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"If you've looked lately at the Nutrition Facts panel on a pack of sugar-free gum or candy it contains Sugar Alcohol. Don't let the name fool you it is neither sugar nor alcohol.
Yale-New Haven Hospital

What are Sugar Alcohols? Affiliate Jim Jackson recently asked this question when he noticed that they were an ingredient of the Appetizer Diet Cookie. Here Jana Mitcham responds to Jims question:

Dear Jim,

Sugar alcohols (according to the "Yale-New Haven Hospital Nutrition Advisor") occur naturally in foods and come from plants (depends on the type of sugar alcohol) such as fruits, vegetables, seaweed, cereals, mushrooms, and berries. They are not the same as alcohol nor do they contain ethanol (found in alcoholic beverages) and they are not artificial sweeteners. They are used as sweeteners and bulking agents in place of sugar because they generally are just as sweet as sugar, contain fewer calories (about 1/2 to 1/3), don't cause tooth decay like sugar, are converted to glucose more slowly than sugar, require little or no insulin to be metabolized and don't cause sudden increases in blood sugar. Yale-New Haven points out that this makes them popular with diabetics; and thus are found in many "sugar free" hard candies, cookies, chewing gums, soft drinks, toothpastes, mouthwashes and throat lozenges.

The most common side effect (reported with consumption of in excess of 15 grams and also common with over-indulgence with fruit sugars and fruit juices) is the possibility of bloating or a laxative effect--again when eaten in excessive amounts. The American Diabetes Association claims that sugar alcohols are acceptable in moderate amounts--over-indulgence does provide calories and carbohydrates.

The common sugar alcohols are mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol,isomalt and maltitol. You will often see them in foods posting a "Net Carbohydrate" count. A "Net Carbohydrate " count for low carbohydrate dieters is the total number of carbohydrates in a product less carbohydrates from fiber and sugar alcohols. This is due to the slower manner in which it converts to glucose and the fact that it doesn't cause sudden increases in blood sugar. Thus, the Appetizer Diet Cookie, which has a total carbohydrate count of 22 grams, would only count as 11 Net Carbohydrates (subtract out the 3 grams of carbs from sugar alcohols and 8 grams from fiber). This is especially important for people following Atkins or other low carbohydrate diet guidelines.

Once again, sugar alcohols are neither sugars nor alcoholit is just that part of their structure resembles sugar and the other part is similar to alcohol. They are naturally occurring: Mannitol comes from pineapple, olives, asparagus, sweet potatoes or carrots and Xylitol from fruit, cereals, mushrooms, etc. Different sugar alcohols come from different natural sources.

Jana