What Are Sugar Alcohols?

What You Need to Know

-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

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If you spend any time looking at nutrition labels, you’ve probably noticed some intriguing ingredients in sweet foods that are touted as diet-friendly, sugar-free, low-carb, or even formulated for people with diabetes. One ingredient, known as sugar alcohol, is a special type of sugar replacement that is frequently found in soft drinks, gums, cookies, and sugar-free candy. Ever wonder what sugar alcohol is doing in these supposedly healthy foods? You're not alone!

What Are Sugar Alcohols?
The term “sugar alcohol” is very misleading. Sugar alcohols get their name from their unique chemical structure, which resembles both sugar and alcohol. But they're neither sugars nor alcohols. In fact, sugar alcohols are a type of carbohydrate that sweetens foods, but with half the calories of sugar. There are several specific types of sugar alcohols (usually ending with the letters "-ol"). When reading a food label, the following ingredients are actually sugar alcohols:

Erythritol
Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates
Isomalt
Lactitol
Maltitol
Mannitol
Sorbitol
Xylitol

Look familiar? You'll find sugar alcohols in a wide variety of foods (gums, pancake syrups, candies, ice creams, baked goods, and fruit spreads), health and beauty products (toothpastes, mouthwashes and breath mints), and even medicines (cough syrups, cough drops and throat lozenges). In the near future they may be found in pie fillings, cake frostings, canned fruit, beverages, yogurt and tabletop sweeteners.

Why Use Sugar Alcohols?
You may wonder why manufacturers would put sugar alcohols in foods and other products, or why people might seek them out. Here are a few reasons why consumers choose these products:

Fewer calories. Sugar alcohols contain fewer calories (0.2 to 3 calories per gram) than sugar (4 calories per gram), making them a diet-friendly choice for people who want to limit their caloric intake, but still enjoy sweet foods.
Safe for diabetics. Sugar alcohols are absorbed more slowly (and incompletely) by the body. Unlike regular sugar, they require little or no insulin for metabolism. *People with diabetes should consult their physician, dietitian or other health professional about incorporating sugar alcohols into their daily meal plans.
Better dental health. Sugar alcohols do not promote tooth decay since they are not metabolized by the bacteria that produce dental cavities.
Fewer drug interactions. Sugar alcohols do not react with the pharmacologic ingredients in medicines as much as sugar sometimes can.
Individual tastes. The different types of sugar alcohols vary in sweetness, from being about half as sweet to equally sweet as sugar.

In addition to consumer desires, sugar alcohols appeal to manufacturers too. Here's why:

Sugar alcohols do not lose their sweetness when heated, although many artificial sweeteners do.
Sugar alcohols do not absorb water like sugar does. Therefore the surface of foods made with sugar alcohols won't become sticky as quickly as products made with sugar.
Molds and bacteria do not grow and multiply on sugar alcohols as well as they do on sugar.
They can use a combination of sugar alcohols, sugar and/or artificial sweeteners to give the most pleasant taste, appearance, and texture to a food product.

Are Sugar Alcohols Safe?
Sugar alcohols have been used for years. After careful review, scientists have concluded that they are safe for human consumption. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies some sugar alcohols as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) and others are approved as food additives.

For some people, consuming certain sugar alcohols in excessive amounts may cause gastrointestinal upsets such as gas, bloating and diarrhea. Whether or not you will experience problems will depend on your individual sensitivity level and the other foods you consume at the same time. It is best to find your individual tolerance level when using these food ingredients, and to avoid them if they cause discomfort.

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About The Author

Becky Hand
Becky is a registered and licensed dietitian with almost 20 years of experience. Through her company, An Ounce of Prevention, she makes nutrition principles practical, easy to apply and fun. See all of Becky's articles.

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Member Comments

COCOMAMA2

I was an out of control diabetic... so I'm grateful to find sugar alcohols in my food VS the toxic chemicals of splenda (which I used to use), saccharin, Equal, etc.etc.etc.) (artificial sweeteners).....T
hanks for this exellent article- which also enlightened me in more ways than one...
Now I use sugar alcohols, stevia, or xylitol. Have Agave, but haven't tried it yet - 2/27/2013 9:08:47 AM
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CDAVIDSON31

When I first started the Paleo way of eating, I needed recipes to guide me. So I googled 'Paleo Recipes', and found this book.

I was kind of leery at first, not really knowing if I was going to get a really good cookbook, or a collection of recipes with weird ingredients that I would never use. Much to my surprise, I got an excellent cookbook that I use all the time. Such great recipes as Moroccan Chicken, Salmon Fish Cakes, Omelet Muffins, BBQ Grilled Lamb Kebobs, just to name a few that I've tried & loved. Simply put, if you're going to ditch the SAD diet & get back to a more natural way of eating, then the 'Paleo Recipe Book' is a must have!

check this out:
http://tinyurl.
com/paleorec - 10/27/2012 6:09:00 PM
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BROOKLYN_BORN

Generally recognized as safe? Something else to check, I guess. - 10/27/2012 9:58:14 AM
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CJS05151962

if counting carbs do you deduct the sugar alcohols from the item total carb count?? i have just started the first phase and dont want to mess it up. tyring to stay under 30 a day. bought new bars Atkins endulge Chocolate coconut bars says only 3 net carbs but has totsl carbs on back 19 minus the 9 fiber 1 regular sugar and 8 sugar alcohols...anybod
y know if they dont count? - 10/26/2012 11:54:34 AM
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KATERAD

I like xylitol, i use it for baking and a bit in tea in the evening. The "gastric" thing actually works great for me as I usually have the other way problem of not feeling the need to go for #2 for days. Works like a charm :) - 9/18/2012 11:34:24 AM
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SAILORMITCH

Be careful with sugar alcohols because gastric distress is a COMMON problem. I can handle them in small doses (usually 10 mg/serving or less.) Much more than that, and my gut feels like it's going to explode! The problem is eating out because very few restaurants list sugar alcohols in their food, or can even tell you if they use them at all. - 8/2/2012 8:30:47 PM
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LSIG14

In our diabetes class, the dietician said to count sugar alchohols as 1/2 carb but I wasn't really sure what sugar alcohols were so I really appreciated this article! I guess you really have to try them to determine how each one affects you personally. - 8/2/2012 8:40:25 AM
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KYLAR_STERN

Thanks for the info. Bought some protein bars that have 2g sugar, then checked the back and they also had 7g sugar alcohols which accounted for most of the carbs. So basically lower calorie sweetener that doesn't cause a rise in blood sugar levels. Sounds acceptable to me - 7/9/2012 3:02:50 PM
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GORIANA

Now it makes sense why these sugar free candies are causing me gut main; darn isomalt; and I only ate one serving. Why are you so sensitive gi o' mine? - 6/13/2012 4:30:35 PM
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JILLSTIME2LOSE

Thanks very much for this article. I went to Trader Joe's today and bought one protein bar because I could finally understand all the ingredients on the back of the label and there was no sugar (apparently), but I did notice the words "Sugar Alcohol" so I looked it up. I had no idea what they were and now I do. I'm eating a bar by "thinkThin" and it is delicious. It has "Maltitol" but that's the only "ol" word. Thank you - 5/29/2012 4:53:09 PM
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1102MEG

I haven't found one of these -ol sugars that I tolerate. So, I am always looking for food products with splenda instead of sorbitol. Any suggestions would be great! I am pre-diabetic. thanks! - 2/24/2012 1:20:08 PM
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KITCHENCAT

XYLITOL IS TOXIC TO DOGS!!!! It can be deadly in even smallish doses. Just saying, for those of us who share with four footed babies or whose babies might 'get into' stuff. I personally love xylitol, but never send stuff baked with it to homes with dogs. - 8/4/2011 6:58:49 AM
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ALTORECORDER

In general, I think the 'sugar alcohols' are a good thing. If you are a dark chocolate lover, you might notice that they permit the flavor of the chocolate to come through much more clearly and fully. Yum! - 10/29/2010 8:07:02 PM
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TULASI-PRIYA

Any kind of super-refined sweetener, including sugar alcohols, is probably bad news over the long haul. Too much sweet, like too much anything, has a deleterious effect on the body, whether it's low cal or low-whatever. We just need to learn to keep the sweet tooth from getting the upper hand. - 8/23/2010 6:51:59 PM
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SUPPORT2010

I have been wondering about sugar alcohols too. They are used in sugar free chocolates and other treats I eat. Some sugar free food is advertised as having no sugar alcohols like they are something to be avoided. I feel better about them after reading the article. - 3/22/2010 2:55:02 PM
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