My Top 3 Simple and Delicious Sweeteners for MCAS

The Sweeteners for MCAS in this post are great for when you are on a lower histamine, lower oxalate, lower salicylate, and Keto-friendly diet. If you love sweets then having sweet treats you can eat makes a special diet manageable. There are many new sweeteners on the market, but many of them are not well tolerated by those with histamine, oxalate, or salicylate issues. And if you are also trying to adhere to a low-FODMAP diet, that adds extra complexity to the situation. Here are the sweeteners that I have found tolerable — that you may not have considered for cooking or baking!

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What is MCAS?

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a chronic condition that affects all organ systems. MCAS is serious and disabling and people with MCAS experience often significant and debilitating symptoms daily, including anaphylaxis, which can be fatal.

MCAS is often found in combination with other chronic conditions such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).

Frequently healthcare providers do not know about MCAS, and the tests for MCAS are problematic because they are not uniformly reliable. MCAS can be difficult to manage. Treatments include blocking mast cell mediators with anti-histamines and mast cell stabilizers, as well as avoiding triggers.

Check out this post on how to manage MCAS.

Why certain sweeteners for MCAS?

When you are following recipes that are low in carbs, while still being lower in histamine and histamine-releasing foods, lower in oxalates, sweeteners are part of the equation. Eating a diet lower in carbs and inflammatory foods can help to control histamine intolerance. Traditional sugars tend to raise inflammation and can cause histamine to be released too.

To learn more about the lower histamine diet click here!

My three favorite sweeteners for MCAS

Here is my lineup of preferred sweeteners.

** I no longer use stevia because it has been shown to negatively affect the liver, thyroid, and cholesterol levels.

1. Pure monk fruit extract – make sure you look for a brand without fillers or other ingredients. Pure monk fruit extract is extremely sweet so it usually comes with a tiny scoop for adding to recipes. I find that pure monk fruit doesn’t work as well in baked goods or heated foods. But pure monk fruit extract is excellent for cold dishes, sauces, salad dressings, smoothies, etc. Monk fruit extract is known as a histamine-lowering food, so in addition to adding sweetness to your dish, it will help your body remain in homeostasis during and after your meal. Importantly, monk fruit doesn’t raise blood sugar levels. And it is super concentrated, so you need about 100-250 times less monk fruit than sugar.
2. Finally, my favorite sweetener for baking is technically also monk-fruit-based: ChocZero sugar-free syrups. ChocZero makes quite a few different flavors of their syrups, and even some berry jams as well. I like to bake with ChocZero sugar-free maple syrup primarily because I’m accustomed to baking with real maple syrup, and it handles quite similarly. I like ChocZero’s products because they are free of erythritol and sugar alcohols, so they don’t affect your blood sugar, or add any additional chemicals that your body doesn’t need. You can buy ChocZero chocolate syrup for serving over pancakes or ice cream, strawberry syrup for adding a little pizzazz to sparkling water, and several varieties of maple-based syrups that are interchangeable and great in most of the recipes on my website.

The bucket theory

The bucket theory offers a helpful analogy for understanding symptom reactions with MCAS.

Think of your body as an empty bucket that you want to keep from overflowing. Different foods and activities fill your histamine bucket at different speeds but they combine to form the total level of histamine in your body (how full your bucket is). A fuller bucket means you have more histamine symptoms. When you manage triggers, reduce exposure to known triggers, and take medications and supplements to reduce histamine, you can manage the level of your bucket.

Know your typical symptom progression

Knowing your symptom progression in a symptom flare is the key to developing your own rescue plan. In this post, I discuss how to determine your own symptom progression. Once you know what typically happens in your symptom progression you can design a rescue plan to address those symptoms.

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What are your go-to sweeteners for MCAS?

I’d love your reply below!