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Can Eating Sugar Replacements Cause Your Liver To Release More Sugar Than Usual?

A DiabetesTeam Member asked a question 💭
Saskatchewan

Could something like Xylitol or erythritol (which basically doesn't raise blood sugar) give your liver "more fuel" and cause your fasting levels to be higher?
Yesterday I had a few "sugar free chocolates" and "sugar free ice cream" and noticed today my blood sugars have been (on average) 1.5mmol/L (18-22) higher than normal. Is it related?

April 18, 2022
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A DiabetesTeam Member

NO

The low or zero GI sweeteners whether natural (like the sugar alcohols which are essentially just a "sweet fiber" - Fructo-Oligosaccharides (FOS) if you want to google and read - so all the "tols" - Erythritol, sorbitol et al - or the synthetics like saccharin or aspartame et al do not contain any "glucose" so nothing for the Liver to (scavenge).

The liver store "glucagon" which can be thought of exactly like "glucose" that we get from food but it can synthesize it from glucose OR protein (if not enough glucose is available - which is why eating a bit of protein later in the evening can prevent an overnight low - stays as protein and turned into muscle or body heat if you don't need it, converted to sugar if you do).

While it is natural to try and equate what you ate yesterday with your levels this morning they really are not related unless you are producing "zero insulin".

If you want some insight sometime test your blood sugar just before bed and compare it to your fasting number. I did every day for a month and there is no rhyme or reason to it - most of my lowest fasting numbers followed my highest before bed numbers - blood sugar just doesn't stay in your system for longer than 4 hours after eating unless you are severely insulin deficient and not taking insulin.

When I was doing a (thing) for Abbot (Freestyle) I really horsed around since a CGM takes a reading every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day.

I wolfed down a ton of carbs before going (about 12:30) to bed to see "how long it lasts" - I ended up with "wicked low blood sugar" about 4 hours after pushing my blood sugar up to 8.9 - the chart is below.

My Liver pumped out about 2 full mmols worth of sugar to "save me".

I started at 5.9, ate, went up to 8.9 then straight line down to 2.9 before system recovered and rose to 4.9 when I woke up - even that 8.9 at 1:30 AM had "zero" to do with my FBS.

April 18, 2022 (edited)
A DiabetesTeam Member

Ah okay, good to know! I won't blame the ice cream then :D I'll drink more water today and hope for the best! Thank you

April 19, 2022
A DiabetesTeam Member

Don't know the answer to that but recently I've been using 2test equipment s... One is 10 to 20 pt different..which would make a difference as to how much insulin I would use..on a sliding scale ???

April 18, 2022

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