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Nutrition Diva: Ask the Diva: What are sugar alcohols?

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Nutrition Diva: Ask the Diva: What are sugar alcohols?

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Q. I found some sugar-free syrup at the grocery store. A serving contains 10 gm carbs, 0 gm sugar, 10gm sugar alcohol. What does that mean? What is sugar alcohol? A. Ironically, “sugar alcohols” contain neither sugar nor alcohol–at least, not the intoxicating kind. There are lots of different sugar alcohols and they all end in -ol. Maltitol, xylitol, and sorbitol, are some of the more common ones. Although they taste sweet, sugar alcohols are lower in calories than regular sugar and they don’t affect blood sugar levels. You’ll often find them in sugar-free products or foods made for diabetics. In small quantities, sugar alcohols are perfectly safe. But if you overdo it, they can cause temporary but unpleasant side effects such as diarrhea. A newer sugar alcohol called erythritol is supposed to cause less digestive trouble than some of the others. For more tips, recipes, and answers to listener questions, be sure to sign up for my free weekly e-mail tips!

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