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Healthy Habits: Dulsa, a cleaner alternative sweetener
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By Jennifer Wimmer
I recently tried a new botanical sweetener called Dulsa. There were a few samples of it included with my last order of creatine from Ketobrainz, and I loved it enough to place an order. It has no sugar alcohols, is 100% natural and also contains probiotics.
This low-carb sweetener has zero calories. It combines organic allulose, organic monk fruit, and prebiotic and postbiotic fibers. It is made with botanical extracts that not only replace sugar but also support overall health.
Dulsa also helps balance blood sugar by supporting more stable glucose and insulin levels, which can lead to steadier energy instead of spikes and crashes. It also feeds the “good” bacteria, which enriches the gut microbiome.
A healthy gut does far more than just aid digestion. As I’ve covered in previous columns, a balanced microbiome also supports stronger immune function, hormone balance and overall endocrine health.
Because of the gut-brain axis, it can improve mood by influencing brain chemicals like serotonin, which can affect anxiety and depression. A healthy gut is also linked to sharper cognitive function, reduced inflammation, better heart and metabolic health, clearer skin and a more resilient response to stress, as well as better sleep.
This sweetener can also bolster appetite control by taming cravings and supporting healthy weight management. It nourishes your mitochondria — the “powerhouses” of your cells — for steadier, day-long energy at the cellular level. It also enhances nutrient absorption and supports your body’s natural detox pathways.
Dulsa is offered in a powdered, scoopable form in a 120-gram pouch with a measuring spoon for an exact serving size. The Dulsa shop also sells single-serve stick packets, which are individual sachets you can take on the go.
Moving away from refined sugar is a smart choice for your health, because it digests very quickly and can cause blood sugar and insulin levels to spike. Many people who are trying to quit sugar turn to artificial sweeteners instead, and those have a long list of negative side effects. I wrote about some of them in a previous column several years ago, particularly the negative health effects linked to Splenda.
Splenda is one of the most popular artificial sweeteners and is made with the high-intensity sweetener sucralose, also known by the very long chemical name 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxyfructose-4-chloro-4-deoxygalactose disaccharide. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on April Fool’s Day in 1998.
It’s almost like they were trying to tell us, in an indirect way, that they were approving something that was full of chemicals and not good for you. Migraine headaches are just the beginning of the list of potential side effects from these chemicals. Non-nutritive sweeteners such as Splenda were marketed as “healthy sugar substitutes” because they could satisfy your sweet tooth without calories, blood sugar spikes or cavities, but several studies have found they are linked to an increased risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
A 2008 study from Duke University found that Splenda destroys beneficial bacteria and alters intestinal flora, which can cause digestive problems. Other reported side effects include dizziness, acne, bleeding gums, chest pain, bloating, intestinal cramping, leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches and tinnitus. When your gut health is compromised, it can weaken your immune system and lead to other health challenges.
I tried so many times to get my parents to stop using Splenda but was unsuccessful. I wish Dulsa had been around then, but it wasn’t. I think they might have given it a try. It just became available in June 2025, and I only found out about it in the last month. Mom passed away in 2022 and Dad in 2024.
Refined cane sugar is not good for you either, but these chemical substitutes are at least as bad for your health, if not worse.
The thing I struggled with the most when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2010 was trying to quit drinking soda pop. At first, I tried switching to diet sodas, and those are loaded with artificial ingredients, including the aforementioned sucralose, and came with the myriad health challenges those cause.
I am not advising you to switch back from diet sodas to regular sodas, or to start putting sugar in your iced tea and coffee again. On the contrary, I am asking you to consider quitting sodas altogether or choosing ones that are sweetened with 100% fruit juices like I have. Choose brands like Poppi, Olipop and Izze sparkling juices. Olipop root beer is one that has the lowest sugar content, no refined cane sugar and beneficial botanicals to boot.
You can also buy a home carbonation machine and make your own natural sodas. Sweeten them with Dulsa, fruit juices, stevia, local honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar. Experiment with different flavors such as vanilla, ginger, sassafras, sarsaparilla, burdock, spearmint and peppermint, and you’ll be creating delicious sodas that are also health tonics.
There are many natural alternatives to Splenda and other sucralose-based artificial sweeteners that you can use to sweeten your coffee, iced tea and baked goods with. You can choose organic date sugar; organic, raw, local, sustainably harvested honey; fair-trade, organic raw coconut sugar; fair-trade, organic coconut flower syrup; organic maple syrup; organic blackstrap molasses; organic stevia; and now Dulsa joins that list.
For even more reasons to quit refined cane sugar, you can go back and read my column published in the April 11, 2024, edition of The Hancock Clarion. High fructose corn syrup is also not a good alternative. It’s rapidly absorbed, can drive blood sugar and insulin spikes, and is strongly linked to weight gain and fatty liver disease. Over time, heavy intake has been associated with higher triglycerides, increased inflammation and a greater risk of metabolic syndrome and heart disease.
The best sugar alternatives are natural ones like maple syrup. You can actually use less maple syrup or raw local honey than white sugar to get the same level of sweetness, and these options also come with minerals and other nutrients that support your health.
Coconut sugar is a good substitute for white sugar, and its glycemic index, or GI, is about the same as maple syrup at 54. Honey has a GI of around 58, and blackstrap molasses has a GI of approximately 55. I’ve also written about these alternative sweeteners in previous columns, including an in-depth look at coconut palm sugar in the Aug. 19, 2021, edition of The Hancock Clarion.
Dulsa, along with other natural sweeteners such as stevia and monk fruit, typically has a much lower glycemic index, closer to zero, which makes it a good choice for those of us who need or want to cut sugars significantly. Dulsa contains monk fruit, also called Luo han guo, and its mogroside extracts have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Mogrosides provide intense sweetness but contribute virtually no calories or digestible carbohydrates, so they do not raise blood glucose when used as a sugar substitute.
Because monk fruit sweeteners do not increase blood glucose or insulin, they are a calorie-free option for people managing diabetes, and research supports their non-glycemic profile. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, whole monk fruit has been used for coughs and sore throats, solidifying the anti-inflammatory effects it offers.
To learn more, visit DulsaLife.com and read their blog content. You can also sign up for their newsletter to receive a coupon for your first order.
If you’ve been wanting to try the Ketobrainz coffee creamer I wrote about in a previous column, right now the company is offering a bundle deal on the website ketobrainz.com. The bundle includes a pouch of the creamer powder at a discounted price, which contains 30 servings/scoops, and a 4.2-ounce pouch of Dulsa sweetener, which contains 150 servings.
Be well and God bless you.
Posted in Lifestyles
