Sugars on keto are probably one of the most confusing things to get your head around when transitioning onto a keto diet. Once you’re happy knowing which sugars are keto and are not, how much, if any, you deduct from your total carb count, you’ll be well on your way to nailing the keto diet. So, less talk, more action, and let’s find out, is galactose keto friendly?
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Let’s cut to the chase, Galactose is not keto friendly.
That does not mean that you cannot still enjoy sweet treats on keto.
There are plenty of keto friendly sweeteners available for your keto cooking, baking, and candy making.
You do not have to miss out.
Keep reading and we will take you through which sugars are keto friendly, and which to avoid.
We will also guide you through what polyols are and when and how much you can deduct from your total carbs in order to calculate your net carbs.
Finally, we will take you through which are our recommended keto sweeteners that you can enjoy guilt-free, whilst keeping your body in ketosis and fat adapted.
If keto is new to you, why not check out our keto beginners guide. There are a lot of acronyms and terminology used in the keto world that can make it feel like you are having to learn a new language.
Don’t worry though, we’ve got you covered with our articles on keto abbreviations and keto terms explained.
Getting your keto sugars right will help you on your keto journey and help you achieve your goals.
So, let’s get into it, is galactose keto friendly?
What is Galactose
Galactose is often referred to as ‘milk sugar’, and can often be seen as being shortened to ‘gal’. Sugar beets and some dairy products are sources of galactose, as such, it is deemed a ‘natural’ sugar.
How is the Glycaemic Index of a Sugar Relevant to Keto?
The Glycemic Index (GI) is a way of rating carbohydrates. All sugars are carbohydrates.
The GI is rated from 0-100. In simple terms, it measures how quickly a food will affect your blood sugar(glucose) levels when you eat that food, or in the case of sugars, normally a food that contains the sugar.
If you have been living a keto diet for any time, you will likely know that one of the main aims is to maintain static blood sugar levels.
It is the spiking up of blood sugar levels that leads to that euphoric feeling, followed by a feeling of hunger, which makes you want to eat more.
It is by controlling these blood sugar levels which prevents cravings for further sugary foods.
If you have diabetes or know somebody who has, they are probably very conscious of the GI value of a food as they will use this rating to help control their blood sugar levels.
Foods scoring zero, or as close to zero as possible, will not spike your blood sugar levels. These foods are broken down more slowly. Foods that are closer to the higher end of the GI are broken down quickly in the body causing a rapid increase in blood glucose levels.
This is also known as a ‘sugar rush’. Once this ‘rush’ has peaked, we then start to feel rubbish in ourselves and crave another ‘rush’ to make us feel good again.
It is for this reason that sugars are limited on the keto diet, if not your blood sugar levels would constantly be yo-yo-ing. This is not healthy for anybody. More importantly, it will make it very difficult for your body to remain in a state of ketosis.
In this article, we will take you through which sugars to avoid and which ones are safe to consume.
If you are interested in finding out more about keto sugars, check out our ultimate guide to keto friendly sugars, which will take you through everything you need to know.
So let’s look at the question, is galactose keto friendly?
Is Galactose Keto Friendly?
Let’s look at t a few key facts about Galactose so we can better understand whether it is keto friendly or not.
Type of Compound: Sugar
Chemical Formula: C6H12O6
Glycemic Index Score: 25
FDA Approved?: Yes – Galactose is approved by the FDA for consumption
What Foods is Galactose Normally Found In?
Sugars are used in a wide variety of goods in order to add flavor. Often these sugars are hidden in foods that you would not expect to find them in.
Some of the foods in which you are likely to find Galactose are;
- Syrups
- Yogurt
- Milk
- Kiwi Fruit
- Mango
- Miso
- Plums
- Peach
- Cheese
How Many Net Carbs are there in Galactose?
Net carbs and the total amount of carbohydrates found in food that is digested in the body and used as energy.
Net carbs are calculated by subtracting fiber from the food’s total carb count.
For more on net carbs and how to calculate these check out our article which is dedicated to net carbs.
Net Carbs In Galactose
There are 100g grams of net carbs found in Galactose.
How Sweet is Galactose?
Sweetness is compared to granulated sugar, aka table sugar.
Table sugar is classified as 100%.
So, if a sugar is recorded as being 50%, that means that it is 50% (half) as sweet as table sugar. If something is recorded as being 1000%, this means that it is 10% as sweet as table sugar.
Galactose is recorded as being 65%.
This means that Galactose is less sweet than table sugar.
So, Is Galactose Keto Friendly?
So far, we have been through what Galactose is, the GI of Galactose, and how many net carbs we can expect from the sugar, but, is galactose keto friendly?.
Galactose is NOT keto-friendly.
It being high on the GI, this means that it is likely to raise insulin levels and lead to glucose being released into the bloodstream.
Are Polyols OK on a Keto Diet?
Polyols are low-digestible carbohydrates that are derived from the hydrogenation of their sugar or syrup source (e.g., lactitol from lactose).
In simple terms, polyols are an artificial, sugar-free sweeteners.
A number of reviews have been completed on the impact of polyols on the body. NO negative side effects have been found and even the World Health Organization has deemed them safe for consumption.
This means that you do not need to worry about the consumption of polyols on a keto diet from a health point of view.
But do you need to worry from a net carbs point of view?
Depending on the polyol they cannot be absorbed into the body in the way other sugars are.
They are partially digested and then absorbed in the small intestine.
Some polyols, such as erythritol are fully absorbed here. Other polyols such as xylitol or mannitol are based on where they are metabolized by the liver.
This can lead to a rise in blood sugar (albeit only a small one, due to them being low on the GI). It is for this reason that we do not subtract all carbs from all polyols when calculating our net carbs.
We know this can get confusing, so we have broken this down to make it a lot easier for you.
Below you will find a list of the top keto sugar alternatives and a guide as to what % of them you should deduct in order to calculate the total number of net carbs in a product.
This % is based on the way that the body metabolizes the keto sugar replacement.
Erythritol = Subtract all (100%) of the carbs in order to calculate net carbs
Mannitol = Subtract all (100%) of the carbs in order to calculate net carbs
Sorbitol = Subtract 75% of the total number of carbs from sorbitol in order to calculate net carbs
Isomalt = Subtract 70% of the total number of carbs from sorbitol in order to calculate net carbs
Xylitol = Subtract 65% of the total number of carbs from sorbitol in order to calculate net carbs
Maltitol = Subtract 65% of the total number of carbs from sorbitol in order to calculate net carbs
Are Sugar Alcohols Digestible?
Sugar alcohols are digested, however, our bodies cannot digest sugar alcohols efficiently.
The only exception to this is erythritol. This is absorbed into the body but is not metabolized.
Erythritol is excreted in our urine, with its structure more or less intact.
this means that you should not get any side effects from erythritol. However, some of the other sugar alcohols may lead to side effects such as bloating, nausea, and diarrhea.
Your intake of sugar alcohols should not exceed 35–40 grams per day in order to avoid these potential side effects.
If you experience any issues, reduce your intake of sugar alcohols to see if this removes the problem, if not, seek medical advice.
Such sugars should not be consumed on the keto diet. Furthermore, consuming high GI foods will lead to, sugar cravings, which will, in turn, make you feel hungry.
