Stevia may be better choice for diabetics. As an example, you may want to consider using stevia and also use fruit juice, small amounts of licorice root in tea, amasake, etc. so that you get variety in your diet. Licorice root is best used in small amounts to give herbal teas a sweet taste. The koji breaks down the polysaccharides in the rice to disarracharies giving it a very sweet taste. Try to avoid drinking too much of the amasake drinks made with almonds or nuts as they can be hard on the digestion.
Stevia is just one of the more popular ones.
Perhaps Consumer Direct can help in that area. It is a little expensive in large amounts. Brown sugar is usually white sugar mixed with molasses or sprayed with caramel coloring. Raw sugar is often white sugar with coloring. Please don't become a guinea pig for another poorly-tested toxic sweetener only to find out years from now that it contributed to the destruction of your health.