xylitol - how to count it?

[ChrisM28]

Hi All,
New here but have enjoyed reading the posts and have learned a lot. My husband is type 1 (actually 3c learned that here) and got fed up with the constantly swinging BS so decided to give low carb a go. It's working well he's on about 40-50 carbs a day - about half of what he had before. I haven't done so much cooking in years. We love - flax seed bread!!!
Got an issue with Xylitol don't really understand the available carbs on the label. When working out the carbs for a recipe I count them all then divide by the weight of the finished product then multiply by 100 to get the carbs per 100g of whatever it is. Xylitol appears to have the same carbs as sugar??? Is the advantage just that it won't spike him?
Also should I also post this on the recipes forum?

 

[badcat]

I use erythritol in preference to xylitol. Both are sugar alcohols and less digestable than sugar, erythritol has no effect on my sugars whereas xylitol does have some effect
https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/post/2013/06/10/Top-10-Natural-Low-carb-Sweeteners

 

[Guzzler]

I suggest, politely, that you look up the effects of artifial sweeteners on the gut biome. For me, all ASs are verboten for this reason.

 

[badcat]

This is a quote re erythritol and gut biome - one reason I prefer it over other sweeteners when I need to add any

Researchers found that erythritol is resistant to fermentation by a range of microbiota from human guts. This is why erythritol is less likely to cause gas or bloating than other sugar alcohols. But it also suggests that erythritol wouldn't alter the makeup of your intestinal flora the way saccharine, sucralose, or aspartame might.

 

[letstalk1]

Thanks all , very good to know.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Be very careful with Xylitol if you have a dog. It is poisonous for them.

 

[Robbity]

Some sweeteners are better than others - and many have at least some non-digestible carbs - which don't raise glucose levels (either not at all in some cases and in others by a smallish amount) and so the majority of these carbs won't count.

Stevia and erythritol are most frequently recommended for diabetic use: they are obtained from natural sources rather than chemically produced (so probably should be considered as alternative rather than artificial sweeteners!), won't raise your glucose levels, should cause no nasty gastric issues, and contain virtually no calories. One point to note is that due to its excessive sweetness stevia is sometimes sold in combination with other sweeteners, or bulked up with starchy fillers, so look for either pure stevia, or stevia/erythritol combinations.

Xylitol is another pretty good option apart from the fact that (as @Bluetit1802 has just pointed out) it's lethal to dogs even in minute doses.

There are various tables on the web that will give comparisons of the different sweeteners available.

Robbity