Hi  – stevia, erythritol and monk fruit are all sugar alternatives that don’t feed yeast because they are not monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, galactose). They get their sweetness from different parts of the plant that mimic sweetness without being sugar.

Date syrup however would feed yeast since it is almost equal parts glucose and fructose.

But! There are cons to each of the sugar alternatives:

-erythritol is a sugar alcohol that doesn’t pass through the digestive tract so in large enough quantities, can lead to GI symptoms and diarrhea.

-many commercial stevia brands add maltodextrin or dextrose – read the labels carefully! Always choose a brand that is 100% pure Stevia.

-some brands also blend monk fruit with dextrose, molasses and/or sugar alcohols to balance the sweetness, so read the labels!

As an aside to your question, depending on where you are in your health journey, I would encourage you to forego sweeteners altogether instead of trying to find a substitute. If you already eat a diet that is low in sugar and flour products, then these sweeteners can be a great addition on occasion.

If however, you consume something sweet most days of the week, I would encourage you to work on a low-glycemic diet first and foremost (watch my VPF principle here) to balance blood sugar levels and naturally reduce cravings for sweet foods.

Let me know if you more help with that if you’re struggling with sugar cravings.

 baby steps is the way to go for sure! Making healthier swaps like dark chocolate and dried fruit is definitely leaps and bounds better than processed sugar and junk food so I applaud your efforts.

If there’s a yeast overgrowth, it makes it even harder to kick sugar cravings because that’s what they love and need to survive!

But I want to help you unpack your sugar cravings at night. Typically when cravings consistently hit at a certain time of day, there’s usually a way to remedy that.

So let me ask you a few more questions:

-what time is dinner, what time do sugar cravings usually hit, and what time do you get to bed?
-what do you typically eat for dinner?
-what’s your evening routine typically? i.e. dinner then sit on the couch for the rest of the evening? dinner, then work on computer/phone? dinner, then go for a walk? What’s currently your typical evening routine.

 thanks for sharing your evening routine.

If you always get cravings after dinner specifically, there’s a few tricks to try and avoid this:

1. Try to increase the amount of healthy fats at dinner (not in the form of oil/butter). Often, cravings hit when there’s an imbalanced ratio of fats to carbs. So try adding in a sprinkle of pine nuts, or have a few walnut pieces, or some olives along with your meal for example. Fats are satiating and can help reduce cravings.

2. Distractions. I would also encourage you to get into the habit of going for a light evening stroll right after dinner. This not only helps reduce the post-prandial glucose curve if the meal was higher in carbs that can lead to sugar cravings, but it also exposes your eyes to the evening colors of the sun (or no sun) to help with sleep, and can serve as a healthy distraction if the habit is emotionally-driven. It’s also just an overall healthy habit to adopt.

3. Amino acid drops under the tongue. Watch this video where I share more tips for tackling cravings. You can also watch this video where I share tips for reducing glucose spikes (which can lead to cravings as well).

Give these a shot and let us know which ones you end up trying and helping you.