even forget to stick to their diet. Cigarettes have been linked with so many damaging effects on the heart, lungs, and other body systems that smoking is not a very good idea for anyone. It is an even worse idea for people with diabetes, who are already at risk for heart disease. Some doctors feel that people with diabetes shouldn’t use sugar substitutes because they simply maintain their “sweet tooth.” If the patients tried eating a more sensible diet, these doctors say, they would soon lose their rich taste for rich, sweet foods, and that would be a good thing. But some people feel that life just wouldn’t be worth living if they couldn’t have candy, a soft drink, or some other sweet tasting treat at least occasionally. And some doctors feel that sugar substitutes are good because they permit people with diabetes, especially young ones, to enjoy some of the same treats as their friends, which can help then feel less “different.” Nutritive sweeteners contain calories, and are usually carbohydrates that end in –ose, such as glucose, fructose, dextrose, and sucrose (sugars), or –ol, such as sorbitol and mannitol (sugar alcohols). They each contain four calories per gram. Non-nutritive sweeteners provide almost no calories and do not affect blood glucose levels. Saccharin and aspartame (sold under the brand name NutraSweet) are the two major sugar substitutes. Aspartame actually contains the same four calories per gram as do the nutritive sweeteners; however, because it is 180 times sweeter than table sugar, much less has to be used. Saccharin is 300 times sweeter than sucrose and has no calories at all. Gestational Diabetes is another form of diabetes that occurs only in pregnant woman. About 3 percent of all pregnant women develop this form of diabetes. If a woman has been diagnosed with diabetes before the pregnancy she has pregestational diabetes. So far no one knows what causes ge...
