Sugar free or not?   (October 23, 2007)

Diabetes dietitians and diabetes nurses and diabetes docs have said repeatedly (for at least a decade or two) that people with diabetes can eat sugar-containing foods. But the old message from the dark ages of the mid-20th century still lingers (both in the public mind as well as with non-diabetes professionals) that "sugar is bad for you" with its implicit conclusion that "sugarfree is good for you."

Well, sugar's definitely bad for your teeth, but it's manageable for your diabetes. There's no reason for people with diabetes to have to buy special products from the sugar-free aisle of your local supermarket (if there is such a thing -- me being of the male sex, I'm not sure where anything is in the supermarket except milk is in refrigerated units on the back wall).

So, anyway, I had my usual pangs of anguish about whether my website should promote the sugarfree concept, when another vendor of sugarfree goodies requested that I list their business at [my previous website,] the Diabetes Monitor. I concluded that when it comes to treats and sweets (desserts and Halloween), perhaps a little less sugar would be reasonable, and hence having a webpage publicizing sugarfree products would also be reasonable.

Sweet of me, eh?