Easy Low Glycemic Prebiotic Coffee Sweetener
Updated: Feb 17
This is the sweetener I use in my coffees I make at home so I'm not flooding my body with all kinds of sugar on the daily! It tastes good and has some added health benefits too!
The Alternatives I No Longer Use As My Go-To
There are a lot of alternatives to sugar if you are wanting to go "low glycemic" but after doing my research and trying a lot of different things, I have found this mix to be my favorite go-to for my coffee.
Stevia is low on the glycemic index, but I honestly hate the taste of stevia in coffee. I can use it in other things, but for some reason I just can't do it in coffee. I'd rather have no sweetener than sweeten with stevia... that's where I'm at on that! Monkfruit is okay, but pure monkfruit tastes like stevia to me in coffee. I sometimes use the kind that has erythritol with it in other recipes, but I don't like the taste in coffee.
As for the "ames," I stay away from those altogether (aspartame, acesulfame etc) because they are more toxic than sugar much of the time. They can have neurotoxic effects and much more, plus I hate the taste anyway, so it's a lose lose for me!
Natural Sweeteners
I've used agave, pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, dates, honey etc. If consumed in small doses, I love honey for the added benefits your body gets in things like matcha tea lattes, but it is NOT low on the glycemic index. Pure maple syrup is divine, but again, not low on the glycemic index. I do, however, use dates sometimes in recipes for energy bars and even my coconut milk recipe at times. They have their purposes within moderation, but the mix I use from this recipe suits be better as my norm. Ok! Now that I've told you what I DON'T use and why, here's what I DO use and why.
What I Use Now
So now, I go for a super simple mix using erythritol, xylitol and inulin fiber.
Xylitol is about a 13 on the glycemic index, which is way less than sugar. It isn't as low as its artificial counterparts but way healthier for your body. Xylitol has about a 1:1 ratio on sweetness compared to sugar so it helps get the actual sweet flavor in this recipe but it has much less of an impact on your health than sugar or artificial sweeteners like aspartame. If you have too much of it, it can cause some digestive discomfort since it is a sugar alcohol, so keep that in mind.
Erythritol and inulin fiber are close to 0 on the glycemic index, and therefore have virtually no impact on your blood sugar. As far as sweetness goes, erythritol is only about 70% as sweet as sugar and inulin fiber is about 10x less sweet than sugar. That means you have to use a lot more of these to get the desired sweetness you want. If inulin were sweeter in taste, I might use it on it's own. As it stands, though, you would have to add a boat load to get much sweetening from it by itself, and I don't think it would feel all that great on your digestive tract!
So, what is my solution? 1:1:1
I like to use 1 part xylitol, 1 part erythritol and 1 part inulin fiber. This mix is less sweet than xylitol on its own, mind you, but it's also about 1/3 give or take the impact on your blood sugar. It also has less calories and carbs than xylitol by itself and WAY less than table sugar, making it great for keto and low-sugar/carb type diets as well.
Here are a few little tidbits about inulin fiber I wanted to share and show you some reasons why I like to add it to my mix:
Inulin is a type of prebiotic fiber that is often found in plants like chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke and others.
*According to Dr. Axe, some of the health benefits of inulin fiber including:
"improving gut health by feeding probiotic bacteria, and taking up a lot room in the digestive tract once eaten, helping to make you feel fuller. It also reduces constipation, boosts heart health, lowers metabolic syndrome risk factors, can replace sugar and flour in recipes, and increases calcium absorption."
As for the taste, it is a subtle sweetness. It's super sweet, but it's got a little in there. Not great as a sweetener by itself but a great addition to the xylitol/erythritol mix!
Prebiotic Coffee Sweetener Recipe:
Ingredients
1/3 cup of xylitol
1/3 cup erythritol
1/3 cup inulin fiber
If you'd like to see the ingredients/products I use, check out this shopping list: HERE
Directions & Tips for Use:
These directions are pretty simple:
Combine the powders and mix until combined! Boom! You're done! I like to store this mix in a wide-mouth glass mason jar and keep it by my coffee supplies and coffee maker.
As for using it, just sweeten your coffee to taste! I'd experiment with taste and how it affects your digestive system by starting small and ramping up since there are sugar alcohols. I have no problem sweetening to my personal preferences, but everyone has a different experience. Feel free to play around with the ratio of these ingredients. Just know, the more xylitol you use, the higher the glycemic and caloric impact. It's less than sugar, but it's more than the other two ingredients.
I also use extracts and spices for flavor! I will be posting some of those recipes soon! As a starting point though, you can use vanilla extract in addition to this sweetener for a nice vanilla flavored sweetness! I hope you enjoy this recipe! I'd love to know your thoughts!
Warnings & Disclaimers:
I’m required to tell you that I am not a doctor, dentist or any other medical professional. This is my personal experience on MY health journey over the years, but everyone is different. You should consult your own medical team and do your own research as all our paths are different. Nothing I post in my videos, blogs, social media platforms, websites or anything else I do is meant to treat or diagnose anyone and is not a replacement for your own medical treatment plan. Unless otherwise stated, my recipes are generally intended for adults, as children's systems are different and require different things. Making/using any of the recipes or information I share on my blog, videos, channels, websites or social media platforms is done so at your own risk. I am sharing what has significantly helped me in the hope that it can potentially be of help to others, but I cannot know every issue for every person and therefore cannot possibly know if it will be good for you or not. Please use your own discretion.
*If you use any of the links in this post for products, I make a small commission but it won't cost you anything:) These are the products I use, so I chose to become an affiliate with these companies. Of course, I always appreciate the support any time you use my links, but you are more than welcome to use what works for you:)
* (taken from https://draxe.com/)