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Sugar Alcohols, Glycerine and Low-Carbohydrate Diets
By Aaron Delgado
Low-carbohydrate diets require a lot of reading... label reading.
Labels can be very deceptive when it comes to hiding serving
size, but it is pretty hard to hide carbohydrates right? After
all, it's right there, total carbohydrates per serving! But if you look
carefully, many times you will notice something on the ingredient
list that is not included in the total caloric breakdown or
carbohydrate count on the packaging. Typically, these omitted
grams will be from sugar alcohols (or glycerine a.k.a. glycerin
or glycerol). Sugar alcohol!? But the label says sugar free...
well, under FDA guidelines (Title 21 Part 101 –
Food Labeling) a
product can be loaded with sugar alcohols and still proudly proclaim
itself “sugar free!” Furthermore, the FDA guidelines
permit the product manufacturer to mention that sugar alcohols promote
dental health and hygiene (obviously unlike the
tooth-rotting associated with sugar).
Is a "sugar alcohol" really a sugar? Seems like the FDA does not
consider these “sugars” to be full sugars. Is this a problem?
Many people claimed it was. “Bar-addicts” were noticing that it was
harder for them to get into ketosis or to lose weight and
immediately the cry went up that it was these “hi-tech” ingredients
like glycerine and sugar alcohols that were disrupting the
process. So, was this the case? Were companies deliberately
mislabeling their products? I do not think I will ever be able to
answer that question satisfactorily, except to say that it is very
difficult to classify the caloric impact of sugar alcohols and
glycerine as coming from a carbohydrate or a fat. Probably for this
very reason, for a long time carbohydrates from sugar
alcohols and glycerine were not included on the label in a direct manner.
This is now changing. Most manufacturers are now listing the
carbohydrate and calories coming from sugar alcohols and glycerine.
This means that some brands of protein bars and other
foods you may have been used to thinking of as having a certain
carbohydrate or calorie content had to be relabeled.
The formulation of the product did not change. All that changed was
the guidelines the company used to publish the nutritional
information. So, if you had been fine eating a certain protein bar
and now, looking down, see that instead of 3 grams of
carbohydrates that label now says 20 grams but has a comment that
this included glycerine or sugar alcohols, do not get
alarmed. Sugar alcohols and glycerine make labels seem a lot worse
than they really are. Sugar alcohols have, typically, half
the calories of normal carbohydrates on a gram per gram basis.
Likewise, glycerine, which is a tri-hydric alcohol, has only 4.3
calories per gram, a bit more than normal carbohydrates but less
than half the calories of fat. So both of these alcohols are
deceptively hard to count on a label. Both of these alcohols have
almost no impact on insulin levels unlike normal
carbohydrates, which makes them a good low-carbohydrate food additive.
The biological mechanics of low-carbohydrate dieting is that the
body switches over from one metabolic pathway in the Krebs
cycle where it burns glucose and begins to use ketone bodies for
fuel – which the body can metabolize and use for energy,
albeit in a less efficient manner hence the weight loss. The
switch from glucose to ketone metabolism occurs when the body's
stores of glycogen are depleted, particularly the glycogen stored
in the liver. Muscle holds glycogen wrapped tightly with
water molecules, but it is not muscle glycogen levels that
influence ketosis; it is the liver’s “index” of glycogen that matters. This
is why athletes can benefit from temporary intake of carbohydrates
immediately after a workout and still lose fat (the body -
post workout - stores glycogen preferentially in the muscles, not the
liver hence the body’s index is not disrupted). This is a
simplification of a very complex (and cool) metabolic process in your
body, but it is crucial to understanding the impact of
different foods on the body with regards to low carbohydrate dieting.
Most people have a sweet tooth, which is like a terminal disease to
someone on a low carbohydrate diet. To make up for this, the
food industry uses artificial sweetening agents in their products
to let the consumer get the best of both worlds. One of these
artificial sweetener “families” is the sugar alcohols, which are
chemically alcohol molecules but are created from sugar. They
are rated compared to sugar as far as sweetness. The sugar alcohols
we use in the U.S. include Mannitol, Sorbitol, Xylitol,
and Maltitol (also listed as Maltitol Syrup). Another common
additive in low-carbohydrate or reduced calorie food is glycerine,
which is also sweet but commonly used for its moisturizing effect
on food texture; glycerine is commonly used for this purpose in
most protein bars so that the bars stay moist and chewy.
Maltitol is the sugar alcohol you are most likely to be consuming.
Maltitol is roughly as sweet as sugar (about ninety percent)
and is used in a wide variety of products including chewing gum,
chocolates, reduced calorie baked goods and sugar free ice
cream. Maltitol has only 2.1 calories per gram whereas normal
carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram. This means that
Maltitol is, gram for gram, almost as sweet as sugar with a little
more than half the calories. Maltitol is commonly used in
Europe, where studies have shown it to be safe and established
no limits on its usage. Currently, the American Food & Drug
Administration (FDA) is reviewing Maltitol manufacturers’ petition
to grant it Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status.
Technically speaking, sugar alcohols are linear poly-alcohols,
as opposed to table sugar (and other sugars) which are cyclic
poly-alcohols. The structure of the sugar molecules probably
means next to nothing to most of you, but the bottom line is that
the form of the molecules affects the ability of the body's enzymes
to oxidize or "burn" the molecule. So gram per gram, these
sugar alcohols generally have fewer calories than the formal sugars
(those cyclic poly-alcohol creatures). This already makes
them an obvious candidate to replace “real sugars” in food since
they are roughly as sweet as sugar (the exact comparison
ranges from fifty to one hundred percent depending on the molecule
being considered).
Another tricky thing about these molecules is how the body can
process them. It cannot process them very well. The
molecules are slowly and incompletely absorbed in the small
intestine and taken into the blood stream to produce energy. This
process does not involve very much insulin, which means that
these sugars are very “gentle” on the low-carbohydrate dieter
who must avoid tremendous insulin surges (diabetics, of course,
are well aware of the effects of diet on their insulin levels)
because insulin, a potent storage hormone, will quickly increase
the glycogen stores of the body, disrupting ketosis and ending
the diet, at least temporarily. This breakdown normally happens
at three in the morning, hunched like a wild animal over a box
of cookies, mad eyed, feral, growling and shoveling chocolate chips
into your mouth with both hands. Or maybe that’s just
me...
This poor absorption of sugar alcohol in the small intestine, while
potentially a boon for dieting, can also be a problem when consumed
to excess, particularly with products derived from lactose (Lactitol).
This means that over-indulgence in sugar alcohols (which is possible
given the wide range of sugar free or low carbohydrate candies and chocolate
bars on the market) can have a laxative effect or
lead to a very unhappy digestive system. Taken in moderation, this
does not appear to be a problem, with the one exception
appearing to be Lactitol which has bothered just about everyone I know
who had even a modest amount. Fortunately, most
companies are phasing this ingredient out or retailers have stopped
carrying product lines using significant amounts of this sweetener.
Glycerine needs to be mentioned here as well. Glycerine is commonly
found in most protein bars. The glycerine molecule attracts
and holds water like crazy. Glycerine is therefore added to a
product to keep the texture of the food moist. Glycerine is
included as a carbohydrate on most nutritional labels even though
it is really a by-product of the metabolism of fat. However,
glycerine does not affect insulin levels or blood glucose. This
means that while it has calories, it will not negatively impact the body in
ways that will disrupt ketosis. You should still count the calories
you are consuming from this product, since even a low
carbohydrate diet needs some calorie control, but you do not need to
worry about disrupting ketosis because there is no
evidence that glycerine effects either insulin or blood sugar, which
is the way that normal carbohydrates disrupt ketosis.
So where does this leave the end consumer who does not give a damn
whether a molecule can stand on its head and juggle
flaming swords as long as it tastes good and they can still
lose weight consuming it. The truth is that sugar alcohols do have
calories, albeit less than real sugar, and have very little impact
on the body’s insulin levels. Could they potentially disrupt
ketosis? Yes, particularly in the initial phases where absolute
glycogen depletion is the goal and as little as 15-30 grams of
carbohydrates can prevent ketosis from occurring. In the beginning,
it would be wise to avoid any products containing sugar
alcohol, but then again, this induction period is usually not more
than 4 days. After the initial plunge into ketosis, the body can
accommodate an increased intake of carbohydrates. I would recommend
being aware of your sugar alcohol intake and
counting at least half of every gram you consume towards your daily
carbohydrate limit. A stick or two of gum is not going to
be a problem, but three bars a day each containing 15 grams of sugar
alcohol can quickly add up.
Keto Nuts
are chocolatey covered pecans, macadamias, and almonds that contain
no sugar alcohols, but does contain polydextrose. Polydextrose, sometimes
referred to by the trade name Litesse, provides about 1 calorie
per gram and is considered dietary fiber. It is a water-soluble polymer
of dextrose containing minor amounts of sorbitol and citric acid.
Polydextrose can also have
a laxative effect if consumed in large quantities (more than 15 grams), but
there is less than 4 grams of polydextrose per Keto Nuts serving.
Sugar alcohols (and glycerine) are a “comfort food” for a low-carbohydrate
dieter; people who are extremely concerned with
weight loss or bodybuilders should remember that, especially
on a low carbohydrate diet, the choice of calories and food
sources is crucial. If you permit yourself 50 grams of carbohydrates
a day, are you better off eating complex carbohydrates
spread out over the day or eating an equal amount of calories from
fake chocolate sweetened with a sugar alcohol? I do not
mean to outright compare the two food sources, because the sugar
alcohols have fewer calories (usually) than normal
carbohydrates and a different impact on your blood sugar. I just
want to make the point that sugar alcohols, as presented in
many “comfort foods” are still empty calories, albeit less empty
calories than the sugar they replace. You still need to be aware
of the calories associated with your sugar alcohol and glycerine intake.
Do not treat sugar alcohols or glycerine as a free food without any
potential for disrupting weight loss! Both of these products
contain calories. It is just that these calories are not disruptive
to insulin levels or blood sugar. However, if you are committed
to the long-term low-carbohydrate lifestyle, it is inevitable that
you will want to indulge yourself. When that time comes, lock up
the children and small animals, and pick an artificially-sweetened
low-carbohydrate candy over that bag of crunchy M&Ms
(Mmmmm... M&Ms... ).
Sugar alcohols provide some excellent benefits to the low carb dieter and
diabetic. As always, use in moderation for best results.
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