You may have noticed on some food labels (mostly from candy, desserts or gum) that there is a listing for sugar alcohol. I started looking into details about sugar alcohols after one of my friends offered someone sugar-free chocolate. In response, the recipient replied “Thanks, but I can’t. I’m not 21 yet, I can’t have alcohol.”
I tried not to laugh because I knew that the sugar alcohol in the chocolate was not the same kind of alcohol that this person thought it was, but when asked what it really was, I couldn’t explain. So, after a little reading up on the subject, here is my explanation – hope you are reading this Jamie!
First off, what is sugar alcohol? Sugar alcohol is a reduced calorie sweetener that has about half the calories as regular table sugar (sucrose). Common sugar alcohols are:
• Erythritol
• Lactitol
• Maltitol
• Mannitol
• Sorbitol
• Xylitol (most common)
Why choose products that use sugar alcohol versus regular sugar? There are actually a lot of advantages to choose sugar alcohol. The most obvious benefit being that it doesn’t have as many calories as regular sugar. Another advantage is that sugar alcohols are more slowly and not completely absorbed by the body.
This is good news for diabetics! For diabetics who are “carb counting”, if a food has more than 5 grams of sugar alcohols, you can subtract ½ the grams of sugar alcohol from the amount of total carbohydrate. Of course, first talk to your physician about working in foods with sugar alcohols into your diet.
Lastly, and most interestingly, a major advantage of sugar alcohols is that they do not metabolize by oral bacteria, so they don’t promote tooth decay! Children of the world rejoice!
Now for the inevitable disadvantage of consuming sugar alcohol. Let me explain it by putting it this way – there is a warning on the back of Hersey’s sugar free products that reads “individuals sensitive to sugar substitutes may experience a laxative effect.”
The good news is that if you continue to consume foods with sugar alcohol, you will most likely develop a degree of tolerance to the bodily side effects. The better news is that the Food and Drug Administration classifies some sugar alcohols as Generally Recognized as Safe!
How do you feel about the subject? Do you feel the benefits of sugar alcohol out weight the costs in comparison to regular sugar?
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