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The Number-1 Sweetener for Better Blood Sugard3sign – Getty Images<\/p>\n
If you have a kind of diabetes<\/a> and want to add foods to your routine to keep your blood sugar stable<\/a>, it can be difficult to find a little something sweet that won\u2019t impact your blood glucose (a.k.a. blood sugar) levels. People with diabetes can have sugar\u2014just in moderation (and\/or with a bit of medication if needed). But knowing the number-one sweetener a doctor and a dietitian say shouldn\u2019t lead to a blood sugar spike may help you feel more confident in your eating plan.<\/p>\n Meet the experts: Courtney Pelitera, M.S., R.D.N.<\/a>, a registered dietitian nutritionist at VNutrition; Ankit Shah, M.D.<\/a>, an assistant professor of endocrinology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.<\/p>\n The experts we spoke with said that if you\u2019re bypassing table sugar, consider trying agave. Agave nectar, or agave syrup, is a natural sweetener derived from the agave plant. \u201cAgave has a very low glycemic index score of about 20 on average, which means that it is digested more slowly compared to table sugar and will have less of an impact on blood sugar,\u201d Courtney Pelitera, M.S., R.D.N.<\/a>, a registered dietitian nutritionist at VNutrition, previously told Prevention. <\/p>\n Table sugar has a GI of 80, Pelitera added, so it\u2019s processed significantly faster by the body. This is because agave is about 80% fructose and 20% glucose, compared to a 50\/50 split in table sugar. \u201cThe fructose molecule must first be metabolized in the liver, which blunts the spike in blood glucose levels,\u201d Ankit Shah, M.D.<\/a>, an assistant professor of endocrinology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, explained.<\/p>\n