Aside from using the wrong spices, using the wrong sweeteners on the HCG Diet can stall your weight loss efforts. There are only two types of sweetener allowed on the HCG diet, they are:
- Pure Stevia
Stevia is all-natural and remains the best sweeteners on the HCG Diet. It’s a popular sugar substitute made from the leaves of Stevia plants. Stevia is 100 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar, yet has no calories, carbs, or artificial ingredients. It’s proven to have no undesirable effects on weight loss.
The sweet-tasting components in Stevia sweetener occur naturally, but it does not affect blood glucose. This allows people with diabetes to consume more foods while maintaining a healthy diet. This natural sweetener contains no sugar at all and very few calories. It is used as part of a well-balanced diet to help cut calories without sacrificing the taste.
However, not all Stevia is the same. Some stevia is mixed with other sweeteners like dextrose and erythritol, which can slow or stall your weight loss. Brands like Stevia in the Raw, PureVia, and Truvia are diluted with other sweeteners and sugar alcohols. You can use them during the maintenance phase, but not during the low-calorie diet phase. Use only pure stevia.
Other sweeteners not allowed on the HCG Diet aside from Truvia and Stevia in the Raw are:
- Splenda
- Purvia
- Equal
- Z-sweet
- Anything with ingredients that end in -tol, -ose, -dextrin
- Saccharin
Saccharin is a zero-calorie artificial sweetener, and it’s the only sweetener safe during the HCG diet. It is used to sweeten products like candies, medicine, drinks, and cookies. At higher concentrations, this acceptable sugar alternative has a bitter taste.
Saccharin is made in the laboratory and it looks like white, crystalline powder. People with diabetes, dental health problems, and people who want to lose weight may benefit from this artificial sweetener.
Saccharin is generally safe for human consumption according to health authorities like WHO and FDA. People believe that saccharin isn’t very good for health as it causes serious health problems like cancer when consumed in large quantities. For dieters doing the HCG diet, we feel the health risk is very minimal because the HCG diet only lasts for a relatively short time. Sugar and any other sweetener except for Stevia are not allowed only during the low-calorie phase. Once dieters reach the maintenance phase, they can switch to any zero-calorie sweetener they like. Popular brands of saccharin include Sweet ‘n’ Low.
Do away with these sweeteners:
- Erythritol: It is a type of sugar alcohol with an excellent taste. It is made from fermenting glucose from cornstarch, and it contains 70% sweetness of sugar and 5% of its calories. Erythritol is designed to replace sugar and calories to create a “diet-friendly” result.
- Vegetable glycerin: It is a clear, syrup-like liquid with a sweet taste made from vegetable fat. But this sweetener is not useful to any weight loss program as glycerin causes increased water retention which can lead to weight gain.
- Xylitol: It is a sugar alcohol, a type of carbohydrate that does not contain alcohol. Many commercial mints or chewing gum that are “sugar-free” contain xylitol.