By: Melissa Joy Dobbins, MS, RDN, CDE —

There’s no debating it: Diabetes is a serious and growing national health concern. Nearly 30 million people (9.3% of the U.S. population) have diabetes, and 86 million (more than 1 out of 3 adults) have prediabetes.

I’ve been a certified diabetes educator for nearly 20 years and a registered dietitian for 24 years. Helping people with diabetes live healthier, happier, and fuller lives has been the most rewarding part of my career. Healthcare professionals can truly make a difference in the lives of people with diabetes by empowering them to explore various strategies and tools, and help them discover their own unique path to achieving their diabetes self-management goals.

The primary focus of diabetes management is blood glucose control. Aiming for specific, individualized blood glucose levels through eating habits, activity, stress management and sometimes medication(s), is key. Keeping carbohydrate intake consistent, and within a certain range, at meals and snacks is an important factor in maintaining blood glucose control.

Low-calorie sweeteners, sometimes known as non-nutritive sweeteners, are useful tools in managing carbohydrate intake and therefore, in managing blood glucose levels. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Position Paper “Use of Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners” discusses the safety, function and regulatory status of sweeteners. The American Diabetes Association states that “choosing NNS [nonnutritive sweeteners] instead of nutritive sweeteners is one method to assist with moderating carbohydrate intake.” Now, there is a new tool in the low-calorie sweetener toolbox: allulose.

As a health care professional, here’s what you need to know about this new sweetener for people with diabetes:

• What is allulose? Allulose is a monosaccharide that is absorbed by the body, but not metabolized and has no impact on blood sugar. It is a low-calorie sweetener that tastes just like sucrose and also has the texture, taste and performance (structure/function) of a full calorie sugar. Food and beverage manufacturers have found that, like conventional sugar, allulose browns when baking, provides the same texture and mouthfeel sweetener properties, and exhibits bulking properties. Due to its positive technical attributes, allulose is particularly useful when combining sweeteners.
• Where does it come from? Allulose, which exists in nature in very small quantities (hence the term “rare sugar”), was initially identified from wheat and has since been found in certain fruits including jackfruit, figs and raisins. Allulose is also naturally present in small quantities in a variety of sweet foods like caramel sauce, maple syrup and brown sugar.
• How does it affect blood sugars? Research shows that allulose has no impact on blood glucose.
• Is allulose safe? Allulose has received ‘Generally Recognized as Safe’ (GRAS) status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Given its GRAS status, taste and functionality, manufacturers are looking to allulose as they consider reformulating to reduce sugar.
• How well is it tolerated? Researchers found allulose to be well tolerated without causing any gastrointestinal symptoms.
• Where can you find it? Allulose is becoming more available online as a table top sweetener, and is becoming more common as an ingredient in foods and beverages on store shelves.

As a dietitian and diabetes educator, I am always looking for ways to help people ‘do more with diabetes’ and I definitely encourage them to explore the wide variety of tools and strategies that exist so they can enjoy their food while keeping their health in mind. Allulose is a promising new tool to help them do just that — enjoy the experience of more foods, with no impact on blood sugar. For more information, check out the latest science and these FAQs about allulose at www.allulose.org.

Melissa Joy Dobbins, MS, RDN, CDE is a nationally recognized registered dietitian nutritionist with more than 20 years’ experience helping people enjoy their food with health in mind. Melissa is a certified diabetes educator, a former supermarket dietitian, and also a former national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). She was named Outstanding Dietitian of the Year in Illinois by AND and Outstanding Diabetes Educator of the Year in Chicago by the American Association of Diabetes Educators. She is a paid contributor of the Calorie Control Council. Melissa is the CEO of Sound Bites, Inc. based in Chicago, Illinois, and you can connect with her on Twitter (@MelissaJoyRD), Pinterest, Facebook, and check out her blog at SoundBitesRD.com.

By: Carolyn Reynaud, MS, RD, LD —

Following March’s National Nutrition Month now is a great opportunity for dietitians and health professionals to engage with consumers and clients in ways that help them balance their diet utilizing the most up-to-date guidelines. Health professionals and dietitians already know that a balanced diet is the keystone of optimal nutrition that supports a wide variety of benefits, such as a reduction in disease risk, weight management and improved quality of life. A proper diet even has the potential power to override genetics. However, for average Americans, this is not always common knowledge.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) is the ultimate guide for what constitutes a balanced diet and the recent edition published in 2015 brought about many shifts to create recommendations that are better tailored to helping the individual succeed. This shift in guidance will help individuals achieve healthy eating patterns.

One recommendation of the DGAs (that is a mainstay and has not changed) is the guidance of eating a diet heavy in fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately, this is an area in which Americans continue to do poorly.  Using 2013 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the Center for Disease Control (CDC) found that 76 percent of Americans surveyed did not meet fruit intake recommendations, and 87 percent did not meet vegetable intake recommendations. This means one out 10 Americans is not getting an adequate amount of fruits and veggies.

As health professionals, we have to do better job with our clients in discussing and strategizing how to integrate a variety of fruits and veggies in their diets. (Note: The Academy Of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) shared a great hand out, linked here, that you can use with clients on ideas on how to meet the fruit and vegetable recommendations.)

“Variety” is a word you will see showcased frequently in recommendations for creating a well-rounded diet. While eating a diet that includes all the food groups such as fruit/veggies, grains, dairy and protein, it is important to stress that people should be varied in their intake within the individual groups to meet DGA recommendations.

The popularity of high protein diets is a good study on how variety can be used by the consumer to meet recommendations within a preferred diet. A client that feels higher protein is a good fit for them may be at risk for a diet with nutritional deficiencies if they are focused solely on animal protein. As dietitians we should try to educate clients on how they can also utilize plant and seafood protein as an alternative to help keep saturated fat under the recommended 10 percent of calories. Plant and seafood options are also provide beneficial nutrients like fiber and omega-3.

There is also a big focus in the DGA on substituting energy dense foods with nutrient dense foods. The recommendation is to limit saturated fat, salt and added sugars by replacing foods high in these ingredients with healthier options. One step taken to support this change is putting a quantifiable number on suggested added sugar intake.  Added sugars have been a hot topic in nutrition for a while now and we are seeing a big push to reduce the amount in our diets.

Health professionals need to focus on empowering clients to be able navigate the world of added sugars in light of these changes. Tools like food calorie calculators, AND’s article on reading nutrition labels and this handout on reducing sugar intake are good examples of resources we can provide.

Finally, while reducing excess sugar is the goal, sustainability is also a key factor. This is where low- and reduced-calorie sweeteners/sugars can be helpful. The use of these products has been deemed safe and is supported by many reputable health agencies. There are a variety product options available of low/no-cal sweeteners that consumers can use as an alternative to sugar. We also see a variety of food manufacturers that are using low-calorie sweeteners in their products to meet consumer needs. Allulose is one such sweetener that is emerging on the market with a taste comparable to sugar. Keep your eyes open for more foods and beverages containing allulose in the near future.

Most importantly – we are lucky to have a growing body of information, resources and innovations that we can use to help people create their best and sustainable balanced diet.

Carolyn Reynaud, MS, RD, LD is a licensed registered dietitian and a paid contributor to Allulose.org. She received her BS in nutrition from Michigan State University and her Masters and Certificate in Public Health from Georgia State University. She has experience working in several avenues of health care including corporate wellness, clinical disease management, research, and health promotion. She has been working as a health coach specialist for close to 6 years, where she counsels patients on preventative healthcare and helps them meet their health goals. Follow her on Twitter @ReynaudCari.