WTF?
I was cruising along on keto and feeling great in the absence of glucose spikes and drops. I did this diet on purpose- to even out my mood and energy. Then out of nowhere- a spate of days where I crashed in the afternoon after lunch, just like the pre-keto days with glucose spikes and drops. WTF?!
Turns out the culprit was my keto baked goods- my happy brownies and PB cookies that I had been making with “monkfruit” sweetener, which was actually mostly erythritol. Only a handful of carbs and minimal sugar per brownie or cookie, definitely not enough to knock me out of ketosis, but I was having a major energy and mood drop from eating one with my lunch.
Energy Dip Chemistry
Come to find out that there’s an insulin response to the sweet taste on your tongue, even if there’s no actual sugar hitting your bloodstream. The insulin surge without any sugar to process can cause nervous system and mood dysregulation.
Wow. The human body is complex and fascinating.
As a result, I’m eliminating all erythritol from now on, and I’ll test other low carb sweeteners.
Alternative Low Carb Keto Sweeteners
What other low carb sweeteners?
- Stevia liquid extract- I’ve already used this in avocado mousse and chia pudding and I haven’t had the side effects that I’ve experienced with erythritol
- Pure monkfruit powder- expensive, but purported to be an excellent sugar substitute for baking
- Yacon syrup- I’ve used this on keto pancakes before and I do fine with it. Not as sweet as maple or honey, but satisfying to me. This is also relatively expensive.
- Allulose- I’ve yet to try this, but it’s another low carb sweetener that supposedly doesn’t have the unwanted side effects of erythritol and can be used for baking or for pancakes. (I’ve got a good almond flour keto pancakes recipe). Probably the lowest cost option on this bullet list.
One of the reasons I used the monkfruit/ erythritol powder was price- it’s way cheaper than these others. It also translates well in baking recipes as a replacement for sugar. Some people don’t have issues with it at all. Others have digestive issues and the insulin response I’ve mentioned.
There are also some potential long term health risks that are still being studied with no conclusive findings, from what I’ve read.
Keto Baked Goods are Still Possible
It’s been a joy to be able to eat baked goods on keto in addition to fat bombs, avocado mousse, and chia pudding. I will continue to experiment with baked goods and alternative sweeteners until I hit the sweet spot of taste and texture that make me happy and minimal sugar/ carbs ingested.
I will share my findings.
Let me know in the comments if you have good keto recipes for baked goods and which sweeteners have worked best for you.