Is Allulose Safe on a Keto Diet?
Many of you following a ketogenic diet may wonder if you can eat allulose-based sweets while staying in ketosis.
This guide will help you understand what allulose is, how allulose is made, why allulose is better than sugar alcohols, and how you can remain true to your keto diet while enjoying your favorite desserts.
Allulose is a natural sweetener derived from figs and dates.
It is natural because it is naturally found in fruits, unlike artificial sweeteners like sucralose which are produced from sucrose. Allulose almost has the same chemical structure as fructose.
Moreover, allulose is VERY low in carbs and VERY low in calories. Indeed, each gram of allulose provides only between 0.2 and 0.4 calories.
If this scientific phrasing doesn't make sense to you, keep with us.
Also, allulose is a natural sweetener that doesn’t raise blood sugar or insulin levels (which makes it perfect if you’re on a ketogenic diet or if you have diabetes).
In a 2018 study, the Department of Nutritional Sciences of the University of Toronto wanted to assess the effect of allulose and fructose on blood glucose regulation in type 2 diabetes.
Each one of the 24 participants with diabetes was randomly assigned allulose or fructose treatments at 0g, 5g and 10g.
Researchers found out that small doses of allulose « showed significant reductions in plasma glucose » in individuals with type 2 diabetes, compared to fructose.
It turns out that allulose notably reduced blood glucose by 8% at 10g, whereas there was no effect of fructose at any dose.
Unlike many other sweeteners alternatives, allulose does not cause intestinal gas nor stimulate bloating (your friends will thank you for this, I can guarantee you).
Moreover, allulose is also known to reduce inflammation and should promote fat-loss when used instead of table sugar.
Now you wonder how such a product is made? I mean, there’s got to be some crazy magic involved, to create such a low-calorie natural sweetener with so many benefits.
Even though allulose is found in some fruits, it’s present in tiny amounts. In order to produce larger quantities, manufacturers found a way to produce allulose out of corn fructose, using enzymes.
So nowadays allulose is mainly produced from fermented corn. Nothing else. As simple as that.
Is Allulose Better Than Sugar Alcohols?
Before knowing about allulose, you may have heard about sugar alcohols, right?
We all know that sugar causes inflammation and leads to dramatic diseases such as obesity, heart diseases or diabetes.
In reality, sugar alcohols can cause as much inflammation as table sugar to your body!
Well, sometimes, sugar alcohols are not recognized by your body so they remain in your digestive tract, which eventually leads to inflammation.
On the contrary, around 80% of the allulose you eat is absorbed into your blood from your digestive tract, so allulose does not remain in your digestive track and doesn’t cause irritation!
Moreover, although sugar alcohols provide fewer calories than table sugar (they range in calories between 0 and 3 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram of table sugar), they provide much more calories per gram than allulose.
As stated before, allulose provide between 0.2 and 0.4 calories per gram.
Thus, allulose provides 85% FEWER calories than sugar alcohols, which makes allulose a better sugar-alternative than sugar alcohols! Especially if you’re on a diet!
YES! It is possible to eat sweets and desserts while on a ketogenic diet!
A ketogenic diet is a very low-carb diet which can help you burn fat more effectively, instead of glucose, to provide energy for your body.
By eating more fats (70% of daily intake) and keeping carbs to a minimum (5% of daily intake), many people have experienced its benefits for weight loss, performance and overall health.
If you ALWAYS have sugar cravings like I do (don’t tempt me with a delicious & crispy chocolate fudge creamy on the inside..), you may find it difficult to stay in ketosis while on a ketogenic diet.
And you are right: 99.999% of the market’s sweets & desserts are crazy HIGH in carbs and table sugar, which creates blood sugar spikes and buzzes you off ketosis, without any doubt.
However, allulose can help you solve this issue. Because allulose is not perceived as a carb by your body, your blood sugar levels stay the same when you eat allulose-based products.
No blood sugar spikes, no insulin spikes: you remain in ketosis!
So YES, allulose is keto!
On top of that, allulose has the same taste and texture as sugar! You’ll not even notice the difference!