Seanh
01-07-2004, 11:57 AM
I recently got asked about sugar alternatives. I thought this might help some people in terms of reading nutrition labels.
Regards
Sean
Fake sugar is the latest diet craze on the market. People love sweets and have been searching for ways to avoid the calories of simple sugars.
Let’s start with the newest sugar alternatives on the market, the polyols (also known as sugar alcohols)
Polyols (sugar alcohols) are basically sweetening and bulking agents. They come from certain fruits and berries. The good things about them are:
1. They taste almost like sugar
2. They provide somewhere between 1/2 to 1/3 less calories than regular sugar.
3. Their conversion to glucose is far slower so they require little or no insulin to be metabolized and don’t cause sudden increases in blood sugar (thus useful for patients with diabetes)
4. They DO NOT promote tooth decay (this statement is the FDA has approved a claim of “does not promote tooth decay” for sugar-free foods and beverages sweetened with polyols).
5. They add texture to food, retain moisture and prevent foods from browning when they are heated.
Identifying Polyols:
-Common ones include: mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, isomalt, maltitol and -hydrogenated starch hydrosylates (HSH)
-They can be found in candies, cookies, chewing gums, soft drinks, throat lozenges, toothpaste and even mouthwash
Now the bad things about them:
1. Gastrointestinal side effects such as bloating and diarrhea when they are eaten in excessive amounts.
2. They can have a laxative effect
3. Weight gain with overuse
4. Large amounts increase blood sugars
Sugar Alcohols vs. artificial sweeteners:
Artificial sweeteners are your saccharin (Sweet and Low) and Aspartame (Equal and NutraSweet. The good thing about artificial sweeteners is that they contain zero calories vs. sugar alcohols with ~2.6 cal per gram. Another good thing is that artificial sweeteners do not raise blood sugars.
Here is a handy table from caloriecontrol.org that shows exactly how many calories you get from each of the polyols.
3.0 calories per gram hydrogenated starch hydrolysates
2.6 calories per gram sorbitol
2.4 calories per gram xylitol
2.1 calories per gram maltitol
2.0 calories per gram isomalt
2.0 calories per gram lactitol
1.6 calories per gram mannitol
0.2 calories per gram erythritol
Table taken from http://www.caloriecontrol.org/redcalqa_old.html
Hope that helps
Warmest regards,
Sean Hashmi
REFERENCES
American Dental Association. Position Statement on the Role of Sugar-Free Foods and Medications in Maintaining Good Oral Health. Adopted October 1998.
FAO (1998) Carbohydrates in Human Nutrition. A report of a joint FAO/WHO meeting. Rome 14-18 April, 1997. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 66.
Ludwig, D.S. (2002) The Glycemic Index. Physiological Mechanisms Relating to Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA 287(18):2414-2423.
Nabors, L.O. 1999. The Benefits of Sugar-Free Products in Oral Health. The Dental Assistant. September/October. pp. 38-39.
Warshaw, H.S., Powers, M.A. 1999. A Search for Answers About Foods With Polyols (Sugar Alcohols). Diabetes Educator. May/June. pp. 307-321.
Ziesenitz, S.D., Siebert, G. The Metabolism and Utilization of Polyols and Other Bulk Sweeteners Compared with Sugar. In Developments in Sweeteners - 3. T.H. Grenby, ed., Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1987, pp. 139-40.
Regards
Sean
Fake sugar is the latest diet craze on the market. People love sweets and have been searching for ways to avoid the calories of simple sugars.
Let’s start with the newest sugar alternatives on the market, the polyols (also known as sugar alcohols)
Polyols (sugar alcohols) are basically sweetening and bulking agents. They come from certain fruits and berries. The good things about them are:
1. They taste almost like sugar
2. They provide somewhere between 1/2 to 1/3 less calories than regular sugar.
3. Their conversion to glucose is far slower so they require little or no insulin to be metabolized and don’t cause sudden increases in blood sugar (thus useful for patients with diabetes)
4. They DO NOT promote tooth decay (this statement is the FDA has approved a claim of “does not promote tooth decay” for sugar-free foods and beverages sweetened with polyols).
5. They add texture to food, retain moisture and prevent foods from browning when they are heated.
Identifying Polyols:
-Common ones include: mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, isomalt, maltitol and -hydrogenated starch hydrosylates (HSH)
-They can be found in candies, cookies, chewing gums, soft drinks, throat lozenges, toothpaste and even mouthwash
Now the bad things about them:
1. Gastrointestinal side effects such as bloating and diarrhea when they are eaten in excessive amounts.
2. They can have a laxative effect
3. Weight gain with overuse
4. Large amounts increase blood sugars
Sugar Alcohols vs. artificial sweeteners:
Artificial sweeteners are your saccharin (Sweet and Low) and Aspartame (Equal and NutraSweet. The good thing about artificial sweeteners is that they contain zero calories vs. sugar alcohols with ~2.6 cal per gram. Another good thing is that artificial sweeteners do not raise blood sugars.
Here is a handy table from caloriecontrol.org that shows exactly how many calories you get from each of the polyols.
3.0 calories per gram hydrogenated starch hydrolysates
2.6 calories per gram sorbitol
2.4 calories per gram xylitol
2.1 calories per gram maltitol
2.0 calories per gram isomalt
2.0 calories per gram lactitol
1.6 calories per gram mannitol
0.2 calories per gram erythritol
Table taken from http://www.caloriecontrol.org/redcalqa_old.html
Hope that helps
Warmest regards,
Sean Hashmi
REFERENCES
American Dental Association. Position Statement on the Role of Sugar-Free Foods and Medications in Maintaining Good Oral Health. Adopted October 1998.
FAO (1998) Carbohydrates in Human Nutrition. A report of a joint FAO/WHO meeting. Rome 14-18 April, 1997. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 66.
Ludwig, D.S. (2002) The Glycemic Index. Physiological Mechanisms Relating to Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA 287(18):2414-2423.
Nabors, L.O. 1999. The Benefits of Sugar-Free Products in Oral Health. The Dental Assistant. September/October. pp. 38-39.
Warshaw, H.S., Powers, M.A. 1999. A Search for Answers About Foods With Polyols (Sugar Alcohols). Diabetes Educator. May/June. pp. 307-321.
Ziesenitz, S.D., Siebert, G. The Metabolism and Utilization of Polyols and Other Bulk Sweeteners Compared with Sugar. In Developments in Sweeteners - 3. T.H. Grenby, ed., Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1987, pp. 139-40.