HEALTH

How do cupcakes made with sugar alcohols affect blood glucose?

Sugar alcohols are a type of reduced-calorie sweetener. On average, sugar alcohols contain about half the calories of regular sugar. They are often used to partially or completely replace the sugar in low-sugar and sugar-free products.
Examples of sugar alcohols that you might see on the ingredient list are:

·      erythritol

·      hydrogenated starch hydrolysates

·      isomalt

·      lactitol

·      maltitol

·      mannitol

·      sorbitol

·      xylitol

Sugar alcohols do not have the same affect on blood glucose as other carbohydrates like starch and simple sugars. However, the effect that they have on your blood glucose can vary depending on the sugar alcohols used. So, it is difficult to know how sugar alcohols will affect your blood glucose levels every time.

Because there is less of an effect from sugar alcohols than either sugar or starch, you can use the following tip to estimate how much carbohydrate to count in your meal plan from a food that has MORE than 5 grams of sugar alcohols per serving.

If a food has more than 5 grams of sugar alcohols: 

1.   Subtract ½ the grams of sugar alcohol from the amount of total carbohydrate.

2.   Count the remaining grams of carbohydrate in your meal plan.

You can use this rule since one serving has 12 grams of sugar alcohol.

For Example:

Let’s say you eat 1 cupcake and each cupcake has 25 grams of total carbohydrate and 12 grams of sugar alcohols.

One cupcake counts as 19 grams carbohydrate in your meal plan. (25 – 6 = 19)

Low-sugar versions of baked goods can be a good option to satisfy your sweet tooth. However, be aware that sugar alcohols can have a laxative effect or can cause other gastric symptoms in some people, especially in children.

If you are sensitive to sugar alcohols, you can still fit in a small serving of regular sweets on occasion. Some people prefer to use the regular version of a food and cut back on the serving size instead of buying the sugar-free version.