Every time I share a picture of my Starbucks keto iced coffee, thereโs a flurry of โthatโs not keto!โ comments mixed with concerned questionsโฆ
Specifically about the maltodextrin in (some) Starbucks sugar free syrups, and whether that kicks you out of ketosis or spikes your insulin worse than sugar.
Today I want to clear that up. ๐
Keto Myths & Maltodextrin Hype
There are many โketo mythsโ floating around the web, getting repeated countless times without any real proof. People speak on keto like this or that is a hard fact, without anything to back it up other than โI heardโฆโ
Then thereโs also the source they heard it from, and the facts (truths) โ as well as the facts that are NOT shared in those sources.
Iโll share an example on that so you can see what I mean, which should help you make more informed decisions (and do further research yourself) in the future.
For this post Iโm using maltodextrin and my Starbucks order as an example as just one of many common โketo scares.โ But what youโll learn here can help you understand (or better research) similar โhot topicsโ in the keto community.
The big thing youโll always hear about anything that contains maltodextrin (and thats A LOT of things!) is that itโs glycemic index is almost twice as high as sugar, and that it will spike your blood sugar through the roof.
Youโll learn what maltodextrin IS and reasons you may want to avoid it, which of the Starbucks sugar-free syrups have maltodextrin and which do not, why people say maltodextrin is โnot ketoโ and more.
Youโll also get to see my blood sugar results โ where I tested it on myself.
Iโll give you everything you need to know to decide for yourselfโฆ
What IS Maltodextrin?
Maltodextrin is basically just an additive. Itโs used as a preservative, a thickener and a filler. Itโs also used as a carrier, to add other ingredients to products.
Itโs in A LOT of products such as: vitamins, baby formula, beer, beef jerky, medicines, protein bars & shakes, dressings, electrolyte drink mixes, sodas, you name it โ youโll often find it in STEVIA even.
Youโve been consuming and using maltodextrin ALL your life, so itโs nothing new since you went keto. Itโs even in personal care products like lotion, shampoo, etc.
There are plenty of reasons NOT to love Maltodextrin but you should make your decision based on ALL the facts. And that decision can be personal to you.
It truly is JUST a preference, not a โketo rule.โ ๐
What youโll often hear in keto communities is maltodextrin is โworse than sugarโ โ meaning the glycemic index is higher than sugar. The last part is true.
Dr. Eric Berg says maltodextrin is โvery severe on your blood sugarโ in this video. In another video he says โso if itโs that high on the glycemic index, itโs creating a MASSIVE SURGE in your blood sugar when you consume it.โ
I donโt disagree with most of the points in his video, only two of them. First, maltodextrin IS gluten free even when itโs made from wheat: โthe processing that wheat starches undergo in the creation of maltodextrin renders it gluten-free.โ โsource
I also disagree with his comment: โso if itโs that high on the glycemic index, itโs creating a MASSIVE SURGE in your blood sugar when you consume it.โ
Iโll explain why. Because I love Dr. Berg and his work. ๐
Iโm not saying Maltodextrin is great or even good or that there arenโt reasons you may choose to avoid foods that contain it.
Iโll share all the details with you, then thatโs a decision you can make for yourself.
Maltodextrin vs Sugar
(The BIG Point Nobody Mentions!)
The fact that most people are leaving out of their argument that maltodextrin IS THE DEVIL is that there is such a SMALL amount of it in any one serving or any one food or drink you may consume โ so you are NOT consuming equal amounts of sugar and maltodextrin, EVER.
That is the (huge) point nobody ever explains.
You simply cannot compare maltodextrin and sugar in that way, as if they are equal, because it would be a highly RARE case that you are consuming more than a TINY amount of maltodextrin โ a trace amount, really.
Consider drinking a Starbucks iced coffee with regular vanilla syrup vs sugar-free vanilla syrup. The grams of sugar in a regular sweetened iced coffee vs the grams of maltodextrin in a sugar-free iced coffee are not even comparable.
Letโs look at a real-life exampleโฆ
Starbucks Iced Coffee is served โlightly sweetenedโ by default, but is not AT ALL sweet so you would never know it. The classic syrup (sugar water) they add by default has 30 grams of sugar in a 24oz Venti Iced Coffee.
If you add 4 pumps of regular vanilla syrup (not sugar free) to your iced coffee, thatโs 20 grams of sugar per tbsp โ assuming a pump is a tbsp. When you include the Classic Syrup (30 grams of sugar) you have a total of 110 grams of sugar in a Venti iced coffee with 4 pumps of vanilla syrup.
Weโll use this comparison because the Starbucks sugar-free vanilla syrup has maltodextrin in it.
Compare that to what I would order: a Venti iced coffee with โno classic syrupโ (without the sugar water) and 4 pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup.
Even if you counted 1 carb per pump (some people do, some donโt), that comes to 4 carbs vs 110 carbs.
Again: 20 grams of sugar per pump of regular vanilla syrup, or 20 carbs vs 1 carb per pump of sugar-free vanilla syrup.
See the difference?! ๐
Obviously you are NOT consuming equal amounts of sugar and maltodextrin.
Thatโs the point no one mentions when they say maltodextrin has a higher glycemic index than sugar. I canโt personally think of a situation on a keto diet where you would consume more than a tiny amount of maltodextrin โ and certainly never comparable to the amount of sugar in a high carb version of the same food or drink.
Further down youโll see that Starbucks lists their sugar free syrups as ZERO carbs per 2 TBSP serving on the nutrition facts label. So Iโm not sure who started the rumor that they were 1 carb per pump. Or maybe itโs a round up / round down issue. I have no idea. But I doubt the total carb count of the sugar free syrup (whatever it is) is from the maltodextrin alone, which again โ is a trace amount.
Still, in that tiny amountโฆ
Does maltodextrin cause a โMASSIVE SURGEโ in your blood sugar?
Thatโs what I set out to testโฆ
My Starbucks Keto Iced Coffee Order
The photo above was an iced coffee I had from Starbucks this week. I had two actually because I was in the city several days this week. I only have them now and then, itโs not a daily thing just a treat, because I donโt have a Starbucks where I live. ๐
First, you should know: my coffee order is SWEET and itโs HUGE.
I sip on it most of the day and rarely ever finish one in a day. Iโll stick it in the refrigerator and finish it the next day most of the time, even.
That amount of heavy cream usually makes me feel full too, so I eat less on the days I have it. It almost serves as a meal replacement! It has about the same amount of calories as a BPC or fatty coffee, depending on the amount of cream you ask for.
Hereโs what I order โ and this is how I say it:
Trenta Iced Coffee
no classic syrup
5 pumps of sugar free cinnamon dolce
4 pumps of sugar free vanilla
and heavy whipping cream โ only about 1/3 cup please
I usually say that with my fingers showing I mean 1/3 cup โ not one third of THE cup. If I donโt specify the 1/3 cup of heavy cream, I log it as at least half a cup. They can get pretty heavy handed with the cream for my taste. ๐
Iโll show you how I log it (carb count, etc) further down tooโฆ
For the purpose of my blood glucose / blood ketone test on this Starbucks iced coffee order (to see if itโs REALLY keto friendly), I ordered a smaller size (24oz vs 31oz) with the same amount of ingredients:
I did that because I wanted to be able to drink the entire thing in under an hour, like I would guess most people do โ instead of sipping on it throughout the day.
Iโve been drinking that same Starbucks order over the last year with NO problem, and with my ketone levels holding steady, but for this test I wanted to consume it all at once.
I got one and stuck it in the fridge so I could do this testing at home the next day.
Let me just sayโฆ THIS tasted super sweet, more like a milkshake. ๐
I would not normally get this much sweetener in a smaller iced coffee like this, but I wanted to really put this โmaltodextrinโ issue in the sugar free vanilla to the test.
If that iced coffee had NOT been ordered sugar free and with no classic syrup, it would have been 210 grams of sugar โ plus 3.2 carbs for the heavy cream โ for a total of 213.2 carbs.
I didnโt order this coffee, a friend brought it to me so I could do this test, so I definitely logged this one with half a cup of HWC (3.2 carbs) vs my usual 1/3 cup request (2.1 carbs).
Again, Iโll show you how I log it below, but even if you DID count 1 carb per pump of sugar free vanilla (the one with maltodextrin), that would come to 4 + 3.2 for a total of 7.2 carbs. I donโt log the syrups because they have zero nutritional value (no carbs, no calories), so I only log the HWC in my daily macro tracking.
On the high end, for the people DO that log EVERY pump as one carb, my order would be 12.2 carbs. Still nowhere near the 213.2 carbs for a NON sugar free version, or the 210 grams of sugar. ๐
Letโs dive into the test resultsโฆ
Does Maltodextrin REALLY Spike Your Blood Sugar?
The image above is my starting numbers for this test: my glucose and ketone levels before I drank the keto Starbucks iced coffee.
My glucose seemed a little high to start at 99. My baseline is around 85. My ketone levels were my normal level (1.3) for that time of day.
I use the Keto Mojo Blood Glucose & Ketone Testing Kit and that link will get you 15% off. If you want to learn more about it, hereโs where I did a VERY enlightening video interview with the founder of Keto Mojo.
For the purpose of this โketo testโ I drank the ENTIRE 24 ounce Starbucks iced coffee within 30 minutes.
This one was sweeter than my usual order (a smaller cup with the same amount of cream & sugar free syrups) โ so it basically tasted like a MILKSHAKE. ๐
I wanted to really put that โmaltodextrin creates a MASSIVE SURGE in your blood sugar when you consume itโ comment to the test. ๐
30 minutes after drinking the entire coffee, I tested again:
As you can see, my blood sugar actually came DOWN.
My ketone levels dropped slightly too, but thatโs not unusual as they fluctuate throughout the day and before/after you eat. I was still IN KETOSIS at 0.9 and my blood sugar did NOT spike. The opposite actually.
I tested again one full hour after having the coffee:
The resultโฆ
The Starbucks Iced Coffee is keto friendly. No question.
4 full pumps of sugar free vanilla syrup with maltodextrin did NOTHING to my blood sugar levels. Zilch โ no impact.
So there ya go. ๐
You may still want to avoid maltodextrin for your own personal reasons, which is totally fine. I did a little homework for you โ so you know which syrups to NOT choose at Starbucks if thatโs your preferenceโฆ
Starbucks Sugar Free Syrups & Maltodextrin
Starbucks used to offer more sugar free syrup flavors, but right now it seems that at most locations you can only get sugar free vanilla or sugar free cinnamon dolce.
The sugar free vanilla DOES contain maltodextrin, and the sugar free cinnamon dolce does NOT.
Here are the Sugar Free Syrups that are currently available year round:
- Sugar Free Vanilla contains maltodextrin
- Sugar Free Hazelnut contains maltodextrin
- Sugar Free Cinnamon Dolce does NOT contain maltodextrin
If you click each link, you can view the labels and nutrition facts.
ALL of them say ZERO carbs per 2 TBSP serving.
I think theyโve discontinued the sugar-free hazelnut and caramel syrups, as well as the sugar free peppermint syrup which used to be available during the holidays.
NOTE: their โwhipped creamโ HAS SUGAR IN IT so you definitely want to avoid that and use heavy cream or half & half in your Starbucks orders instead.
How I Log My Starbucks Keto Friendly Iced Coffee in MyFitnessPal
Some people say the syrups are 1 carb per pump. They donโt affect me and the labels say ZERO on the bottles you buy to use at home, so I donโt log them โ but thatโs a personal choice (too).
I log the amount of HWC (heavy whipping cream) I ask for which is usually 1/3 cup โ or if I donโt specify or it looks lighter than usual, I log it as 1/2 cup (half a cup) to be safe.
Heavy Whipping Cream is 0.4 per tbsp, regardless of what your label says.
When it comes to labeling, they are able to round up or round down.
Anything less than half a carb can be labeled as zero, which is why most heavy whipping cream labels say zero carbs.
That can really add up on you in recipes though! ๐
There are 16 TBSPs in a cup, making HWC 6.4 carbs per cupโฆ
You simply want to find an entry in MyFitnessPal, or the tracker you use, that counts heavy whipping cream (HWC) as 1 carb for 2 TBSP. Itโs also 50 calories per TBSP if youโre counting calories.
~
Individual Results May Vary
Itโs worth noting that everyone may respond differently to various types of sugar free sweeteners or foods/products. Itโs also worth noting that most people DO NOT properly do clean testing like I do, so their results may be skewed or diluted.
I do a full six day clean test on any new food or ingredient. That means I eat super simple known/tested foods (eggs, pecans, beef, etc) and often mono meals (single ingredient meals) for 72 hours prior to a glucose/ketone test.
I do this to get my body to baseline numbers, or optimal ketone/glucose levels, and so that there are NO other factors affecting my test.
I then test a single new food or ingredient (or Starbucks order), and follow that with another 72 hours of clean eating. I do that because it can take up to 72 hours to fully metabolize anything you consume โ and longer if you drink alcohol.
I mentioned all of this in my recent sugar free chocolate chips keto test post & video.
I said then and Iโll say again: I donโt trust anyone elseโs results.
Thatโs for two reasons. First because we are all different. And second because I donโt know ANYONE that does a full 6-day CLEAN test, and doesnโt take a single bite of anything else questionable. ๐
This is a matter of comparing avocados to avocados โ instead of avocados to apples.
Back to maltodextrin which is apparently โTHE KETO DEVILโ according to keto communities and self-proclaimed keto gurusโฆ I found it very interesting that the whole craze is based solely on a glycemic index comparison ONLY.
Itโs simply not a fair comparison, as I demonstrated.
A trace amount, and thatโs what it is: a TRACE amount, of maltodextrin is not at all the same as a serving of sugar โ in any food or in any situation. Unless youโre testing a full TBSP of each side by side, which is just silly.
As for me, Iโm going to continue enjoying my keto-friendly Starbucks iced coffees. ๐
Itโs really such a minor thing to cause such a HUGE stir across keto communities, in my opinion anyway.
Iโm sure Iโve been consuming maltodextrin pretty much all my life, way before I went keto, and in more foods and products than I even care to know about.
I just canโt be bothered to scrutinize every little ingredient ALL the time, or to cut out something so ENJOYABLE as my sugar free iced coffee โ which is a treat, by the way, not a daily thing but an occasional indulgence.
I also donโt gulp down the entire thing but rather sip on it and usually drink maybe half, then stick it in the refrigerator and finish the rest of it the next day.
I think at the point that I would get THAT picky about every single ingredient and trace additive in any food or ingredient or bottle of shampooโฆ Iโd also have to question taking my next breathโฆ
You canโt possibly believe the AIR is clean on this polluted planet we live on. ๐
But thatโs just me. I want to live freely and enjoy my life, and enjoy the widest range of flavors and foods and experiences, while staying in nutritional ketosis. Simple!
Like I said, itโs a personal preference. My coffee date friend prefers NOT to consume maltodextrin. He also doesnโt eat beef or pork. All personal choices, and all fine by me. He orders the iced coffee with heavy cream and sugar free cinnamon dolce syrup, then adds a packet of stevia from his pocket.
Just between you and I, his stevia packets list dextrose as the first ingredient โ which is pretty much the same thing as maltodextrin (proof). ๐ ๐ Shhhh!!
Dextrose and maltodextrin are very similar. Something to Google if youโre interested. Also, anytime it says โnatural flavorsโ maltodextrin may be used as the carrier for those. I always find it sketchy when โnatural flavorsโ is listed as an ingredient โ with no explanation of what those are exactly.
But again, if it tastes good and tests good โ Iโll probably eat it. ๐
Thoughts or Questions on Keto Starbucks or Maltodextrin?
Leave a comment and letโs chat!
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. This is the kind of thing I absolutely LOVE to dig into and research/test. While Iโm sipping my Starbucks coffee full of maltodextrin, of courseโฆ ๐
This is the reason you need to do your own testing though, in all seriousness. Donโt just blindly believe everything you read or watch online, or heard somewhere.
Itโs all about knowing how YOUR body responds to certain foods or ingredients, your bio-individuality, and not giving in to hype and sensationalism and silly arguments or scare tactics โ but testing for the TRUTH.
Here is our 15% off discount link for the Keto Mojo Testing Kit
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Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER

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What about their skinny mocha sauce Lynn? Fascinating stuff, thanks for testing!!!
Hi Chris! I looked up the Skinny Mocha and couldnโt find ANY real details on it, and have never tried it myself. I was curious about that myself. ๐
It does have carbsโฆ I think it was 13g for s grande size with hwc. Not sugar-free. ๐
It is 13g net carbs for a grande size with hwc for the skinny mocha sauce. Not sugar-free ๐
Great article. I try to eat clean but donโt freak out too much.
Ditto, Sheila โ I eat pretty simple for the most part, but Iโm not going to let a little additive ruin my pure JOY in a cup ๐ lol. *cheers*
Lynn, as always, I appreciate you doing thoughtful, time-consuming research like this and sharing what you find! I typically take my own HWC and SF syrup when I get coffee out. I track everything in MFP, too, but I just like to know exactly what Iโm getting. Probably anal that way. LOL I eat in restaurants maybe once a week and just look at the their sitesโ nutritional info. I generally trust what theyโre doing but know thereโs a margin of error โ which I donโt stress over, because a girlโs gotta live her keto/low-carb life!
I agree Melanie. When I see people not eat a steak out because they are afraid the seasonings might have sugar I am thinking they way over thinking this. I do bring my own sugar free BBQ sauce if I can but I donโt beat myself up. I think.that is why.people give up on keto or think it is not sustainable
Lynn, most diabetes educators recommend testing postprandial blood glucose at one-hour post meal. Have you tried that?
Iโve got T1D and I wear a continuous glucose monitor, which is pretty cool to be able to watch my blood glucose in live time! ๐
So, is it ok to eat some of the sugar free candy that is sweetened with malto dextrose? Iโd like a Russel Stover peanut butter cup as a treat now and then, but shun it because of the sweetener.
Thank you for this great information, Lynn. Iโve learned so much in reading your emails/articlesโ your various food tests, as well as products you recommend have made my keto journey much more successful. I really appreciate your common sense approach to keto, mixed with the โtrust but verifyโ mentality! Nice to have one less thing to feel keto-guilt about!
I love it when you test and get real technical ( means I donโt have too). You are a trusted source for sure. Thank you.
Itโs post like these that make me love your blog and keep coming back. Thank you for doing all of this work and research and sharing it. This is also one of the reasons I stopped instagramming my food and sharing tips even though people were asking for it. It was just too annoying dealing with the comments and the know-it-alls. Weโre all different and different foods and different sweeteners affect each of us in different ways and we all have to do this LCHF diet in a way that works for us, our bodies and our lifestyles. Thanks again.
Thank you for this information, Lynn! This is why I love your website and you! You are scientific about testing your blood glucose and ketones, yet you understand that people are busy and need to enjoy life and keep things simple (KISS). Your style of doing low-carb is the best Iโve seen yet! When you say โnutritional ketosisโ, do you mean <2.0 GKI (Index)?
I tried using the Starbucks app to check the carb count, but I kept getting 30 grams using only the SF cinnamon dulce, no classic and HWC. Any idea why it is so high??
Hi Pam,
I always order inside so Iโm not sure, but on Instagram they said you have to UNcheck classic syrup or simple syrup under the Syrups tab on the app. Did you try that?
I did make sure that there was no classic. I wonder if they are counting the sugar alcohols in the SF syrups
Starbucks doesnโt update the nutrition info based on what you select. They only show the original version.
I have tested my sugars after drinking a sf vanilla iced coffee with no classic and almond milk. My sugars skyrocket! Also I tested the actual coffee with my glucose meter and it registered almost 300. Why is this?
Iโm not keto just diabetic and have noticed after my coffee my sugar gets high.
You might check with your Starbucks, but it is my understanding that their Almond milk is not unsweetened, so that might be affecting your numbers.
You should do this again and test properly. Test before drinking the drink, one hour after and then two hours after. Any spike over 20 points. Means that itโs no good
Thank you for being so honest! Im not a planner or much of a cook. I appreciate your tips for eating on the go!
You go girl! Thank you for all that valuable information, loved it! We should ALL keep our eyes on our own plateโฆlol
Super informative! Iโm so thankful you can eat clean like that to do testing. I could never do that. We do share the same philosophy about not worrying about the tiny stuff though. Life is too short to worry about some stuff.
I was having the same issue with the app and then I read what it says. (a couple of times so I could understand it). Apparently, the only thing that will affect a change on the nutrition label in the app is the cup size. Every other customization does not register on the final nutrition label. I think that is really misleading!
Hi Lynn ๐
Not being a starbucks customer at all I wonโt comment on anything about your test other than to say that, as usual, you explain things very carefully so your results/reactions are understandable to everyone.
That said I normally donโt have a problem with tiny amounts of maltodextrin though I do check labels to be sure itโs way down the list of ingredients if it is there at all. I do have an issue with one particular product I bought in the past. A huge issue really. Itโs a store brand cup for cup sugar replacement sweetened with stevia and the bulking agent is matlodextrin. Yes I am sure of this as thereโs only 2 things listed in the ingredients. I made two batches of cookies to compare it, one with sugar and one with the stevia replacement. At that time I didnโt realize what maltodextrin really was, I thought it was just fiber. While the sugar free cookie was quite edible and tasted good that sucker about ruined by body for 3 days. yup, one cookie. The shakes from the blood sugar spike were totally unexpected but lasted no longer than normal sugar shakes for me. The disgusting and painful effects it had on my bowels however lasted 3 days. My husband ate the rest of the cookies and not one at a time lol. He had NO issues with the maltodextrin at all.
I no longer use products that have higher lvls of maltodextrin because my body is now more sensitive to it. We may be inured to it since it is in so many packaged products as a minor ingredient but in larger quantites it is not something I would recommend to anyone but like I said my hubby didnโt have the same physical response to it that I did. I also have a nasty and extremely sudden physical response to nutrasweet. I tend to test new sweeteners very very carefully. If I want any LC sweets at all I have to make my own as I have yet to find stevia cookies/muffins/cakes in any store .
I love it when you dig into the products you eat/drink to figure out what they really are ๐
Have a happy!
Tigertye
Someone who does not have diabetes and is simply living a keto or LCHF lifestyle does not have to worry about maltodextrin or any sugars or sugar substitutes because your body can handle all the sugars it needs toโฆthere is no insulin resistence problem there. But trust me, if I or any other diabetic did the same test you did, our results would be much different, and not in a positive way. That is why I have a real problem with Maltodextrin being involved in what would otherwise be diabetic AND low-carb friendly products.
I was really surprise reading all the post,thanks for the info, sometimes when i drink my keto iced coffee that comes to my mine,is this going to kick me out of ketosis,will it ruin my efford.
Thank you for explaining this way, so in detail.
I couldnโt find any info that looks so accurate.
Thank you SO much for cutting through the keto cult crap and demonstrating your results. I am determined to try that drink now guilt free. This WOL must be sustainable to ultimately be successful. One might strain out a gnat and swallow a camel if they followed popular wives tales and listened to the trending rumors. You have shone a light on common sense that I found lacking from the nay sayers. Loved the article and the spirit behind it
Thanks for this informative article. Iโve been drinking 4c lite ice tea and the number 1 ingredient in it is Maltodextrin, and yet it has very low carbs per serving. And I had been reading all these negative articles about Maltodextrin being much worse than sugar. And something didnโt add up to how it was possible to both be low carb and have lots of Maltodextrin. Your article at least somewhat solves that mystery. Basically comparing 1g of Maltodextrin to 1g of sugar is never apt. As it takes far more sugar to sweeten than Maltodextrin.