessarily honing in on the sugar content.

While candy can make blood sugars rise more quickly, it’s that carb count that needs to be watched when consuming a piece of candy. The same applies to sugar-free candy, which also contains a certain amount of carbohydrates and that needs to be considered when factoring that food choice into your diabetes management.

Certain candies, such as those containing peanut butter or nuts, can take longer to impact blood sugars and won’t lead to as dramatic spikes immediately after eating them. However, other regular candies with sugar can cause quick spikes in blood sugar, and some medical professionals suggest eating a piece of candy closer to mealtime in order to “soften the blow” of a sudden spike in blood sugar.

Of course, you’ll still need to account for the calories and carbs contained within the candy.

While sugar-free candy certainly doesn’t get an award for being “healthy” per se, many people with diabetes (especially children) turn to it as an alternative to regular candy. The thought is that sugar-free candy may be healthier for blood sugar levels.

Sugar-free candy is made with artificial sweeteners, meaning that it can have a lighter impact on blood sugar levels.

However, a common misconception is that sugar-free candy does not impact blood sugar. It does, in fact, contain carbohydrates and calories. That means you still need to dose insulin or take glucose-lowering diabetes medications for those sugar-free candies.

If someone with non-insulin dependent diabetes is being mindful of their weight, eating sugar-free candy is not a free pass for sweets. These sugar-free options may sabotage weight loss efforts due to their high calorie content.

A non-diabetes-related benefit of sugar-free candy is that it’s kinder to teeth. Absent of the higher sugar contents, these sugar-free treats don’t lead to as much tooth decay or cavities often linked to frequent sugar consumption.

Additionally, there’s usually not a very big difference in terms of total fat or protein content in sugar-free versus regular candy.

Examples of artificial sweeteners used in sugar-free candy include:

• stevia
• sucralose
• aspartame
• saccharin

The big issue with sugar-free candy comes down to sugar alcohols in those treats, which can have some negative effects depending on how much you eat.

What are sugar alcohols?

Despite the name, sugar alcohols are neither sugar nor alcohol. They are a special type of carbohydrate that has a similar chemical structure to sugar. It tastes sweet but has fewer calories.

Sugar alcohols are about 25% to 100% as sweet as sugar. But they’re lower in calories and don’t have the same negative effects as regular sugar, such as promoting tooth decay.

Most sugar alcohols are artificially made, although some are found naturally in fruits and vegetables. They are not fully digested by the body, which is why they are sweet but have minimal blood sugar impact. Plus, each serving contains fewer calories than sugar (2 per gram versus 4 per gram, for example).

Examples of sugar alcohols include maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, lactitol, glycerol, and erythritol. They almost always end in -ol on a nutrition label.

Eating sugar alcohols is safe in moderation. It’s recommended to have between 10 to 15 grams per day. However, eating too much can cause unpleasant side effects. They’re considered low-digestible carbs, meaning that when you eat them, your small intestine doesn’t completely absorb them. Instead, they travel to your large intestine, where bacteria ferment them.

Was this helpful?

In this older study, researchers gave study participants either sugar or one of two kinds of sugar alcohol (erythritol and xylitol).

Side effects included:

• diarrhea
• nausea and upset stomach
• bloating
• excess gas

The study participants who were given sugar experienced no such side effects.

Sugar alcohols are considered fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, or a type of FODMAP. These are food molecules that some people cannot digest easily, especially when eaten in large quantities.

Sugar alcohols can also cause a laxative effect, especially if you’re prone to stomach issues.

While they contain fewer calories than sugar, they’re not calorie-free. Eating any treat in excess can inhibit weight loss or cause weight gain.

Eating sugar-free candy made with artificial sweeteners can also cause side effects, including interrupting the gut microbiome that is important to your health.

A 2019 study and older research show that saccharin, sucralose, and Stevia change the composition of gut microbiota. In one study, people who had disrupted gut bacteria also showed worse blood sugar control 5 days after eating the artificial sweetener.

While it may not be the healthiest low snack, treating any low blood sugar with fast-acting sugar can be helpful.

Some candies that contain sugar are very fast-acting. However, some others (including those with chocolate or peanut butter) have higher fat content and are slower to digest and take longer to impact blood sugars, so they may not be appropriate to treat severe hypoglycemia quickly enough.

Another con of eating candy to treat low blood sugars is that it can react quickly and if you eat too much, it may cause higher blood sugars (rebound highs).

Make sure to consult your diabetes care team about any concerns or questions relating to candy and treating low blood sugars.

Nutritional guidance on candy and diabetes management

Many diabetes organizations offer helpful resources on candy nutrition, especially in the context of blood sugar and diabetes management.

Below are some of those resources about sugar counts of your favorite candies, to help make informed decisions on eating candy. While some of this information is promoted more frequently leading up to Halloween, it applies to candy that someone with diabetes may eat at any point of the year.

• American Diabetes Association: Navigating Halloween with a Child with Diabetes
• Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES): Can People with Diabetes Eat Chocolate?
• Beyond Type 1: Candy Carb Chart
• Children with Diabetes: Carb Counts for Common Candies
• JDRF: Quick Reference Guide – Halloween Candy Carbohydrate Amounts

Was this helpful?

Yes, children and adults with diabetes can and do eat candy. The key is moderation and making sure to track the number of carbohydrates and calories eaten. Sugar-free candies can be better for blood sugar levels, but they still contain carbs and calories. The sugar-alcohols in these treats can also cause upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea, and excess gas.

Candy can be used to treat hypoglycemia, but it may not always be appropriate for urgent low blood sugars requiring glucagon or emergency medical assistance.

Is Candy OK for People with Diabetes?

Eating candy can be a controversial topic for people with diabetes.

Misconceptions about sugar and candy being off-limits for people with diabetes can be found in the public mindset, in media and entertainment, and within the medical community itself.

With the Halloween season upon us, both kids and adults with diabetes as well as their loved ones and friends may face this issue even more often than at other times of the year.

This article will explore if people with diabetes can actually eat (and enjoy) candy, how much may be allowed, and whether sugar-free candy is worth considering.

Short answer: Yes, people with diabetes can eat candy.

Adults and children with diabetes (no matter the type) are just as entitled to a sweet treat occasionally as anyone else. Like everything else, details and context matter most, and moderation is key for anyone living with diabetes when it comes to food choices. High sugar foods and drinks can impact glucose levels more quickly and dramatically, so understanding how those influence your diabetes management is important.

Misconceptions about diabetes and eating candy

People with diabetes often face stereotypes and stigma related to what they can and cannot eat, including candies that contain sugar.

While eating habits and consuming sugar can play a part in the development of type 2 diabetes, it’s certainly not exclusively a cause. Type 2 is linked to genetics as well as lifestyle habits, and eating too much sugar occasionally is not a direct cause for someone developing this condition. As to type 1 diabetes, neither someone’s eating habits nor candy consumption is related to the development of this autoimmune condition.

Statements like “You can’t eat that!” or less judgemental (but still judgy) question-comments like “Should you be eating that?” often do more harm than good — especially for children and teenagers, who can feel stigmatized and different from their peers.

Language and attitudes about diabetes matter, and should be kept in mind when approaching the topic of sugar or candy for adults and children with diabetes.

Was this helpful?

People with diabetes must consider extra planning if they want to eat candy. They need to be cognizant about counting carbohydrates and dosing insulin correctly if they happen to use that hormone to help manage their condition.

It’s important to remember, too, that people with diabetes are typically watching the total carbohydrate count of food and drink, and not necessarily honing in on the sugar content.

While candy can make blood sugars rise more quickly, it’s that carb count that needs to be watched when consuming a piece of candy. The same applies to sugar-free candy, which also contains a certain amount of carbohydrates and that needs to be considered when factoring that food choice into your diabetes management.

Certain candies, such as those containing peanut butter or nuts, can take longer to impact blood sugars and won’t lead to as dramatic spikes immediately after eating them. However, other regular candies with sugar can cause quick spikes in blood sugar, and some medical professionals suggest eating a piece of candy closer to mealtime in order to “soften the blow” of a sudden spike in blood sugar.

Of course, you’ll still need to account for the calories and carbs contained within the candy.

While sugar-free candy certainly doesn’t get an award for being “healthy” per se, many people with diabetes (especially children) turn to it as an alternative to regular candy. The thought is that sugar-free candy may be healthier for blood sugar levels.

Sugar-free candy is made with artificial sweeteners, meaning that it can have a lighter impact on blood sugar levels.

However, a common misconception is that sugar-free candy does not impact blood sugar. It does, in fact, contain carbohydrates and calories. That means you still need to dose insulin or take glucose-lowering diabetes medications for those sugar-free candies.

If someone with non-insulin dependent diabetes is being mindful of their weight, eating sugar-free candy is not a free pass for sweets. These sugar-free options may sabotage weight loss efforts due to their high calorie content.

A non-diabetes-related benefit of sugar-free candy is that it’s kinder to teeth. Absent of the higher sugar contents, these sugar-free treats don’t lead to as much tooth decay or cavities often linked to frequent sugar consumption.

Additionally, there’s usually not a very big difference in terms of total fat or protein content in sugar-free versus regular candy.

Examples of artificial sweeteners used in sugar-free candy include:

• stevia
• sucralose
• aspartame
• saccharin

The big issue with sugar-free candy comes down to sugar alcohols in those treats, which can have some negative effects depending on how much you eat.

What are sugar alcohols?

Despite the name, sugar alcohols are neither sugar nor alcohol. They are a special type of carbohydrate that has a similar chemical structure to sugar. It tastes sweet but has fewer calories.

Sugar alcohols are about 25% to 100% as sweet as sugar. But they’re lower in calories and don’t have the same negative effects as regular sugar, such as promoting tooth decay.

Most sugar alcohols are artificially made, although some are found naturally in fruits and vegetables. They are not fully digested by the body, which is why they are sweet but have minimal blood sugar impact. Plus, each serving contains fewer calories than sugar (2 per gram versus 4 per gram, for example).

Examples of sugar alcohols include maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, lactitol, glycerol, and erythritol. They almost always end in -ol on a nutrition label.

Eating sugar alcohols is safe in moderation. It’s recommended to have between 10 to 15 grams per day. However, eating too much can cause unpleasant side effects. They’re considered low-digestible carbs, meaning that when you eat them, your small intestine doesn’t completely absorb them. Instead, they travel to your large intestine, where bacteria ferment them.

Was this helpful?

In this older study, researchers gave study participants either sugar or one of two kinds of sugar alcohol (erythritol and xylitol).

Side effects included:

• diarrhea
• nausea and upset stomach
• bloating
• excess gas

The study participants who were given sugar experienced no such side effects.

Sugar alcohols are considered fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, or a type of FODMAP. These are food molecules that some people cannot digest easily, especially when eaten in large quantities.

Sugar alcohols can also cause a laxative effect, especially if you’re prone to stomach issues.

While they contain fewer calories than sugar, they’re not calorie-free. Eating any treat in excess can inhibit weight loss or cause weight gain.

Eating sugar-free candy made with artificial sweeteners can also cause side effects, including interrupting the gut microbiome that is important to your health.

A 2019 study and older research show that saccharin, sucralose, and Stevia change the composition of gut microbiota. In one study, people who had disrupted gut bacteria also showed worse blood sugar control 5 days after eating the artificial sweetener.

While it may not be the healthiest low snack, treating any low blood sugar with fast-acting sugar can be helpful.

Some candies that contain sugar are very fast-acting. However, some others (including those with chocolate or peanut butter) have higher fat content and are slower to digest and take longer to impact blood sugars, so they may not be appropriate to treat severe hypoglycemia quickly enough.

Another con of eating candy to treat low blood sugars is that it can react quickly and if you eat too much, it may cause higher blood sugars (rebound highs).

Make sure to consult your diabetes care team about any concerns or questions relating to candy and treating low blood sugars.

Nutritional guidance on candy and diabetes management

Many diabetes organizations offer helpful resources on candy nutrition, especially in the context of blood sugar and diabetes management.

Below are some of those resources about sugar counts of your favorite candies, to help make informed decisions on eating candy. While some of this information is promoted more frequently leading up to Halloween, it applies to candy that someone with diabetes may eat at any point of the year.

• American Diabetes Association: Navigating Halloween with a Child with Diabetes
• Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES): Can People with Diabetes Eat Chocolate?
• Beyond Type 1: Candy Carb Chart
• Children with Diabetes: Carb Counts for Common Candies
• JDRF: Quick Reference Guide – Halloween Candy Carbohydrate Amounts

Was this helpful?

Yes, children and adults with diabetes can and do eat candy. The key is moderation and making sure to track the number of carbohydrates and calories eaten. Sugar-free candies can be better for blood sugar levels, but they still contain carbs and calories. The sugar-alcohols in these treats can also cause upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea, and excess gas.

Candy can be used to treat hypoglycemia, but it may not always be appropriate for urgent low blood sugars requiring glucagon or emergency medical assistance.

composition and benefits, how they differ from ordinary ones – JSC RAKHAT

CONTENTS

• 07 Benefits of sweets without sugar

Sweets, perhaps, the most common delicacy in the world. However, most of these sweets are high in sugar. Therefore, not everyone can afford it. But manufacturers are constantly coming up with something new to satisfy the demand of any buyer. If a person is healthy or suffers from diabetes, this is not a reason to deny yourself a little pleasure. An alternative is sugar-free sweets.

How sugar-free sweets differ from regular sweets

Sugar-free sweets practically do not differ from classic sweets in their texture and taste. The main difference is in their composition. Instead of sugar, sweeteners are added to the treat. It can be sorbitol, fructose, xylitol, isomalt. Since they do not contain sugar, which raises blood glucose levels, diabetics can use sweets.

However, since the sugar-free diet product contains carbohydrates, it has almost the same calorie content as regular candy. Therefore, include them in your diet in moderation.

Composition of sweets without sugar

The composition of sweets varies depending on the manufacturer, type of sweets. Sugar-free sweets are made mainly from:

• sweeteners – they are less caloric than sugar. However, before buying, it is better to study the composition, since not all sugar substitutes are the same;
• protein – the composition includes milk protein or whey isolate. These foods are rich in amino acids;
• fruits, berries, nuts – dried apples, plums, apricots, walnuts, hazelnuts are usually added. Therefore, sweetness is rich in vitamins and minerals, and sweets become sweeter in taste;
• cocoa – added to chocolates with or without fillings;
• non-fat milk or dairy products;
• flour;
• spices.

Modern production technologies are so advanced that they can preserve all the useful properties and make delicacies with different tastes. The dietary product without sugar does not contain flavors, dyes, chemical impurities.

Sweeteners used

Regarding sucrose, all sweeteners and sugar substitutes have varying degrees of sweetness. Substances that are close in sweetness to sucrose are called sweeteners, and those that are much sweeter than sucrose are called sweeteners. All of these substances are food additives. It is recommended to mix them to achieve the desired taste and reduce the unwanted effect.

Sugar-free sweets can be supplemented with:

• fructose — found in honey, fruits. This is the sweetest natural sugar, but less high-calorie. Fructose is quickly excreted from the body, so the blood sugar level does not increase much;
• sorbitol – it can be used by people with diabetes. Compared to white sugar, not so high in calories;
• Xylitol is as sweet and caloric as regular sugar. It has a low glycemic index, so it is safe for diabetics;
• isomalt (isomaltite) is a low-calorie sugar substitute. It has no effect on insulin levels. It can be consumed while dieting.

Benefits of Sugar Free Candy

There are many reasons why you should buy sugar free candy.

• Sugar-free sweetness helps you maintain your figure without giving up on deliciousness. Excessive consumption of sugar can lead to excess weight, which can lead to health problems (high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease). The absence of sugar helps to regulate metabolism, and cravings for empty calories disappear.
• Energizing – rich in nutrients.
• Does not damage teeth – sugar destroys enamel and promotes gum disease. Eating less sugar reduces the risk of developing dental problems.
• Keeps Skin Healthy – Sugar raises insulin levels in the body, which can lead to skin blemishes. Sweets also increase sebum production, which causes clogged pores and acne.

And these are just some of the facts about sugar-free sweets.

The company “Rakhat” tries to please both children and adults with delicious and high-quality sweets. Do not deprive yourself of small joys – try our sugar-free sweets.

SEE ALSO:

• Fondant sweets: composition, calories and types
• How to choose the right chocolates

Sugar-free confectionery: more calories and carbohydrates than stated!

Details

No. 10 (293) November 15 – December 14, 2015

2015

Since 1991, at the initiative of the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization, November 14 is celebrated in many countries around the world as World Diabetes Day, a dangerous disease that annually claims more than 66,000 lives in Russia alone.

One of the conditions for the prevention and treatment of diabetes in patients is a special diet, which limits the intake of fats and carbohydrates, reduces the calorie content of food.

Today, many Russian manufacturers, taking into account the market demand for such food products, produce sugar-free confectionery products using sweeteners such as fructose, stevia, sorbitol. At the same time, manufacturers, observing the law, do not state on the packaging that their products are indicated for diabetics. However, some stores in pursuit of profit often present these functional foods as recommended for diabetics, placing inaccurate information such as “for diabetics” or “for diabetic nutrition” on separate shelves of the confectionery departments. This is a direct misleading of consumers, which should be stopped by Rospotrebnadzor.

To find out how much you can trust the advertising promises of manufacturers and sellers of “sugar-free” confectionery, the St. Petersburg public consumer organization “Public Control” decided to conduct an independent examination. To do this, ten samples of sugar-free confectionery products from various manufacturers were purchased from the city’s stores – Lenta, Prizma and SPAR – and sent for an objective assessment to the Test-St. Petersburg Federal Budgetary Institution for compliance with the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union 022/2011 “Food products in terms of their labeling”.

Chocolate or confectionery glaze?

According to the results of the study, exactly half of the tested samples were found to be non-compliant with the requirements of this regulatory document.

Of the five samples that did not comply with the Technical Regulations, two can be singled out, since they misled consumers with their labeling. The first is a sample of the Moray eel in chocolate candy under the Fruktozov trademark (manufacturer – OOO KF Pokrovsk, Saratov Region). The information on the front side of the package that the sweets were “in chocolate” did not match the label on the back of the package, where “confectionery glaze” was indicated instead of “chocolate” in the composition.

The Neva confectionery factory (Leningrad region) also used unscrupulous labeling. On the front side of the packaging of DiYes vanilla marshmallows, it was written in large letters that it was “in chocolate icing”, and on the label on the back of the package, in small print, “in a confectionery”.

The remaining three samples also did not comply with the Technical Regulations for marking. So, on the packaging of halva “Tsar” (LLC “Azov Confectionery Factory” (Azov) there was no date of packaging, and the date of manufacture is difficult to read, since it is printed on the text, which is also small.

On dryers on sorbitol “Zdorovka” (OOO “Lakomka SPb”, St. Petersburg) there was no warning label “Contains a sweetener. May have a laxative effect if taken in excess. And on the packaging of “Curd Cookies without Sugar from Amaranth Flour” (OOO “PF “Avangard”, St. Petersburg) the word “net” is not indicated when indicating the mass of the product, the word “sweetener” is misspelled.

The results of laboratory studies showed that the actual nutritional and energy values ​​of all ten samples of confectionery products based on sweeteners differed from the data placed on the label. On average, the actual content of kilocalories in the studied samples was exceeded from 20 to 80 kcal. The exceptions are cookies on fructose Posidelkino (Leningrad region) and sweets on fructose Dobry Svet (Voronezh), in which the actual content of kilocalories turned out to be slightly less than indicated on the package. However, these discrepancies, as explained in FBU “Test-S.-Petersburg”, could not become the basis for recognizing products as low-quality – in accordance with the requirements of the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union 022/2011, average (reference) values ​​​​of energy value are taken out on the packaging without specifying tolerances .

The given results are dry figures of test reports. However, in order to understand them and understand which products can be used for a healthy diet, and which ones can even harm, Public Control turned to reputable specialists.

Don’t believe the ads!

“Unfortunately, people who are overweight or obese often buy products with sweeteners in order to correct their weight,” says Khavra Astamirova, head of the St. Petersburg Organizational and Methodological Center for Diabetology. – In fact, such products do such customers a disservice, since the calorie content of sorbitol, xylitol, fructose is the same as that of sugar. As a result, people pay more money for products that do not contribute to weight loss. And they can even do harm, because a person, believing that they are “medicinal”, can eat them in larger quantities.

Carbohydrate deviations are especially dangerous for people receiving insulin. A person calculates insulin according to the indicators on the label, and if the carbohydrates in the product are less than stated, this can lead to a decrease in sugar and a hypoglycemic coma. And if there are more carbohydrates than indicated on the label (the excess of 10 g per 100 g of product is critical), then this leads to an increase in blood sugar and subsequent complications of diabetes. In my opinion, products such as “Amaranth Flour Sugar-Free Curd Cookies” produced by Avangard PF LLC, which contain 23. 7 g more carbohydrates than indicated on the label, are not useful, but dangerous. Such a deviation will raise sugar by 4-5 mmol / l above the norm. The actual energy value of this cookie is 85 kcal higher than what is indicated on the label, an excess of 21%.

Increasing calorie intake poses additional risks for overweight people with type 2 diabetes, whose treatment is primarily weight loss. Such products interfere with treatment, while their cost is always higher than conventional analogues. Examination revealed a significant excess of calorie values ​​in products: amaranth pads “Di and Di” with stevia (LLC “D and Di Corporation”), oatmeal cookies “Balance of longevity” (LLC “TD” Petrodiet “), marshmallows on fructose (LLC” KF “Neva”), drying on sorbitol “Zdorovka” (OOO “Lakomka SPb”), waffle cake on sorbitol (LLC “Veresk”), sweets “Murena in chocolate” TM “Fruktozov”, sugar-free curd cookies from amaranth flour ( LLC PF Avangard), sunflower halva on fructose Tsarskaya (LLC Azov Confectionery Factory). Therefore, for people who seek to eat a balanced diet and normalize their weight, endocrinologists cannot recommend such products.

Consumers are misled

The Russian Diabetes Association (RDA) provided its opinion on the results of the examination to the Public Control.

As RDA President, diabetologist Mikhail Bogomolov noted, labels of products that were subjected to examination “contain insufficient information, even though the labeling complies with the requirements of the Technical Regulations. These products require a warning label such as “not intended for consumption by diabetic or obese persons” on the label. The RDA also believes that “the labeling “on sorbitol”, “on fructose” without indicating their relative content misleads consumers with diabetes and obesity.

According to the RDA, five out of ten samples submitted for testing turned out to be high-carbohydrate: drying on sorbitol “Zdorovka” (73%), oatmeal cookies “Balance of longevity” with stevia (67. 8%), oatmeal cookies with cranberries on fructose TM “Posidelkino » 68.9%), marshmallows on fructose TM DiYes (76.6%), sugar-free cottage cheese cookies made from amaranth flour (OOO PF Avangard, 71.7%), and sweets TM Fruktozov with fructose fell into the category of “record holders” – they turned out to be super-high-carbohydrate (81.4%).

High-calorie RDA includes products that contain more than 450 kcal per 100 g. According to the association, super-calorie products from among those tested include: curd biscuits made from amaranth flour (OOO PF Avangard, 462 kcal), amaranth pads D&D “(515 kcal), sweets with waffles on fructose “Good advice” (523 kcal), oatmeal cookies with cranberries on fructose “Posidelkino” (453 kcal), waffle cake on sorbitol “Heather” (580 kcal), sunflower halva on fructose “Royal” (565 kcal).

Also, the Russian Diabetes Association concluded that five samples did not meet the requirements of Technical Regulation

– Natural sweeteners – xylitol, sorbitol, fructose, maltose and others – contain as many calories as regular sugar, so products based on them cannot be recommended for obese and overweight people, – says Mikhail Bogomolov. – These products are for healthy people who want to stay healthy. These products can also be used by patients with diabetes mellitus, obesity, atherosclerosis, but in quantities not exceeding those recommended.

Read the label carefully!

On July 1, 2013, the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union (TR CU) 027/2012 “On the safety of certain types of specialized food products, including dietary therapeutic and dietary preventive nutrition” came into force, which has a new definition – “food products for diabetic nutrition”. These are products in which the content of easily digestible carbohydrates (monosaccharides – glucose, fructose, galactose, and disaccharides – sucrose, lactose) is absent or reduced in relation to their content in similar food products and (or) the carbohydrate composition is changed.

Thus, people who make up a balanced diet for themselves with a preventive or therapeutic purpose should purchase products on the packaging of which TR CU 027/2012 is indicated, and it is also clearly written that these are “food products for diabetic nutrition”. Manufacturers of such products are required to submit their products for testing at the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, and then, based on its conclusion, obtain an appropriate permit for the release of such products from Rospotrebnadzor.

P . S . The results of the examination of confectionery products based on sweeteners were sent to the Office of Rospotrebnadzor for St. Petersburg for an unscheduled inspection of manufacturers and trade enterprises in order to take measures to stop misleading consumers.

Expert’s word

Larisa Shapovalova, Head of the Department for Quality Control of Products and Services at the request of consumers, St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Center for Quality Control of Goods (Products), Works and Services”:

– The same requirements are imposed on confectionery products based on sweeteners as on products made using sugar – certain periods and storage conditions must be observed (depending on the type of sweetener).