JJ Virgin explains that sugar alcohols like erythritol and xylitol don't spike blood sugar the way regular sugar does, but many can cause gas and digestive issues. She recommends erythritol as the gentler option and suggests allulose, stevia, and monk fruit as alternatives.
Questions this episode answers
September 2, 2020.
Erythritol and xylitol.
Allulose, stevia, and monk fruit.
Gas, bloating, stomach cramps, and loose stools (laxative effect); she noted erythritol tends to cause fewer such problems.
Monarch.
Chapters
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What exactly are sugar alcohols and why are they being used? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times bestselling author, author, celebrity nutrition expert, and fitness hall of famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the Health Expert. Presta Graber from Facebook asks, what exactly are sugar alcohols and why are they being used? Ah, sugar alcohol is such a misnomer. I'll be right back to answer that question.
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Sugar alcohols have the wrong name. They are not a sugar. They are not an alcohol. What the heck. I don't have any clue why they were called that. They're actually a polyol. It's a type of compound with carbons. But before we get to biochemistry over here, here's what's important. They are one of my sugar impact diet approved sweeteners. Well, a couple of them are because your body doesn't absorb as much of them. So what makes sugar alcohols different is your intestinal tract can't absorb as much of them as they do other sugars. So they don't really have as much big of an impact on your blood sugar or insulin and you don't have as many, you don't absorb as many calories from them. There are a couple of them specifically that I put into the safe low sugar impact category and those are erythritol and xylitol. But with a caveat. You may be one of those people like me that does not handle xylitol well. And you wonder what does that mean? That means that you will have gas that could clear the room. So if you are one of those people and you will know it when you use them, you probably won't want to gives you stomach cramps a whole bit. A lot of the different sugar alcohols can do that. They can give you loose stools, they act like a laxative, they give you gas and bloating, not so great. But the one that tends to not do that is erythritol. So I will use erythritol. The other sweeteners that I like to use that that either don't raise blood sugar or insulin, don't have any harmful effects. These are natural by the way, not artificial. I'm not a fan of any artificial sweeteners. But some of the other ones that can fall in the low sugar impact category if you're looking for sweeteners are allulose, stevia and monk fruit or ljango or la kunto I think it's called are all some of the other sweeteners that are also okay to use. And I'll tell you what else I love that I think is totally under underused is cinnamon because it's naturally sweet and balances blood sugar and vanilla. Same thing. Naturally sweet and can boost serotonin. This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show or by going to subscribetoj.com.
Hello listeners. This is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I tag all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next reading. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com to find out more.
