Sugar and Sugar Alcohols - An Overview

If you see a food or beverage boasting about 0 grams of  sugar and you turn over the item, on the nutritional label you will likely see that it is true - there are 0 grams of sugar listed. If you look down one row though, you will likely see another category: Sugar Alcohols. While everyone knows what sugar is, and that consumption in excessive amounts is not good for your health, sugar alcohols are a relatively new alternative increasing in appearance on the nutritional labels of foods and beverages alike. It is worth examining the chemical properties of both sugar and sugar alcohols to understand the differences and what those differences mean for your diet.

Sugar - An overview

Sugar is the name given to a category of sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates often used in food. Sugars fall into two categories: Simple Sugars or Complex Sugars.

Simple sugars are the most basic form of carbohydrate. Glucose, Fructose, and Galactose are simple sugars and are quickly absorbed by the body because they require little to no digestion. Common sources of simple sugars include candy, table sugar, and honey. Due to their ease of digestion and absorption, consumption of high concentrations of simple sugars can result in a spike in blood-glucose levels sometimes referred to as a “sugar rush”. Simple Sugars, especially those containing fructose, may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Complex Sugars are made up of longer chains of sugar molecules strung together. Complex Sugars require more time for the body to digest and break down. Commonly found in fruits, starchy vegetables, and whole grain bread, rice, or pasta, complex sugars are generally regarded as healthier and more nutritious. 

• The American Heart Association recommends limiting refined sugars and choosing complex carbohydrates instead.

When sugar comes to mind, you think of something sweet. Whether it be a strawberry or a milkshake, the satisfying feeling of eating something with sugar in it is a universal human experience. It makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint– our brain rewards us for consuming calories that will be used, or stored as fat, to power our body and bodily functions. Food and beverage manufacturers know this as well, it is the primary reason that so many normal foods and soda in the U.S. alike have so much sugar in them– it feels good, humans like to feel good, and the process of purchase and consumption will continue (a good business model). With growing market trends towards health consciousness and diet being a big part of one’s health, it makes sense that food and beverage manufacturers would search for alternatives to sugar which is known to cause issues when consumed in excess. Sugar alcohols are one of the favorite of sugar alternatives so far.

Sugar Alcohols

Sugar alcohols are a derivative of sugar where alcohol is formed from fermentation of a carbohydrate. The chemical structure of the original sugar molecule is changed by fermentation such that an alcohol component is present. Now, one should note when the term “alcohol” is used in regard to sugar alcohols, it is not the same alcohol that an individual would find themselves drinking at a lounge after a long day of work– that would be ethanol. Alcohol simply refers to an oxygen and hydrogen bound together on a molecule. Sugar alcohols exist naturally in some fruits and vegetables but most are added artificially by food and beverage manufacturers. Various forms of sugar alcohols exist with Xylitol, HSH, and Erythritol being some of the most common. The benefit of sugar alcohols in comparison with standard sugar is that they’re not absorbed as quickly in the body and are metabolized differently due to their differing chemical structure. This difference in chemical structure results in a lower number of calories per gram than standard sugar.

As mentioned previously, food manufactures have sought for alternatives to sugar but want to retain the sweetness that drives consumers to purchase products. This has led to a comparison of sweetness and calorie content for sugar alternatives. The graph below depicts the relationship between these variables for sugar and 3 common sugar alcohols according to the International Food Information Council’s Sugar Alcohol Fact Sheet.

From the chart, one can clearly see that if a food manufacturer is attempting to make a food as sweet as possible with as many calories as possible, Erythritol would be the obvious choice. To achieve the same level of sweetness as sugar, one has to consume only 0.28 calories of Erythritol. For a sweet tasting alternative it is easy to understand why this would be one of a food manufacturer's favorite choices. For an individual attempting to lose weight by consuming less calories but still wanting something sweet, a snack with sugar alcohols might do the trick. 

Sugar alcohols not only play a positive role for those looking to consume less calories. Individuals who are diabetic and are seeking to avoid spiking their blood glucose levels can generally speaking, safely consume sugar alcohols without risking the spike. Once again due to a difference in chemical structure and therefore metabolism, sugar alcohols are generally okay for individuals with diabetes but given that sugar alcohols are still carbohydrates, the amount of sugar alcohol consumed still matters.

Possible Downsides

Sugar alcohols, although lower in calorie content compared with normal sugar, should be approached with some caution. According to Dr. Octavia Pickett-Blakely, a gastroenterologist and associate professor of clinical medicine at Penn Medicine, Xylitol, a sugar alcohol, when ingested can pass through the GI tract and enter into the colon where it attracts water possibly leading to the adverse effect of diarrhea. Also according to Dr. Pickett-Blakely, Xylitol and Mannitol can sometimes ferment in the colon due to certain forms of bacteria which results in bloating.

Sugar and sugar alcohols are both carbohydrates that differ slightly in chemical structure. This difference in chemical structures translates to a difference in how they are broken down, or metabolized, by your body and therefore result in different levels of absorption. Sugar alcohols are not absorbed by your body to the same extent that standard sugars are and are therefore used as a substitute by food and beverage manufacturers to appeal to the health conscious consumer. Whether or not you choose to consume standard sugar, simple or complex, or opt for the sugar alcohol alternative, you are now more informed about the chemical and metabolic differences.

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