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 means common sugar does, they are often helpful to people who wish to management their blood sugar ranges or consumption.
Merchandise that embody them are sometimes marketed as “low-carb” or “sugar-free.”
Right here’s what it is advisable learn 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 a wide range of merchandise, comparable 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 gaggle 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, take a look at the top of every ingredient. If you happen to see an “itol” on the finish of it, meaning 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, eating regimen sodas, and different sweets.
Sugar alcohols may be utilized in meals merchandise for texture and moisture (and to stop browning throughout cooking).
Forms of Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols embody:
- 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 a bit of completely 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 soak up sugar alcohols in the identical means 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, fuel, 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 may additionally trigger some unwanted effects.
And for folks with irritable bowel syndrome, FODMAPs typically have been related to long-term gastrointestinal signs.
Analysis means that the unwanted effects are extra possible when greater quantities are consumed.
Can You Eat Sugar Alcohols on a Sugar-Free Food plan?
It will depend on the plan. Some sugar-free diets advocate eliminating them completely.
However people seeking to devour much less sugar and preserve 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 carefully, and it’s necessary to contemplate the potential GI unwanted effects.
If you happen to’re attempting to kickstart a sugar-free way of life, you could discover it’s greatest to chop out meals sweetened with sugar alcohol.
