Functional sweeteners Maltitol liquid used in cake

If you’re looking at the ingredient label of many “sugar-free” baked goods or sweets, you may see maltitol, a sugar alcohol that’s commonly added to foods.

Like many artificial sweeteners, maltitol contains fewer calories than table sugar and it has a lower glycemic index score. But is it safe? It’s used in a range of food and medicine products, including maltitol keto snacks, sugar-free gum and candies, and medicine capsules.

Well, after reading about potential side effects of this artificial sweetener, you may want to choose a different sugar substitute going forward.

What Is Maltitol? WhatsApp :008615964713866

Maltitol is a disaccharide sugar alcohol that’s almost as sweet at sugar, but contains fewer calories and has a lower glycemic index.

It’s derived from maltose by dehydrogenation, which is a chemical reaction that involves the removal or hydrogen. Maltitol is obtained from starch, so it’s considered a carbohydrate.

Sugar alcohols are commonly used in the manufacturing of foods, oral hygiene products and medicines. In foods, it’s used as a low calorie sweetener, as it has about half the calories of sucrose, or table sugar.

In medicine, it’s used as an excipient and plasticizer in gelatin capsules, and it’s also used as an emollient (skin soother) in hygiene products.

Potential Benefits

Compared to table sugar, or sucrose, there may be some potential maltitol benefits, including the following:

1. Fewer Calories

Maltitol is commonly used as a sugar substitute because it shares many properties with sugar, but has almost half the calories. one gram of sugar contains 4 calories, while a gram of maltitol contains 2–3 calories.

Maltitol is almost as sweet as sugar, about 90 percent as sweet, so you’ll see it on the ingredient label of “low calorie,” “sugar-free” and even “keto-friendly” products.

Keep in mind, because maltitol isn’t exactly as sweet as sugar, if you end up using more of the sugar alcohol to get the same sweetness, you may end up consuming just as many calories as you would if you just used table sugar.

2. Lower Glycemic Index

Maltitol has a lower glycemic index than sugar, so it causes a slower ride in blood sugar and insulin levels. This can be helpful for people with diabetes. However, the sugar alcohol does impact blood glucose, so you still need to monitor your levels, even after eating a “sugar-free” food containing maltitol.

Comparing the glycemic index of table sugar, which is 60 — the glycemic index of maltitol syrup is 52 and maltitol powder is 35. These are lower numbers than sugar, but still high enough to affect your blood sugar levels.

In fact, maltitol glycemic index is higher than other low carb sweeteners, so keep that in mind if you’re diabetic and consuming this sugar alcohol.

3. May Support Dental Health

Research suggests that chewing gum with maltitol may support dental health by reducing gingivitis and bacterial growth. More studies are needed to fully understand the potential benefits, but this sugar alcohol may help to prevent dental plaque and cavities, unlike table sugar.