Sugar alcohols, count or not?

#1

I’ve seen some conflicting answers around the web, so I figured I’d ask the folks here.

When looking at labels, do you count the sugar alcohols or not? I’m specifically looking for a gum or mint to help with breath.

(Allie) #2

You’ll get mixed answers here too I’m afraid. Some count some don’t. Some count half the amount. Some count the full amount. Find what works for you.

#3

My take – sugar alcohols vary in digestibility. So some, like erythritol, can be subtracted out completely. Others, like Xylitol and Maltitol, still have over 2 calories per gram, so should really only be half-subtracted. And each of them affect people differently in terms of gastric distress and diarrhea.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

Not only that, but people on these forums often report that one or more of the non-nutritive sweeteners causes their insulin to spike. (Although you can’t test for insulin at home, you can test the pattern of your glucose response and infer whether insulin spiked or not.) Since we want to keep insulin as low as we can, this is not great news. The good news is that the reaction appears to be totally individual, and a sweetener that spikes one person’s insulin might not spike someone else’s and vice versa.

I mention it so that you can be on guard if you give one of those sweeteners a try. You’ll only know which sweeteners are okay for you by experimenting.

#5

Thanks for the replies. The thing is, is that I don’t care to have sweeteners at all. I just want something that will help my breath. If there was a no sugar/ no sweetener gum that would be great.

#6

Do what they did before gums/mints…chew mint leaves :nerd_face:

#7

Did that today. It wasn’t bad. Then chewed on some mint and lemon thyme together. Quite nice.

(less is more, more or less) #8

Total carbs means counting any and all. Even magical unicorn carbs.