If you are on a ketogenic diet cutting back on high-carb such as starches, desserts and processed snacks is essential. This is important for your body to reach a metabolic state called ketosis, which makes your body break down fat stores instead of carbohydrates to produce enough energy. For you to reach this point you also need to cut back on sugar consumption, and this can make it challenging to sweeten beverages, baked goods, sauces, and dressings. While raw honey can provide you with a number of health benefits, most of the honey you will find today is artificially flavoured and processed. Processed honey is very different from raw honey because of the filtering it goes through that strips it clean from most of its natural health benefits. While honey is generally acceptable by a lot of low carb diets, it contains too many carbohydrates to be considered a keto-friendly food. One tablespoon of honey contains 17 grams of carbs, which is almost half of the daily allotted amount. The good news is that there are a lot of low-carb sweeteners that you can enjoy apart from honey. Below are some of the best honey substitutes in keto.
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Stevia
Stevia, a natural sweetener derived from the Stevia rebaudiana plant is a great substitute for honey in keto. It is considered a non-nutritive sweetener, which means that it has no calories or carbohydrates. Unlike other regular sugar, animal and human studies have revealed that stevia may help with lowering blood sugar levels. You can find stevia in both liquid and powdered form and you can use it to sweeten everything from drinks to desserts. It is much sweeter than regular sugar, so you will find that you may not need to use a lot of stevia to achieve the same flavour. For each cup of honey, you can replace only 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of powdered stevia. Stevia is believed to help in reducing cholesterol and maintain a healthy weight. Take note that there are several types of stevia to choose from. While there are multiple keto-friendly options to choose from, make sure that the stevia you choose is organic and free from GMOs.
Allulose
Another great substitute for honey in keto is Allulose. This is is another natural sweetener that is quite difficult to find in food. In fact, the only food that contains this low-calorie sugar alternative includes wheat, figs,, and raisins. This is a single sugar, that is also known as a monosaccharide. It has the ability to resist fermentation in the gut and helps in reducing issues such as bloating, cramping or gas. In addition to it’s positive effect on the digestive tract, allulose also has a glycemic index of zero, which helps in controlling blood sugar or insulin levels and this makes it the ideal sugar replacement for people struggling with diabetes or weight loss. Allulose is believed to be one tenth of the calories of your traditional table sugar, making it a great substitute for honey on a low carb or ketogenic diet.
Monk Fruit
Also a great substitute for honey in keto is monk fruit. Monk fruit is one of the best natural sweeteners you can find today. Its compounds make it up to 400 times as sweet as traditional cane sugar without any negative effects on a person’s blood sugar. This natural sweetener contains mogrosides. These are antioxidants that are responsible for giving monk fruit its sweet taste. Mogrosides are actually digested much differently by the body in comparison to other natural sugars, which is what causes any increase you typically see in blood sugar or insulin response. The antioxidants found in monk fruit are also key players in fighting off free radical damage and oxidative stress. Monk fruit is believed to also help people struggling with diabetes and obesity because of its extremely low glycemic index (GI). The low GI helps in reducing blood sugar or insulin, as such monk fruit is ideal for people with diabetes. Monk fruit also helps fight fatigue and works as a natural antihistamine.
Erythritol
Also on our list of best substitutes for honey in keto is erythritol. Erythritol is a low carb honey substitute that is considered a sugar alcohol. Erythritol is often times found in sugar-free foods and a lot of sweets. A lot of people may choose erythritol because it adds a sweet taste without the carbohydrates or calories. This ingredient has been widely used in Japan since the 1990’s in their candies and chocolates. Erythritol is also very popular among people that follows low carb or ketogenic diets due to its low carb count. One gram of this natural sugar alcohol is less than one half of a gram of total calories. Raw honey itself may be beneficial to your health especially as a replacement of sugar, but it is high in carbohydrates. As such erythritol can make a great substitute for honey.
Xylitol
Xylitol is a type of sugar alcohol that is commonly found in products such as sugar-free gum, candies, and mints. It also makes a good substitute for honey in keto. It is a sweet sugar that contains just 3 calories per gram and 4 grams of carbohydrates per teaspoon (4 grams). Just like other sugar alcohols, the carbohydrates in xylitol do not count as net carbs because they do not raise blood sugar or insulin levels to the extent that sugar does. You can also add xylitol to tea, coffee, shakes or smoothies for a low-carb kick of flavour. Xylitol also works well in baked goods but it will require a bit of extra liquid in your recipe, because it tends to absorb moisture and increase dryness. Since xylitol is as sweet as regular sugar, you can use it in place of honey at a 1:1 ratio. It is important to note that xylitol has been associated with digestive problems when used in high doses, so consider scaling back your intake if you notice any adverse effects.