Scrutinizing nutritional labels on foods is part of the shopping process for many people living with diabetes. Knowing how many carbs, fats, sugars, etc. are in this loaf of bread instead of that loaf can be the difference between a high blood sugar and staying in the desired range. By now, most of these line items you see on these labels are fairly common and well known. But, what about that extra line -- you know, the one that has seemed to pop up in the last few years. No, it's not sugar -- you recognize that one. It's the one right after it. Yeah, that one. Sugar Alcohols.

What are Sugar Alcohols? Well, put simply, they're a type of carb that adds a sweet taste to foods but do so with half the calories of sugar. They're called Sugar Alcohols because their chemical makeup resembles sugar and alcohol (so, the naming process clearly didn't involve all too much originality). More important than their name is knowing what they do. Sugar Alcohols are converted into glucose more slowly than sugar is, requiring little or no insulin for processing and typically not causing any spike in blood sugar.

Typically, you can find Sugar Alcohols in some kinds of chewing gum, soft drinks, toothpaste, mouthwash, cookies, and even throat lozenges. Although Sugar Alcohol's effects on blood sugar appear to be minimal, research has shown that too much of it (somewhere around 30-40g per day) can have a laxative effect. Some research suggests that problems of this kind can also arise from a daily consumption of even less than 30g.