Sugar alcohols

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Stuart Pedazzo - 15 Oct 2003 03:05 GMT

I found a "carb-friendly" product at the store today that said it had
3 effective grams of carbs. When I looked at the nutritional panel it
stated :

Total carbs : 15g
Sugar alcohols : 12g
Effective carbs: 3g

Is sugar alcohol non-digestible like fiber? Any info would be
appreciated.

Sincerely,

Stuart Pedazzo...but you can call me Stu!

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Julie Bove - 15 Oct 2003 03:42 GMT

> I found a "carb-friendly" product at the store today that said it had
> 3 effective grams of carbs. When I looked at the nutritional panel it
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Is sugar alcohol non-digestible like fiber? Any info would be
> appreciated.

Sugar alcohol = laxative. Eat with great care! And check your BG. Some
people find that these products raise their BG just like sugar would.

Signature

Type 2
http://users.bestweb.net/~jbove/

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Stuart Pedazzo - 16 Oct 2003 01:38 GMT

Laxative,eh? And I thought being diabetic was already a pain in the
a..........well, you get the idea.

>Sugar alcohol = laxative. Eat with great care! And check your BG. Some
>people find that these products raise their BG just like sugar would.

Sincerely,

Stuart Pedazzo...but you can call me Stu!

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Charly Coughran - 15 Oct 2003 16:16 GMT

The sugar alcohols (xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, and hydrogenated starch
hydrolysates) are absorbed more slowly than carbohydrates as they are
processed further down the gut. For reasons that have never been fully
clear to me, it is difficult to give an accurate calorie/gram figure, but
it is less that the 4 calories/gram for carbohydrates. They are widely
used in diabetic/dietetic foods. The slow absorbtion of sugar alcohols can
be a source of difficulty since it can promote osmotic diarrhea. For most
people, this is only a problem when ingesting large quantities (30-50 g
depending on the particular compound). Some people seem to be more
sensitive.

Charly Coughran
ccoughran@DELETE-TO-REPLY-UCSD.EDU

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Sleepyman - 15 Oct 2003 20:19 GMT

>> I found a "carb-friendly" product at the store today that said it had
>> 3 effective grams of carbs. When I looked at the nutritional panel it
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>> Is sugar alcohol non-digestible like fiber? Any info would be
>> appreciated.

From:
http://www.joslin.harvard.edu/education/library/sugar_alcohols.shtml

"The sugar alcohols commonly found in foods are sorbitol, mannitol,
xylitol, isomalt and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates. Sugar alcohols
come from plant products such as fruits and berries. The carbohydrate
in these plant products is altered through a chemical process. These
sugar substitutes provide somewhat fewer calories than table sugar
(sucrose), mainly because they are not well absorbed and may even have
a small laxative effect.

Many so-called "dietetic" foods that are labeled "sugar free" or "no
sugar added" in fact contain sugar alcohols. People with diabetes
MISTAKENLY think that foods labeled as "sugar free" or "no sugar
added" will have no effect on their blood sugars. Foods containing
these sugar alcohols need to have their calorie and carbohydrate
contents accounted for in your overall meal plan, as it is
carbohydrate that raises blood sugar levels. Since many people
typically overeat "sugar free" or "no sugar added" foods, their blood
sugar may be significantly elevated.

So the next time you pick up a dietetic food labeled "sugar free" be
sure to check the label to see if these sugar alcohols are listed.
Most importantly, be sure to check what the total carbohydrate content
is per serving of any food, and incorporate that carbohydrate in your
overall meal plan. If the product contains any total carb grams, it
may likely come from sugar alcohols."

Believe who you want. It is your health.

Sleepy

========
COWBOY UP!
Magic Number=6
========

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Guy Scharf - 15 Oct 2003 16:56 GMT

> I found a "carb-friendly" product at the store today that said it
> had 3 effective grams of carbs. When I looked at the nutritional
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Is sugar alcohol non-digestible like fiber? Any info would be
> appreciated.

Sugar alcohols do not contribute to blood glucose increase in the same
way as other carbohydrates (except fiber). A recent study reports that
the blood glucose increase is different for different sugar alcohols.
See <http://www.diabetes.ca/Files/SugarAlcohols--Wolever--
CJDDecember2002.pdf>.

At the last diabetes education class I attended, I received a handout
saying to divide sugar alcohol grams by 2 and then subtract from total
carbs. All of the marketing for "effective carbs" or "net carbs" just
subtracts all of the sugar alcohols. For some sugar alcohols, and for
some people, that may be true. I don't know that it is true for all,
and especially for the most commonly used sugar alcohols like maltitol.

I plan to do some blood sugar tests on myself with a low carb bar with
lots of sugar alcohols, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.

Sugar alcohols can have a laxative effect.

Signature

Guy
T2, dx 5/95, 60yo
metformin+actos+lisinopril+diet+exercise

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Françoise - 16 Oct 2003 01:07 GMT

Stuart,

I stay away from sugar alcohols. Once my BG went way up with sugar
alcohol. I cannot remember which one but since then I do not eat anything
containing "----ol". It was worst than the plain sugar. Am I a special
case? I do not know.

Françoise.

> I found a "carb-friendly" product at the store today that said it had
> 3 effective grams of carbs. When I looked at the nutritional panel it
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Stuart Pedazzo...but you can call me Stu!

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chad - 18 Oct 2003 05:20 GMT

>I found a "carb-friendly" product at the store today that said it had
>3 effective grams of carbs. When I looked at the nutritional panel it
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>concatenated
>Stuart Pedazzo...but you can call me Stu!

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