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Sugar-Free And Low-Carb Sweets For Diabetics This Valentines Day

This Valentines Day, treat the diabetic in your life to some sweet-tasting assorted <a href=
This Valentines Day, treat the diabetic in your life to some sweet-tasting assorted

gummy bears from Albanese, dark chocolate almond clusters from See's Candy and zero sugar Reese's peanut butter cups that taste pretty darn close to the original. (Photo: Amazon, Target, See's Candy)" data-caption="This Valentines Day, treat the diabetic in your life to some sweet-tasting assorted gummy bears from Albanese, dark chocolate almond clusters from See's Candy and zero sugar Reese's peanut butter cups that taste pretty darn close to the original. (Photo: Amazon, Target, See's Candy)" data-rich-caption="This Valentines Day, treat the diabetic in your life to some sweet-tasting assorted gummy bears from Albanese, dark chocolate almond clusters from See's Candy and zero sugar Reese's peanut butter cups that taste pretty darn close to the original. (Photo: Amazon, Target, See's Candy)" data-credit="Amazon, Target, See's Candy" data-credit-link-back="" />

Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 9 meant I attended a lot of class holiday parties with a bag of strange-tasting sugar-free chocolates while watching my classmates indulge in the real thing. Fortunately for people with diabetes, the confectionery industry has made some pretty delicious strides in candies and chocolates that are sugar-free, but don’t necessarily taste like it.

However, even with better-tasting options available, you should still take into account a few things when picking up some Valentine’s Day goodies for your diabetic loved one.

Viola Holmes, the associate director of nutrition science and health care for the American Diabetes Association, said there is a distinction between no-sugar and no-carbohydrates sweets, both of which can impact glucose level, however, no-sugar treats will very often be low-carbohydrate.

“Both types of sweets use sugar alcohols to provide sweetness or a combination of sugar alcohol and non-nutritive sweetener (like sucralose or stevia). Only a small amount of sugar alcohol converts into carbohydrates. Therefore, sugar-free and low-carb sweets have little impact on blood glucose [or sugar levels],” Holmes said.

Even with this reduced impact on blood sugar, Holmes said that you should still practice some form of portion control because some sugar alcohols, like aspartame, for instance, can cause abdominal discomfort.

When looking for sweet-tasting goodies for that person in your life with diabetes, Jannin Macias, a registered dietitian at Covenant Health, suggested opting for labels that read “keto-friendly” and “no added sugars” while also taking time to look at the nutrition labels to see the grams of sugar and carbs per serving. (Maciassays diabetics should aim for no more than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving, while the CDC advises a limit of 200-225 grams of carbs per day.)

To round up the following list of low-sugar and low-carb sweets, we asked people with diabetes on the Life As A Diabetic and Type 1 Diabetic Meals and Snacks Facebook groups which chocolates and candies can satisfy that sweet tooth without raising blood sugar.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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