Sugar alcohols are candy natural chemical compounds generally used as a sugar substitute. As a result of they don’t impression blood sugar in the identical manner common sugar does, they are often helpful to people who want to management their blood sugar ranges or consumption.
Merchandise that embrace them are sometimes marketed as “low-carb” or “sugar-free.”
Right here’s what you might want to find out about sugar alcohols — and whether or not or not these sugar substitutes are best for you.
What Is Sugar Alcohol?
“Sugar alcohols are sugar substitutes used as sweeteners in quite a lot of merchandise, akin to sweet and gum,” says Natalie Allen, MS, RD, an teacher of biomedical sciences at Missouri State College.
Technically, they’re a part of a bunch of short-chain carbohydrates generally known as fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols — a.ok.a. FODMAPs. (Sugar alcohols are a part of the “P” — polyols.)
To identify them on a diet label, have a look at the tip of every ingredient. In case you see an “itol” on the finish of it, which means it’s a sugar alcohol — which is a little bit of a misnomer since they’re neither sugar nor alcohol. They’re, nevertheless, chemically processed synthetic sweeteners.
The low-calorie sweeteners could also be present in “sugar-free” variations of meals like sweet, chewing gum, cookies, pudding, food regimen sodas, and different sweets.
Sugar alcohols may additionally be utilized in meals merchandise for texture and moisture (and to stop browning throughout cooking).
Forms of Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols embrace:
- Erythritol (in sweeteners like Truvia)
- Isomalt
- Lactitol
- Maltitol
- Mannitol
- Sorbitol
- Xylitol
What Is the Distinction Between Sugar and Sugar Alcohols?
Sugar alcohols “present fewer energy than common sugar, and the metabolism is slightly totally different,” Allen explains. Whereas sugar usually will get fully absorbed in your small gut, sugar alcohols are incompletely absorbed there.
As a result of the physique doesn’t take up sugar alcohols in the identical manner it metabolizes sugar, Allen says, they supply fewer energy than common sugar.
One sugar alcohol particularly, erythritol, comprises no energy, as a result of it’s excreted into the urine and doesn’t impression blood glucose and insulin ranges.
For instance, a teaspoon of granulated sugar has 16 energy. The identical quantity of xylitol powder comprises roughly half the quantity of energy, and a teaspoon of Truvia (erythritol) comprises zero energy.
Are Sugar Alcohols Unhealthy for You?
“It’s definitely okay to eat sugar alcohols, however don’t overdo it,” Allen says.
They will generally trigger bloating, gasoline, and diarrhea as a result of they’re not fully digested within the intestine and never fully absorbed by your physique. That is what makes them decrease in energy than sugar, however it could additionally trigger some uncomfortable side effects.
And for individuals with irritable bowel syndrome, FODMAPs typically have been related to long-term gastrointestinal signs.
Analysis means that the uncomfortable side effects are extra seemingly when larger quantities are consumed.
Can You Eat Sugar Alcohols on a Sugar-Free Weight-reduction plan?
It depends upon the plan. Some sugar-free diets advocate eliminating them completely.
However people trying to eat much less sugar and keep higher blood sugar management could profit from sugar alcohols.
The underside line that sugar alcohols aren’t sugar “freebies.” They need to nonetheless be consumed sparsely, and it’s necessary to think about the potential GI uncomfortable side effects.
In case you’re attempting to kickstart a sugar-free way of life, you might discover it’s finest to chop out meals sweetened with sugar alcohol.
