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What Is The Difference Between Sugar And "sugar Alcohols? I Got " Sugar Free Candy It Has Sugar Alcohols In It!

A DiabetesTeam Member asked a question 💭
Palmer, AK
November 2, 2022
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A DiabetesTeam Member

I looked it up and Alcohol sugars are man- made sugar substitutes. I looked up the information on YouTube. The ingredients in a product nutrition label are identified by the " TOL" ending of additives on a label. Example : Sorbitol, Xylitol, Maltitol, Erythritol and ethylene Glycol. Which is different than substitute sugars. Hope that helps. I learned something from your question, I hope that helps. YouTube is my go to for info!

November 2, 2022
A DiabetesTeam Member

Also note that sugar alcohol is a misnomer. What they mean are the sweeteners that have - ol at the end of the name. These have the chemical group OH at one part of the molecule (oxygen-hydrogen) which makes it an alcohol

These are different from what we call real sugars: glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, and other sugars ending in - ose.

But understand that real (-ose) sugars also have the -OH group (six of them).

Sugar alcohols are what are put in sugar-free goods: gum and breath candy. They have calories in them while those foods with artificial sweeteners (saccharin, Neutra-sweet, sucralose) don't add calories.
Sugar alcohols are used in gum and candy not to cause dental decay.

Also, keep sugar alcohol foods away from pets. They can be toxic to fur babies.

November 2, 2022
A DiabetesTeam Member

Sugar Alcohols also called Polyols are the "easy to pronounce" names for something called Oligosaccharides.

For us it's easier to think of them as "sweet fibers". They are naturally sourced from (primarily) vegetables - the "thing" that makes some veggies taste sweet. They are "natural" and are used as a sugar substitute in many sugar free products.

They can be identified on the "ingredients" list by the end of their name. Sugar Alcohols all end in "TOL" as in Maltitol, Erythritol, Sorbitol etc (anything that ends in "OSE" is sugar by another name).

Almost all of the Sugar Alcohols will not raise your blood sugar because they have a Glycemic Index (measure of what they do to your blood sugar) of either ZERO or 1 (table sugar has a GI of 65 for comparison).

However there is one sneaky/nasty Sugar Alcohol which is widely used that is NOT Diabetes Friendly. It is Maltitol.

Maltitol is a "disaccharide" (2 components) that is mostly (safe) Sorbitol but it is mixed with a byproduct of Corn Syrup (really bad for Diabetics) so it ends up with a GI in the mid-50's, almost as bad as "real sugar" For US (don't rot your teeth so still better than sugar if you aren't concerned with blood sugar).

Erythritol is the most widely used Sugar Alcohol/Polyol in "Diabetes Friendly Sugar Free Products" - it is a 1 for 1 replacement for table sugar, tastes almost as sweet (I can't tell the difference), has a GI of ZERO so while it's labeled as a "carb", just like Fiber you subtract it from the total carbs and it has ZERO After taste.

So if you see a product that lists sugar alcohols or polyols on the Nutrition box, check the ingredients and unless it's Maltitol the product is almost certainly friendly to you and will not affect your blood sugar.

November 2, 2022 (edited)

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