Have Your Ice Cream and Eat It Too

About two years ago, after an oh-so-pleasant visit with my OB/GYN, I learned I had polycystic ovarian syndrome—a hormonal/metabolic condition. The long and short of the diagnosis was that I needed to avoid sugar, effectively immediately.

My first thought was “no problem.” I don’t eat a lot of candy, I drink diet soda, and I’m not a big cake/cookies person. Then it hit me. I was going to have to give up ice cream! Take away my peanut M&Ms, deprive me of birthday cake, but for God’s sake, leave me with my Ben & Jerry’s! So I asked my physician to give me one good reason why I should give up sugar entirely. He gave me 10.

The Sugar Trap

My doctor explained that excess sugar can lead to a whole host of negative health conditions, including inflammation, insulin resistance, diabetes, acne, stress, digestive problems, chronic fatigue, Candida, osteoporosis, and migraines—just to name a few.

Clearly “a little sugar” was not an option. But I quickly learned that neither were most of the “sugar-free” products on the market. Many replaced the sugar with fat and used artificial sweeteners that not only left a horrible aftertaste, but are downright bad for you.

Take saccharin for example. Research from the 1980s showed that, in very high doses, saccharin caused bladder cancer in male rats. However, the pseudo-sugar community argued that the doses were so high, and so specific to older male rats (versus other test animals) that the FDA has allowed saccharin to stay on the market. They did have one caveat—there had to be a warning label stating that saccharin might be a carcinogen. Rats or not, I’m not taking that risk.

The next option is aspartame, the lovely sweetener flavoring my Diet Coke and decorating restaurant tables across the country with little blue packets. This controversial sweetener is made by combining two amino acids—aspartic acid and phenylalanine—with 10 percent methanol, an alcohol that breaks down into formaldehyde in your body. Yum! This combination has been found to have potent excitatory effects on brain chemistry, often leading to a whole host of health problems, including headaches, dizziness, anxiety, and depression. So much for my Coke and a smile.

Suspicious Splenda

Next, I looked into Splenda, the seemingly miraculous sweetener that “tastes like sugar because it’s made from sugar.” Well, sort of. Splenda (known also as sucralose) is made by replacing two of the molecules from table sugar with chlorine, creating a substance 600 times sweeter than sugar. While I agree it tastes much like sugar and doesn’t have the obvious aftertaste of saccharine and aspartame, those two chlorine molecules are problematic.

Rodent research has shown that sucralose causes shrinkage of the thymus gland—up to 40 percent—as well as some enlargement of the liver and kidneys. Considering that a properly-functioning thymus gland is essential for a healthy immune system, this is not great news. But, once again, the manufacturer dismissed these problems as due to high doses, and the FDA has approved sucralose without any long term human studies or formal follow-up. Double yikes!

Then, just as I was about to lose all hope, I came across xylitol—beautiful, amazing, life-affirming xylitol.

God’s Perfect Sweetener

Xylitol is a little-known plant sugar that’s found naturally in fruits, vegetables, and the bark of some trees. It’s also a natural by-product of food metabolism in the human body. In short, it’s completely healthy and natural.

In its pure form, xylitol has the same intensity of sweetness as table sugar. It contains 9.6 calories per teaspoon. (Table sugar contains 15 calories per teaspoon.) But it won’t raise your blood sugar or trigger the release of insulin as fast as regular sugar. And, unlike most sweeteners, there is no aftertaste! It’s also very safe, with amounts up to 90 grams a day not causing side effects. Plus, you can use it in a 1:1 ratio with sugar, even for baking!

Finally, I had found the perfect sweetener. Unfortunately, I seemed to be the only one. I went back to the grocery store(s), went online, wandered aimlessly in the streets, but to no avail. No one was making sugar-free delights with xylitol—not even Ben & Jerry!

So what’s a polycystic, ice cream devotee to do? The answer was simple. Make my own.

Kim’s Creamy Concoctions

After much experimenting, taste-testing, and throwing of ice cream socials, I finally mastered great-tasting, sugar-free, organic ice cream. Click here to discover two of my favorites for you to try. Enjoy!

Have Your Ice Cream and Eat It Too