1. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agrees that rare sugar is a healthy alternative?
Aspartame and sucralose are widely used sweeteners in the food industry. These sugar substitutes are up to 600 times sweeter than regular table sugar. Safety consumption of these artificial sugars has a long history of controversy due to the chemical composition and instability to withstand heat. Toxic substances may release under high heat which may cause harm to the body.
Alternatively, allulose is derived from natural plant sources and has a close to the identical chemical structure of fructose and glucose. It is also classified as a “rare sugar” that exists in very small amounts in nature. The U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) granted a GRAS status (Generally Recognized As Safe) for allulose as a safe to consume sugar substitute in 2012.
2. Allulose may stabilize post-meal blood glucose of type 2 diabetes?
Clinical Study 1: “The effect of small doses of fructose and allulose on postprandial glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes” in 2018 by the University of Toronto (Canada)
Method: Participants with type 2 diabetes ingested a 75g glucose solution added with 10g allulose followed with blood samples at 30/60/90/120 minutes to monitor the plasma glucose incremental.
Result: Allulose may stabilize type 2 diabetes post-meal blood glucose
Noronha JC, Braunstein CR, Glenn AJ, et al. (2018). The effect of small doses of fructose and allulose on postprandial glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes: a double-blind, randomized, controlled, acute feeding, equivalence trial. Diabetes Obes Metab. 20(10):2361-2370.
Clinical Study 2: “Comparison of glycemic responses elicited by 25g glucose, 25g allulose” in 2014 by the Glycemia Consulting Inc. (Canada)
Method: 10 healthy individuals overnight fasted 12-14 hours and ingested 25g glucose or 25g allulose with blood samples taken 2 hours after to check the blood glucose levels
Result: Ingestion of allulose did not cause a blood sugar spike, the glycemic index remained at baseline
Kendall C, Wolever T, Jenkins A et al. (2014). Comparison of glycemic responses elicited by 25g glucose, 25g allulose. Glycemia Consulting Inc. Toronto.
Mindy Hermann (Senior RDN), the spokesperson of the American Diabetes Association published an article in 2019 on “Sweeteners with functional benefits”, assured allulose is a sweetener suitable for diabetics. A perfect and easy solution to combat blood sugar spikes.
Hermann, M. (2019). Sweeteners with functional benefits. Today’s Dietitian, 21(1):32.
3. Allulose is suitable for a keto low-carb diet?
Provides almost ZERO calories! Only a minimal amount of the allulose carbs can be metabolized by the body which makes it a keto-friendly sugar substitute.
Learn More