According to Dr. Steven Edelman, a professor of medicine an the University of California, San Diego, Type 1 diabetes, diagnosed when the pancreas is destroyed by autoantibodies, is typically diagnosed before the age of 20. The pancreas can no longer secrete insulin once this happens, so a Type 1 diabetic must receive insulin shots. 

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type and is usually diagnosed in overweight people over the age of 35. The cause of Type 2 diabetes is usually insulin resistance, and treatment has to do with diet and exercise. This being the case, adjusting sugar intake and replacing sugar with artificial or alternative sweeteners should work better in those with Type 2 diabetes as opposed to Type 1.c 

According to the MayoClinic, diabetics can use most artificial sweeteners, including:

- Sweet'N Low and Sugar Twin (saccharin)
- Nutrasweet and Equal (aspartame)
- Sunett, Sweet One and Swiss Sweet (acesulfame potassium or acesulfame-K)
- Splenda (sucralose) 

None of these sweeteners have an affect on blood sugar level.c 

Artificial sweeteners do not count as carbohydrates, fats or other diabetes exchange, so they are considered "free foods."

Both the FDA and the American Diabetes Association recommend diabetics use these sweeteners as well.

Sugar alcohols including mannitol, sorbitol and xylitol increase blood sugar levels, though not as much as other carbohydrates.c In studies performed on rats, the National Institute of Health determined that Xylitol is a better sweetener than sucrose for diabetics as it maintains healthy insulin levels.c