Question:
OK, what is the real scoop on Sugar Alcolhol, how does it affect us

All the good sugarfree candy out there i.e. Russell Stover, New Reese Peanut Butter Cups, etc....all have sugar alcohol in them. My question is how does this effect us? I know it doesn't make us dump but what does it do to weight lose or gain. Does it cause the same insulin reaction that sugar does? Can we eat 2,3,4 bite size pieces of this a day and still lose weight? Anybody have the answer to this? Thanks in advance for anything you can tell me.    — Sharon B. (posted on March 29, 2003)

March 28, 2003
I don't know about anyone else but I am 11 months post-op and when I eat anything with high amounts of sugar alcohols I get nausous and have diarreah. If it has very low amounts then I am usually ok. I try to stay away from them if I can because I never know which ones will set off the reaction, and for me it is similar to dumping. I guess I am just sensitive to them. Good luck
   — [Deactivated Member]

March 28, 2003
A few pieces of candy with mannitol, sorbitol or other 'itol' sweeteners are not likely to affect your weight loss. However, if you look at the ingredients label, it will say that the item may cause diarrhea. Nearly everyone will react that way, although the amounts that will cause it vary from person to person. Start with very small amounts, one or two pieces, to see what it does to you. It won't cause the sudden, very watery stools, that dumping causes and it won't cause the sweaty, shaky part of dumping either. That part is caused because your body reacts to the sugar by pumping out extra insulin to keep your blood sugar stable. The sugar alcohols won't cause that reaction.
   — garw

March 29, 2003
there is a lot of good info at this site: http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition/advisor/sugar_alcohol.html i guess you will have to copy and paste to get to the site...sorry
   — Kim DeHart

March 29, 2003
alcohol sugars are still sugars so some people do dump on them the differense in them and regualr sugar is they enter into your blood stream slower so they do not raise your blood sugar as fast as regular sugar. not sure how bypass effects the process, but i can not have any of them they all give me violent diahhrea and cramps, headaches too! its just not worht it for the pain they cause me. good luck to you
   — janetc00

March 30, 2003
All of the sugar alcohols give me severe pain form gas and bloating. They also make me have the normal dumping syndrome. It's just not worth it to me...I stick to fruits for my something sweet. Even then I have to avoid bananas and overly ripe oranges. Grapes are no problem and I'm addicted to grapefruit!
   — Teri D.

March 30, 2003
Someone posted a question about this a few weeks ago and there was some sort of an article pasted into it that gave some info on sugar alcohol and the carb breakdown for various types of it (and how they are used)...you might want to check the library.
   — eaamc