Posted by sleepy lizard on August 23, 2002, at 10:07:13
In reply to Re: Gas and Gum » sleepy lizard, posted by IsoM on August 23, 2002, at 0:53:56
I guess it depends on the amount of xylitol and the sensitivity of the person. Those sugar alcohols bother me a lot. This comment is from: http://www.pharmcentral.com/sugars.htm
"The sugar alcohols include sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, and lactitol, and other similar open-chain compounds. Sugar alcohols are linear poly alcohols, as opposed to cyclic poly-alcohols (formal sugars). The linear form affects the ability of the body's enzymes to oxidize or "burn" the molecule; hence these compounds typically havefewer calories per gram than their cyclic brethren. Chemically, what this meas is that the energy stored in the ether bond and the strain energy of the chair configuration has been spent before the enzyme sees the molecule. (Absorption into the blood probably also plays a role.) Because taste is a function of molecular structure, and because evolution has favored animals who preferred more calorific compounds, the sugar alcohols are also less sweet than their cyclic counterparts."
"Sugar alcohols are found naturally in fruits and other foods and are often used as "low-calorie" sweeteners in dietetic foods and as bulking or "texturing" agents. Foods high in these compounds often produce abdominal gas and diarrhea."
poster:sleepy lizard
thread:116217
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020821/msgs/117504.html