Before I founded this company, I used to buy gummy bears from the store. Not the sugar ones either—the “smart” ones that claimed to be “sugar free”. And I thought they were keto because their marketing convinced me they were.
But, I always felt jittery after I ate them, and later, when I started testing my ketones and blood glucose at home, I found out why.
These gummy bears spiked my blood sugar. And, I also discovered that they kicked me out of ketosis.
At first I thought it must be me and my broken metabolism that triggered this response, but when I started making my own gummy bears, I learned a lot about ingredients, and what makes them truly blood sugar friendly or not.
I discovered that it was the ingredients used in these other gummy bears that was the problem, not my metabolism. They were technically sugar free, but affected my body the same as the sugar versions. The SAME.
Turns out the sugar free landscape is littered with landmines. Literally.
I have been sugar-free and low carb/keto (for the most part) since 2015, so I have spent a lot of time researching and understanding the science behind ketosis and how it affects metabolism and brain health. Naturally, I assumed that every “Keto” brand would do the same in formulating their products, but they don’t.
Of course, some do. But, way more snack products are not keto at all, despite their bold label claims.
If it says “Keto” on the label, it should be KETO. Meaning, it should NOT cause your blood sugar to spike, and it should definitely NOT kick you out of ketosis if you’re in ketosis. That’s the acid test.
And if it’s truly keto, it should be able to support your ketones if you’re in ketosis.
This is why I track my metabolic response to the foods I eat. Especially processed foods. You may be surprised to hear that. After all, I founded a candy company.
It says “KETO” on the label. But, is it really?
Probably not.
I would estimate that 98% of “Keto” products aren’t keto at all. Even big brands.
Net carbs. No carbs. Total carbs. Yes, this has value when going keto. But, this is actually an insignificant part of how or why something is keto or not.
Does it spike blood sugar or doesn’t it? Does it kick you out of ketosis or doesn’t it? I don’t care how many carbs or net carbs it supposedly has. If it spikes my blood sugar, it is NOT keto. Period.
It all comes down to the ingredients IN the product.
Here’s the dirty little secret of the food industry.
Many ingredients on a label contain ingredients within them as carriers for the other ingredients and they are not required on the nutritional label because they are considered “a part of the manufacturing process” and less than 2% of the primary ingredient.
This is tricky for consumers, and even trickier for well-meaning keto-friendly brands who don’t understand this fully. After all, demanding raw ingredients that benefit blood sugar is unheard of in the food manufacturing arena.
Sugar. Maltitol. IMO (Isomalto-oligosaccharide). Coconut sugar. Agave. Maltodextrin. Fructose. These are not blood sugar friendly ingredients.
Many other ingredients can hide under the term “natural flavors” and “natural colors”. I had to demand that these unacceptable ingredients found in most natural flavors be excluded from ours. I also replaced any seed oils with MCT oil in our flavors. But most brands don’t even think to ask this when they source their flavors & colors.
IMO is used in “low sugar” candy and even protein bars, but acts like straight glucose on blood sugar in most people. It’s not keto.
Natural Flavors
Natural Flavors can contain ingredients that are shady for any diet, including MSG (used in labs to produce obese mice quickly for studies), sugar, industrial seed oils, Polysorbate 80, and many more that are not easily pronounced. Some ingredients can hijack blood sugar.
A perfect example is the filler ingredient, Maltodextrin. This single additive can spike blood sugar or stall keto. It’s essentially a sugar, and is in many natural flavors because of the sweetness.
LMNT Electrolytes was recently under fire because of this.
LMNT is a brand of electrolyte mixes that have been promoted for ages by many of the biggest influencers in the keto and even carnivore space. Recently, as influencers were tracking their blood sugar, they found issues.
I believe LMNT started out cleaner, but at some point, their natural flavors were compromised—whether from supply chain issues, or it’s possible their manufacturer was left to source their natural flavors for them, I don’t know.
Whatever the reason, many of their customers felt betrayed and it’s been all over social media.
Last month, my sister-in-law called us. She has been stalled for a year and swelling up despite a strict diet that she previously lost 70 pounds on. The only change: she added LMNT Electrolytes to her daily routine. She was livid when she heard that there was Maltodextrin in the natural flavors of each little packet.
The tiniest amount of this single ingredient sabotaged her journey for a whole year. She realized that if she’d been testing her blood sugar regularly, she would have discovered this quickly.
I realize that if I had not been vetting and testing the various ingredients myself that make up my gummy bears, I might have found myself in the same situation as LMNT.
Since our first batch of gummies, I have tested EVERYTHING. Not just on myself, but friends, including diabetics. This was also why we get every product Ketogenic Certified and 3rd party lab tested on real people. I needed that reassurance before I made that Keto Claim on my label.
If it says it’s keto, it should be keto. Period.
It should be illegal to say it’s keto when it’s not. But, here we are at the end of 2024 where even the biggest mainstream brands are trying to get in on the action. Maybe they understand the science behind ketosis, but they just don’t care. Or maybe they really have no clue, and are just trying to take their slice of this marketshare pie. Either way, it’s criminal.
Blood Sugar Matters
When most people are looking for sugar free or low sugar products, it’s because sugar can do a lot of not so awesome things to our bodies. Just 4g of sugar is equal to one tsp of sugar. That’s still a LOT of sugar for a body to manage at once. Insulin rises in response to any sugar to help the body deal with it. It uses some of that for energy, and shuffles the extra glucose into fat cells to keep the body safe from the overburdened sugar circulating in our bloodstream.
That’s why I reverse engineered each of our products at Scrummy Sweets. Sugar free should be sugar free. And that includes whatever impact sugar has on the body.
So, no maltodextrin in any of our natural flavors. No IMO or other pseudo-fiber “sugar free” syrups. Just researched and tested ingredients that don’t mess with blood sugar or ketones. After 3 years, and thousands of customers, this has proven out.
But, I still maintain that the best way to tell if a packaged product is truly keto or blood sugar friendly is to test it for yourself. You might be surprised.
That “keto” bread might be sabotaging your grand plan. That mayonnaise might not be as clean as you thought. That little dollop of ketchup might undo a day that would have been otherwise perfect. And that chocolate square might be unraveling all your hard work.
Ingredients can do funny things inside the body, and the best way to see for yourself is to test it.
There are brands out there that say they are keto that absolutely aren’t, and if they are sneaking into diets of otherwise diligent consumers, it’s like running in place and can prevent progress.
So, whether you’re keto or not, you’re here because you’re looking for something better that’s reminiscent of the original. I wanted that too, and here we are.