Finding a Safe Plant-Based Sugar Alternative
It’s January 1, 2023 and everybody is reading labels searching for the sugar content right now. Sugar turns into #carbs and carbs turn into fat if it’s not used for energy.
You get it?
Let me start by saying I have a problem with sugar. I love sweets. It runs in my family, my #biological father who was an amateur #chef too loved sweets. But, I don’t want to consume it during this phase of my life where #hormonal changes due to maturity has my #body holding on to sugar and #fat like Pepé Le Pew squeezes his captured felines. I’m showing my age.
I have some good news for you. There is an organic and safe sugar alternative part of the Simple Truth product line @simpletruth4u that you can pick up in Kroger @krogerco that will solve your sugar problem.
Here’s the skinny on #Erythritol (I call it Aretha for short):
1. It’s derived from fermented #glucose from either corn or wheat (ok so it’s plant-based or vegan and not processed with animal bones)
2. It’s safe and non #toxic (may cause a little bloat or gas in the tummy but usually it is absorbed in the bloodstream and expelled unchanged in your urine before it sits in your colon to mix with gut bacteria (that’s good).
3. There is no aftertaste!!!
4. If you are #diabetic, you can thank me later, because this sugar alcohol has a lower glycemic index.
5. Yes, you can bake with it (equal parts).
I tried it in my organic and vegan Counter Culture Coffe @counterculturecoffee this morning and it was delicious and with no funny taste. - no flavor change and zero calories and no spike in my sugar in the morning which can trigger sugar cravings throughout the day.
Winning!
You can try it in your ice tea, lemonade, breakfast cereal or baked goods.
Here are some additional details on this powdered crystal sugar alcohol if you are looking for an alternative on the new year.
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Source: Kris Gunnars, BSc—Medically reviewedbyKim Rose-Francis RDN, CDCES, CNSC, LD,Nutrition—Updated on November 18, 2021
Erythritol belongs to a class of compounds called sugar alcohols (1).
Food producers use many sugar alcohols, such as xylitol, sorbitol, and maltitol.
Most of them function as low calorie sweeteners in sugar-free or low sugar products.
Most #sugar alcohols are found in small amounts in nature, especially in fruits and vegetables.
Because of the way these #molecules are structured, they can stimulate the #sweet taste receptors on your tongue.
Erythritol appears to be quite different from the other sugar alcohols.
To begin with, it contains many fewer calories:
Table sugar: 4 calories per gram
Xylitol: 2.4 calories per gram
Erythritol: 0.24 calories per gram
With only 6% of the calories of sugar, it still contains 70% of the sweetness.
In large-scale production, erythritol is created when a type of yeast ferments glucose from corn or wheat starch. The final product looks like powdery white crystals.
Is erythritol safe?
Overall, erythritol appears to be very safe.
Multiple studies on its toxicity and effects on metabolism have been performed in animals. Erythritol has been found safe for both human and animal consumption (2).
However, there is one major caveat to most sugar alcohols: They can cause digestive issues.
Due to their unique chemical structure, your body can’t digest them, and they pass unchanged through most of your digestive system, until they reach your colon.
In your colon, they’re fermented by the resident bacteria, which produce gas as a byproduct.
Consequently, eating large amounts of sugar alcohols may cause bloating and digestive upset. In fact, they belong to a category of fiber known as FODMAPs.
However, erythritol is different from the other sugar alcohols. Most of it gets absorbed into your bloodstream before it reaches your colon (3Trusted Source).
It circulates in your blood for a while, until it’s eventually excreted unchanged in your urine. About 90% of erythritol is excreted this way (4Trusted Source).
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