When you’re trying to adjust a recipe so you can make it more diabetes-friendly, you may be stumped about which ingredient swaps are the healthiest. This may be the case if you’re aiming to reduce the number of sugary drinks you consume or if you want to bake with lower-calorie ingredients.

“I have begun to bake a lot more to control the desserts I eat,” one DiabetesTeam member said. “But the only Splenda Brown Sugar I have found is small and expensive. Is it OK to use regular brown sugar, or do others use monk fruit brown sugar, white sugar, etc.?”

Read on to discover how Splenda Brown Sugar stacks up against other sweeteners and which options people with type 2 diabetes may prefer.

What Is Splenda Brown Sugar?

Splenda Brown Sugar Blend combines sucralose (a zero-calorie artificial sweetener) with real brown sugar. Plain sucralose is sold under the brand name Splenda. The Brown Sugar Blend product has half of the calorie and sugar content of traditional brown sugar, but it still provides sweetness to baked goods and other products.

Traditional brown sugar isn’t plain natural sugar. Rather, it’s a mix of granulated sugar (table sugar) and molasses. The addition of molasses makes it brown, gives it a distinctive flavor, and adds moisture.

One important fact to keep in mind is that Splenda and many other sugar alternatives are significantly sweeter than traditional sugar. For that reason, you can typically use much less of these artificial sweeteners in your recipes. But lowering the quantity of sweetener in a recipe could affect how it comes out. This may not be the case if you’re simply stirring sweetener into your morning tea, but it could affect items you bake in the oven.

For instance, sugar helps baked goods turn brown, and many people use browning as an indicator that food is ready to come out of the oven. Sugar also adds crunchiness to baked goods like cookies. Keep factors like these in mind if you’re reducing sugar or using alternative sweeteners while making recipe substitutions for diabetes.

How Do the Nutrients Stack Up?

Even though Splenda Brown Sugar Blend contains half the calories and sugar of brown sugar, it’s not calorie-free or sugar-free. It also contains some carbohydrates. This is important to keep in mind if you’re trying to manage your blood sugar levels.

One teaspoon of Splenda Brown Sugar Blend contains 15 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrates. A teaspoon of traditional brown sugar, on the other hand, contains 17.34 calories and 4.48 grams of carbs. While this difference may not seem dramatic, keep in mind that some recipes require much more than a teaspoon of brown sugar.

For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of brown sugar, that’s the equivalent of 48 teaspoons or 215 grams of carbs (48 times 4.48). A cup of Splenda Brown Sugar Blend contains 192 grams of carbs (48 times 4). That is 0.48 fewer grams of carbs per teaspoon compared to traditional brown sugar. This means that 1 cup of the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend product would cut more than 23 grams of carbs from the recipe (48 times 0.48).

If you’re living with type 2 diabetes, your doctor may have recommended counting how many carbs you eat each day. The specific carb count that’s right for you is based on several factors, including your size, your activity levels, whether you’re on medication for diabetes, and how much medication you take. Keep your target carb count in mind when deciding whether a sugar alternative is the right choice for you.

Are Artificial Sweeteners Preferred?

Some people with diabetes reach for sugar alternatives because regular sugar causes their blood glucose levels to spike. Several popular options besides sucralose include:

• Aspartame
• Monk fruit
• Saccharin
• Stevia
• Xylitol
• Sorbitol
• Allulose
• Tagatose

Most zero-calorie sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit, and allulose don’t raise your blood sugar at all. But some sweeteners, like sugar alcohols (for example, xylitol and sorbitol), can have a small effect — especially if you eat a lot of them. And since Splenda Brown Sugar Blend mixes a sugar substitute with real brown sugar, it’s still likely to raise your blood sugar to some extent.

Some people have a lot of success with sugar substitutes or lower-sugar blends. They may find that cutting carbs and calories this way leads to better weight management and blood sugar control. Others point to research suggesting that sugar substitutes may be linked to health risks, including weight gain. Some studies have looked at sweeteners like sucralose to see if they affect the chances of getting diabetes. So far, there's no clear proof that they cause diabetes if used in small amounts.

More research is needed to definitively say whether alternative sweeteners are the right choice for people with type 2 diabetes. Your best bet is to consume sugar substitutes in moderation and to cut how much traditional sugar you consume.

But be mindful of how sugar substitutes might influence your taste preferences. Because these sweeteners are often much sweeter than regular sugar, they may train your taste buds to expect intense sweetness. This can make it harder to enjoy less sweet options — like plain water or unsweetened foods — and may affect your overall food and drink choices.

Several DiabetesTeam members have shared how they add sweetness to their meals. Others with diabetes have discussed how they make their morning coffee without consuming too many alternative sweeteners:

• “My personal experience has been using a combination of stevia and dark raw honey. I am also going to be looking into coconut sugar.”
• “I continue to use sugar, but sparingly when I use it.”
• “I use Splenda and stevia for my homemade iced tea or lemonade.”
• “I still use sugar, but I cut the quantity in half. If a recipe calls for a cup of sugar, I use half a cup.”
• “I love monk fruit sweeteners, and so does my husband.”
• “I like the flavor of xylitol the best!”
• “I use good honey and a dash of cinnamon in my coffee every morning.”
• “I love stevia and heavy cream in my coffee. It’s sweeter, and there’s no bitterness.”

You may need to experiment with using different sugar alternatives depending on what you’re making. “I use Splenda for baking but monk fruit in my hot tea,” one DiabetesTeam member said. “And then I use table sugar in my coffee since I only add half a teaspoon or so.”

Speak With Your Doctor

Talk to your doctor about which sweeteners may be the best choice for you. Your healthcare provider can refer you to a registered dietitian who can help you develop a healthy eating plan. They’ll also be able to answer your questions about which specific ingredients are best for glucose control if you’re living with type 2 diabetes.

Talk With Others Who Understand

DiabetesTeam is the social network for people with diabetes and their loved ones. On DiabetesTeam, members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with diabetes.

Have you switched from brown sugar to a sugar alternative to satisfy your sweet tooth? How did it impact your blood sugar levels? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.