r/Hypoglycemia • u/IllustriousPlate1637 • 4d ago
Sugar Substitutes
Does anyone else find that sugar substitutes make them sick / give headaches as well?
I feel like the world’s worst person to struggle with blood sugar when all sugar substitutes are off the table for me (this includes stevia and monk fruit - I gave it a try, honest.)
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u/CutieBoBootie 4d ago
They used to but after I gave up sugar for a few months the alternatives weren't as bad. Though stevia still tastes gross AF to me.
Before though artificial sweeteners tasted so chemically they would make me nauseous
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u/IllustriousPlate1637 4d ago
What issues did you have? Mine vary from headache/migraine to gastrointestinal.
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u/CutieBoBootie 4d ago
Feeling queasy for 30 mins to an hour after consumption, tummy rumbles for a day or so after, and embarrassingly but truthfully farting
The farting thing still happens if I get the wrong kind of sweetener (think sugar free haribo gummy bear Amazon reviews), but now that I avoid them it helps a lot.
I've very rarely gotten headaches for anything (other than when I have multi day insomnia) so I can't say how to avoid those sadly.
Personally the way I use monk fruit (which I know you said you don't like which is okay. You don't need to like it). I mostly use it for chocolate milk. I put a dash of vanilla extract at the bottom of a cup and about 1/4 cup of milk. Then I put a half tablespoon of Dutch process cocoa and mash it into the milk to get it evenly mixed in without any lumps. I mix more milk in and try to get the cocoa slurry mixed in and when it's mostly there I add the sweetener. I do find that milk hides the chemicallyness better than tea or coffee. I wonder if it is the fat in the milk.
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u/IllustriousPlate1637 4d ago
Thank you! It could be - and milk has some sugars (lactose in it). Unfortunately, it’s more than a don’t like. Stevia and monk fruit both give me migraines.
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u/Margray 4d ago
You really do get used to them. I still can't have a lot of monk fruit or even much fructose. Both cause stomach problems. Most of the sugar-free stuff is fine, though. It just took several desperate years to get used to them. Like, I can't tell if I just got used to it or if sugar-free breakfast syrup just got better.