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Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates that are sweet like sugar but provide fewer calories. They are found naturally in small amounts in fruits and vegetables but are also commercially produced as reduced-calorie sweeteners added to many foods. Sugar alcohols provide sweetness with fewer calories than sugar and help retain moisture in foods but can cause gastrointestinal issues like gas or diarrhea in some people if consumed in large amounts.

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HTTPSWWW - Accessdata.fda - govscriptsInteractiveNutritionFactsLabelassetsInteractiveNFL SugarAlcohols October2021 PDF

Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates that are sweet like sugar but provide fewer calories. They are found naturally in small amounts in fruits and vegetables but are also commercially produced as reduced-calorie sweeteners added to many foods. Sugar alcohols provide sweetness with fewer calories than sugar and help retain moisture in foods but can cause gastrointestinal issues like gas or diarrhea in some people if consumed in large amounts.

Uploaded by

chawki
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sugar Alcohols

What They Are


Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates that chemically have
characteristics of both sugars and alcohols. However,
sugar alcohols do not contain the type of alcohol found in
alcoholic beverages.

Where They Are Found


Sugar alcohols are found naturally in small amounts in a
variety of fruits and vegetables.
Sugar alcohols are also commercially produced from sugars
and starch. Commercially produced sugar alcohols are added
to foods as reduced-calorie sweeteners and are found in many
sugar-free and reduced-sugar products, including:
• Baked goods (such as cakes, cookies, and pies)
• Chewing gum
• Desserts (such as ice cream, other frozen desserts,
and puddings)
• Flavored jam and jelly spreads
• Ready-to-use frostings
• Sweets (such as hard and soft candies)

What They Do
• Sugar alcohols provide a sweet taste with fewer calories per
gram than sugar, and are commonly used in place of sugar and
often in combination with artificial sweeteners.
• Sugar alcohols in food add bulk and texture, help retain moisture,
and prevent browning that occurs during heating.
• Sugar alcohols produce a cooling sensation in the mouth when
added to foods in high concentrations (for example, in sugar-free
hard candy or chewing gum).
• Unlike sugar, sugar alcohols do not react with plaque bacteria in
the mouth. So, they do not cause cavities.

Interactive Nutrition Facts Label • October 2021


www.fda.gov/nutritioneducation Sugar Alcohols 1
Health Facts
• Sugar alcohols are slowly and incompletely absorbed from the small intestine into the blood. As a
result, they provide fewer calories per gram than sugar and produce a smaller change in blood
glucose (often referred to as blood sugar) than other carbohydrates.
• Sugar alcohols can also produce abdominal gas, bloating, and diarrhea in some individuals
because they are not completely absorbed by the body and are fermented by bacteria in the large
intestine. For this reason, foods that contain the sugar alcohols sorbitol or mannitol must include a
warning on their label that states “excess consumption may have a laxative effect.”

Action Steps
For Monitoring Sugar Alcohols in Your Diet
Use the Nutrition Facts label as a tool for monitoring consumption of sugar alcohols. Food
manufacturers may voluntarily list the amount in grams (g) per serving of sugar alcohols on the
Nutrition Facts label (under Total Carbohydrate). They may also list the name of a specific sugar
alcohol if only one is added to the food. But, food manufacturers are required to list sugar alcohols if
a statement is made on the package labeling about the health effects of sugar alcohols or sugars
(when sugar alcohols are present in the food).
o Look for sugar alcohols on the ingredient list on a food package. Some examples of sugar
alcohols are erythritol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH), isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol,
sorbitol, and xylitol.

Tip: Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight—the closer an ingredient is to the
beginning of the list, the more of that ingredient is in the food.
o When choosing “sugar-free” foods containing sugar alcohols, remember to use the Nutrition
Facts label to compare the calories and nutrients in the sugar-free version to the regular version.
These products may still have a significant amount of calories, carbohydrate, and fat.

Interactive Nutrition Facts Label • October 2021


Sugar Alcohols 2

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