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them polyol things you get in low sugar sweets..

T

the_anticarb

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Is it ok to have these? My understanding is that they are a carbohydrate but you don't absorb them like you would do a normal carb so they don't affect the blood sugar (although I know from experience they may affect the intestine!)
I seem to have discovered sainsbury's sugar free marshmallows ,which are like 90% polyols, and can't just stop at a few!
 
You soon will. What do you think happens to food that doesn't get absorbed? It goes straight through you - quick as a flash. Great shame - because I really liked the Sugar free Jelly Fruits that Sainsburys have, but like yourself I can't stop at just a few!
 
Hi anticarb,

As far as I'm aware, the bloodsugar and 'gastric distress' effects will vary depending on which
type of polyols are used. You'd best eat a few marshmallows and then test (while sitting on a
toilet, if necessary :shock: ).

Regards,
timo.
 
I'll have to go to sainsbury's to get some.
 
I don't mind too much about the er, toilet effects as - well, if you're doing low carb then that tends to slow things down a bit anyway so it kind of evens out. (Gosh we are getting personal today!)

I was more wondering if anyone can tell me what the polyols are made of, and what effect people have found they have on blood sugar.

Thanks
Gina
 
PS the ingretients listed are Maltitol Syrup and Isomalt (along with some other stuff, but those are the polyols)
 
Hi Gina,

Isomalt is only supposed to have a minimal effect on blood sugars, although, it does carry the usual risk in the toilet department. It's not recommended that you exceed 50g per day, unless you'd like to "take a speed-boat ride down the brown rapids".

I'm afraid I can't find anything nearly as nice to say about Maltitol.

Standing well back :shock: ,
timo.
 
Thanks timo2, i feel cheated now that I found out maltitol is 3/4 same as sugar! Useful article and site though
 
Anedotal evidence seems to be that a few people will convert the sugar alcohols into glucose anyway, many will convert them into a runny bottom. This varies between individuals and the particular -ols

do you feel lucky?
 
Lucky which way? Neither of those options sounds particularly lucky to me!
 
After hearing that maltitol syrup has 5/6the GI of table sugar, I thought I would test it. I ate half a bag (37.5 g) of the sugar free marshmallows, then tested my blood sugar after half an hour and an hour and an hour and a half. I started at 7.5. AFter half an hour it was 8.8 then after an hour it was 10.5 then after another half an hour it was 8.6. Then it came back down to around 7 a bit later.

So, when they say that these things have minimal impact on bg's that's blatantly rubbish! I would have not been much worse off if I'd just had normal sweets. I feel really cheated that they can say on the nutritional information that there are no carbs in these things. :evil: :twisted: :cry:
 

I've tended to shy away from low carb substitutes like these. I find greek yogurt and raspberries satisfy my sweet cravings. Although did go through a phase of Da Vinci's Kahlua flavoured syrup in my Greek Yogurt with hazelnuts, I loved it the wife thought it disgusting! It is pretty galling though when you've paid loads extra for low carb. Guess you're one of the unlucky ones that it affects!
 
the_anticarb said:
So, when they say that these things have minimal impact on bg's that's blatantly rubbish! I would have not been much worse off if I'd just had normal sweets.
Click to expand...
In fact you could actually be better off having the sugar. Most polyols (also known as sugar alcohols) have around 75% the carbohydrate value of table sugar. So 10g of polyols will create 7.5g of glucose.

But sugar converts 50% into glucose and 50% into fructose, so the same 10g of sugar will actually convert into 5g of glucose.
 

Check out the big brain on Dennis!!! :wink:

Good post mate!
 

So the Xylitol I got today, and is really nice in a cup of ordinary tea (half a tsp), is worse than if I used half a tsp of sugar? I don't suppose in that small amount it would make much difference but we'd use more in cooking.
 
I think there's more to be said about polyols yet.
Wikepedia says of xylitol, "absorbed more slowly than sugar, it does not contribute to high blood sugar levels or the resulting hyperglycemia caused by insufficient insulin response." It's advertised as good for diabetics but advertising is a far cry from fact.
Anyway, it's certainly a laxative and it's certainly very toxic to dogs, inducing (ironically) very low blood sugar.
 
I don't give anything sweet to my dog so he should be safe. I had to take him to the vet recently when my birdfeeder fell over in the wind and he ate 3 fat balls! He's got pancreatitus and is on a low fat diet (a nightmare for him now I'm eating more bacon and cheese!), so they had to make him sick to get rid of them. Cost me around £120!

Anyway, I've given up trying to understand this and will just accept that it's better than sugar, tastes better than every other sweetener, but not to use a lot of it.
 
Polyols are not absorbed in the small intestine, so they travel to the colon where normal bacteria convert them mostly into short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which are then absorbed and can provide about 2-3 Calories per gram of polyols. So, you do get calories from polyols--not in the form of glucose but fatty acids. When bacteria ferment polyols they also produce gases, which can cause flatulence.

Erythritol, unlike other polyols, IS absorbed in the small intestine but is not metabolized, so it does not provide calories or raise blood sugar. It also does not cause excessive gas or diarrhea.
 

I've had my colon removed so in my case it would pass right through and I'd get no calories (or carbs?) from polyols?
 
I remember when Diabetic Jam and Diabetic Sweets contained Sorbitol. Far worse than Malitol, it always used to warn you not to eat more than 25g (because of the unpleasant side effects). My experience was that once you got to 15g you were in all sorts of trouble. I did it once and never again.
 
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