Sugar ~ vs ~ Sugar Alcohol

I posted this on the main site & I received a lot of "Medical" responses - but my questions weren't answered ... so I thought I would bring it here to my friends on the April board to see if you could hlep me. Okay Maybe I am dumb - or wasn't paying attention when I was told the difference between Sugar & Sugar Alcohol ... Do I need to count the Sugar Alcohol towards the total "Sugar" in that item? I am SO confused! I just read the back of a protein supplement I was taking and it said 2g of Sugar but 27g of Sugar Alcohol ... AHHH what's that?!? SO MY QUESTION IS: Do Sugar Alcohols count as part of my total Sugar Grams consumed for the day?? So that supplement would be 29g instead of the 2g I thought I was consuming??? Sue 318/200/180

Hi Sue, As I understand it. Surgar Alcohol is different from sugar based on the way our body absorbs it. It absorbs a lot more slowly than simple surgar so it has a lower caloric impact than sugar. It also doesn't cause a spike in blood sugar. It is still process like a carb though...just not like a simple sugar. The other thing is that in large qty's, it may still make you dump (with or with out surgery) cuz one of the side effects is diarreah. So it part of your carb count for the day, but not your sugar count. does that help?

I have to look at sugar alcohols, cause sometimes those affect me way worse than actual sugar! My answer, count them if you. I have to or I pay the price.....major dumping.

Sugar alcohols don't count... hence the "net carb" stuff on foods nowadays... the supposedly don't effect your blood sugar.... But, they can effect you and your anatomy... they make me dump, more so than real sugar I think. I don't get diarrhea like you "should" from alcohols, but I dump! Anything more than 8-10G of the sugar alcohols, I can feel it. And they're in soooooooooo many foods. Many protein foods have insane amounts. Anything that's a sugar-free treat is loaded with them.... (ask me about the SF chocolate almonds last night for example!! ) So- for me- I prefer smallish amounts of real treats instead. -beth .

What everyone else said - Sugar alcohols don't count as sugar, but man alive they will tear through you with a vengence! So, don't count them as a carb consumed - you can't absorb them. But do be paying attention to how many you eat at a sitting - more than 10 and I'm like that Taco scene in Harold and Kumar go to white castle - if you haven't seen it, and you like toilet humor I HIGHLY recommend. It's vile and delightful if you have an inner 12 year old boy. Huggles, ~Lara

Hey Lara! How goezit? I was wondering about what you said about not absorbing sugar alcohol. As I understand you to get calories from them, but they process more like a complex carb instead of sugar. But are you saying that it process more like fiber...so it doesn't absorb at all. Soooo confused, Rachel

Hey Lara! How goezit? I was wondering about what you said about not absorbing sugar alcohol. As I understand you to get calories from them, but they process more like a complex carb instead of sugar. But are you saying that it process more like fiber...so it doesn't absorb at all. Soooo confused, Rachel

Thanks Guys! You helped me understand better what they were Definately going to throw out these pre-made protein thingys if they have 27g of sugar alcohol - no wonder they tasted so good & I got the runs ... I thoght it was just my system yesterday - but if it's gonna happen everytime they are not worth it! Sue 318/200/180

Sue, I don't count carbs so I don't know about that part of it. But, I'm super careful on my sugars. My nutritionist told me to could the sugar alcohol as 1/2 the amount - which is what it would equate to in real sugar. So, if something has 1g sugar and 10 g sugar alcohols, I would count it as 6g sugar. I wouldn't eat it b/c I don't eat more than 5g at a sitting. Hope it helps. Tandi 246-151-7 lbs to goal