New Non-Nutritive Sweetener available in the U.S. Anyone heard of this?
#165088 - 03/29/05 05:36 PM
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I just purchased a "Lite" Smoothie from Stonyfield Farms. I was trying to log in the calories into Fitday.com and was unable to because the protein/carb/calories did not tie. I contacted the company about their lable and was told (by the company) that the discrepancy was due to Erythritol, a sugar derivative that is produced by a fermentation process. I went on the website of the company that produces Erythritol Link to this site. What may be of interest to those of us with IBS/IBD is the following on how this ingredient is digested: Quote:
Digestive process for erythritol
Erythritol, because it is such a small molecule behaves differently from all other polyols in the way it passes through the human digestive system, and therefore has a unique metabolic profile.
The low molecular weight allows more than 90% of the ingested erythritol to be rapidly absorbed from the small intestine. It is not metabolised and is excreted unchanged in the urine. This results in a very low caloric value of max. 0.2 Kcal/g.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? 
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Hmm...
#165131 - 03/29/05 09:10 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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When I first read your post - before I went to the site - my first thought was to warn against it, because 99.9% of the sugars ending in -ol are sugar alcohols (think sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, etc) and they're particularly nasty for IBS'ers. But now that I've read the site, I'm not so sure...
I'd probably still be cautious and steer clear of it, but that's just me - I'm leery of those -ol products anyway, they just KILL me. "Naturally occuring" doesn't really mean anything. I mean, Splenda is marketed as "natural" too, since it's made from sugar, but that doesn't make it safe.
I'll be interested to see what anyone else's input on it is, though... especially Heather's, if she happens to see this one.
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Re: Hmm...
#165139 - 03/29/05 09:50 PM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Yeah I'm a bit unsure as well. All I can think is that xylitol is supposed to be fine too and it's not a great for IBS.
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It looks like this product is still very new in the U.S. market. This is the first product that I have seen with it. I stay clear of the substitutes myself. I guess I did not read the lable closely enough to see it until I tried to log it in. The company (Stoneyfield farms that is) assured me that Quote:
Here is some information on erythritol:
As always, check with your doctor when in question but our general
opinion is that is suitable as it does not significantly affect blood
glucose levels. Erythritol has a Zero Glycemic Index, and the glycemic
index of the sugars we also use in Lite Smoothies is comparable to the
effect of most vegetables. Erythritol is derived from sucrose(sugar).
This is done via a fermentation process where the microorganism acts on
a fermentation medium derived from sucrose, a non-genetically modified
substrate.
Does erythritol have good digestive tolerance?
Yes. Besides being all natural, one major difference from other sugar
alcohols such as mannitol, sorbitol, etc, is that it has a high
digestive tolerance. Erythritol is very quickly absorbed and eliminated
so that less than 5% of ingested erythritol reaches the large
intestine.
Studies show that up to 1.0 gram/kilogram body weight per day can be
safely consumed. For instance, a 150 pound person can consume 70 grams
per day without any digestive problems.
Benefits of Erythritol
All Natural alternative to mainstream sugar substitutes
Clean sweet taste with no aftertaste
Low in calories. Just 0.2 calories per gram compared to sugar that has
4
calories per gram
High digestive tolerance
Safe for people with diabetes because it has a Zero Glycemic Index
(does
not raise blood glucose or insulin levels)
Does not cause tooth decay
If you would like more information on Erythritol you can go to the
manufactures website www.eridex.com for more information.
We are passionately committed to producing the best tasting, healthiest
yogurts available, and trying to do some good in the world while we're
at it. Please visit our web site at Stonyfield.com to learn more.
Sincerely,
Fil Kovisars
Consumer Relations
FROM THE FOLKS AT STONYFIELD FARM!
Heather, what do you think about this?
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...which whilst it is far safer than say sorbitol for "normal" people, is still dodgy for IBSers.
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