sugar substitutes vs sugar alcohols

beckylou66
beckylou66 Posts: 103 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all...
This may be a silly question, but, is there a difference between sugar alcohols and just sugar substitutes? I seem to be EXTREMELY sensitive to the sugar alcohols. I am trying to stick to a low carb diet, not necessarily because I think it's the best diet out there, but I was completely addicted to sugar and carbs. I am mainly trying to reset my carb sensor.

So all that being said, I am here asking for help.... please be nice :) I don't seem to be as sensitive to a Coke Zero as I am 6 or 7 pieces of s/f Extra gum a day. Or s/f cough drops. This is what is leading me to believe that I am more sensitive to the alcohols.

Thanks for your help.

Becky

Replies

  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    Sugar alcohols are well known for causing intestinal discomfort. Look at a package of sugar-free chocolate (they usually use sugar alcohols) and there are warnings about limiting how much you eat at once because of potential intestinal issues - usually gassy cramps and diarrhea.

    Artificial sweeteners like aspartame (NutraSweet) and sucralose (Splenda) are one of the hotly contested issues on this site, so you're going to get a lot of different opinions. But from my opinion and experience, they are fine in moderation. I personally can't stand the taste of sucralose, so I won't eat anything with that, but I do drink a diet soda or two a day, it hasn't hindered weight loss or packed on the pounds, adversely affected my health, caused migraines, etc.

    HTH
  • beckylou66
    beckylou66 Posts: 103 Member
    When I say sensitive .... I mean that it takes me out of ketosis. I can't lose weight with the sugar alcohols, I don't want to mess up again by having the coke zero.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    Ah. I have little experience with ketosis. I do know that diabetics generally are ok with sugar alcohols; they are supposed to have little impact on blood sugar. But if it throws you out of ketosis and you don't want that, I'd say avoid them.

    Aspartame is made from amino acids (the building block of proteins), so I would guess it shouldn't affect ketosis, but again I have little experience. Sorry :ohwell:

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