Glycemic Index 0: What It Means for Your Blood Sugar

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a standardized scale from 0 to 100 that measures how rapidly a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood glucose levels relative to pure glucose (GI = 100). Cane sugar (sucrose) has a GI of 65, white bread is 75, and brown rice is 68. Off Sugar measures a GI of 0. This is possible because neither Mogroside V nor erythritol are processed through the same metabolic pathways as glucose. Erythritol — a sugar alcohol naturally found in grapes, pears, and fermented foods — is absorbed almost completely in the small intestine via passive diffusion. Because human intestinal cells lack the specific transporter proteins needed to convert erythritol to metabolic intermediates, it enters systemic circulation as an intact molecule and is excreted unchanged in urine within 24 hours. This was confirmed in a clinical pharmacokinetics study by Bornet et al. (1996) in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which tracked radio-labelled erythritol through human subjects and found greater than 90% urinary recovery. The practical implications are significant. A 2021 meta-analysis published in Diabetes Care (covering 23 randomised controlled trials with 938 participants) found that replacing dietary sucrose with non-nutritive sweeteners like erythritol and monk fruit extract produced a statistically significant reduction in fasting blood glucose (-0.10 mmol/L, p<0.05), postprandial blood glucose area-under-curve (-12.4%), and HbA1c levels over 12 weeks. These effects were most pronounced in participants with pre-existing insulin resistance or Type 2 Diabetes. For weight management, the mechanism is equally relevant. Each teaspoon of cane sugar provides 16 kilocalories and 4g of simple carbohydrates. A person who consumes 4 teaspoons of sugar daily in tea and coffee alone ingests an additional 64 kcal per day — 23,360 kcal per year, equivalent to approximately 2.98 kg of adipose tissue. Replacing cane sugar with Off Sugar eliminates this caloric contribution while preserving perceived sweetness and palatability, making it an evidence-based dietary tool for calorie reduction without the psychological burden of food restriction. The American Diabetes Association's Standards of Care (2023 edition) now lists non-nutritive sweeteners with GI of 0 as an acceptable sugar substitute for people with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, provided total caloric intake is managed appropriately.