Over the last decade a new class of sweeteners – known as sugar alcohols or polyols – has made its way into thousands of consumer products worldwide. You’ve probably seen ingredients like erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, maltitol, sorbitol and others listed on the nutrition labels for everything from gum and mouthwash… to soda, cookies, ice cream and more.
The use of polyols has exploded because of their ability to offer sweetness, without the blood-sugar spike and other health consequences of fructose and glucose.
But you might have also heard (or experienced) that some sugar alcohols can cause digestive distress, due to their classification as FODMAPs. While this statement is absolutely true – and you’ll discover why in a moment – there is one sugar alcohol for which it does not apply…
Erythritol.
Why?
The chemical composition of erythritol is very different from other sugar alcohols.
Today, I’ll show you how these chemical and structural differences make it a far superior choice when it comes to your digestive (and overall) health. And we’ll discuss the specific properties that set erythritol apart from other sugar alcohols.
But first, it is important to understand…
What are FODMAPs and Why do they Cause Digestive Distress (For Some People)?
The term FODMAPs is an acronym for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. These compounds are found in a wide variety of foods. And there is considerable confusion about them, because many of the worst offenders are (otherwise) some of the healthiest foods!
For example, apples, asparagus, blackberries, Brussels sprouts, garlic, onions and sweet potatoes are all FODMAPs. While these colorful fruits and vegetables appear to be the foundation of a healthy diet, they can cause severe digestive illness for some for some people.
The reason why is related to the “F” in FODMAPs – fermentable.
Fermentable carbohydrates are not broken down by digestive enzymes. Instead, we rely on microorganisms in our gut to break these compounds into smaller particles by way of fermentation. For those people with a healthy gut and microbiome, fermentable carbohydrates can be a good thing.
These compounds feed beneficial bacteria. This helps to increase their numbers and produces health-promoting compounds. For example, when the “good” gut bacteria Roseburia feeds on fermentable carbs, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are formed. These compounds protect against leaky gut, cancer and inflammation… to name just a few benefits!
But it is very important to understand that fermentable carbohydrates do not just feed your “good” gut bugs… pathogenic organisms (like gram-negative bacteria) also thrive on these substances!
If you have an unhealthy, imbalanced microbiome (dysbiosis), foods which might be perfectly healthy for some people could cause you severe digestive distress and long-term illness.
When “bad” gut bacteria enjoy a fermentable substrate, they often produce gas and bloating. These symptoms are certainly uncomfortable and embarrassing. But that’s not the worst part!
Strains of harmful bacteria also produce toxic byproducts like inflammatory endotoxins and cytokines and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which are linked to liver disease, leaky gut, metabolic syndrome, Chrohn’s disease and autoimmune conditions (to name a few).
So it’s not just about reducing symptoms – but reducing your risk for disease as well.
Therefore, avoiding foods and substances that encourage the growth of “bad bugs” is vital.
So, let’s get back to polyols (the “P” in FODMAPs) and discuss what sets erythritol apart…
Erythritol: The Simplest of All Sugar Alcohols
When it comes to chemistry, the structure and the function of a molecule are inextricably linked.
The number of elements and how these elements are arranged can make a huge impact on how a substance behaves. For example, water and hydrogen peroxide are both very simple molecules consisting of hydrogen and oxygen. But there is a BIG difference between H2O and H2O2.
In a review article on the link between gastrointestinal disturbances and sugar alcohols, researchers in the International Journal of Dentistry state that:
“Sugar alcohols behave in the gut in different ways. Their effects are not identical. Sugar alcohol molecules react in the gut as physical and chemical entities based on their molecular mass, number of hydroxyl groups, the spatial orientation of those groups, and the overall symmetry of the molecule.”
When it comes to sugar alcohols, mass (molecular weight) and the number of hydroxyl groups (hydrogen and atoms bonded together) are the two most important molecular factors to understand the fermentation potential of different sugar alcohols.
The higher the mass and the more hydroxyl groups (-OH) a sugar alcohol has, the greater the risk for digestive discomfort.
As you can see in the table below, erythritol has the lowest molecular weight and the fewest hydroxyl groups of all the sugar alcohols…
