the REN DAO Wellness Center Blog

Honey Tree Nutrition Label An interesting sweetener came across my deck last month. The label read “Honey Tree’s Sugar Free Imitation Honey” My friend who purchased it had a dry cough and I suggested honey and lemon with tea would be helpful. Shopping in a local Walgreen’s this was the only honey product on the shelf. The ingredient list includes maltitol syrup (a sugar alcohol), natural and artificial flavoring, acseulfame k (an artificial sweetener) and malic acid (adds acidity and flavor). This product can be considered a sugar substitute or artificial sweetener, i.e. a product meant to duplicate the affect, and taste of sugar, usually at lower cost and/or fewer calories. In this case our imitation honey is attempting to duplicate the look, taste and feel of honey. This is similar to most non-dairy creamers, which are artificial sweeteners, masquerading as powdered, dairy products. The table below compares a typical serving size (one tablespoon) of our imitation honey with table sugar and real (raw) honey.

Glycemic Index’s taken from www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm, www.glycemicindex.com/ & www.mendosa.com/netcarbs.htm. The GI listed for Maltitol and Honey are value from a number of different sources thus a range of GI values are given. The numbers for sugar (excluding GI) are for one teaspoon sugar multiplied by three.
The caloric content of the three products are fairly similar. The Sugar–Free labeling on the imitation honey could lead one to believe it is low calorie, yet it is nearly the same as a similar serving of plain table sugar. For an extra ten calories per serving, the raw honey provides enzymes, essential nutrients, anti-microbial properties and health benefits not found in the other two processed sweeteners. Our imitation honey in its cute teddy bear plastic jar, offers my friend little relief from her cough and sore throat.  Note, commercial processed honey is usually heated and pasteurized. This process can destroy many of the health benefits found in natural raw honey products. Those who may be insulin impaired should consult with their health care provider before consuming large amounts of honey. Honey should not be given to infants under the age of one.Sugar Alcohol - Sugar SubstituteSugar Alcohols (polyol) are carbohydrates and occur naturally in some fruits and vegetables. Their chemical structures resemble both sugar and alcohol molecules. Polyols used in commercial products are chemically manufactured from corn, potatoes and other starches or sugars. Polyols vary in sweetness, caloric content, glycemic index, and usage. Only a few are suitable for use in consumer products.
The human body does not react to polyols like sugars and can not quickly absorb them from the small intestine into the blood. Many articles and food manufactures alike make the statement that sugar alcohols are incompletely digested by the gut, do not greatly impact blood sugar levels and are not a major source of calories.  This is not quite true. Malitol as shown in our example above does provide calories and has an affect on blood sugar. Different polyols are processed differently by the body, resulting in different caloric content, affect on blood sugar and affects on the gut. Additional, due to differences between each persons biological makeup, each person may absorb and utilize a particular polyol differently. This makes it difficult to put in numbers on their overall affect on the body.
In addition to providing sweetness, the use of sugar is important in creating the taste and textures we have grown accustom to in processed foods. Food manufactures look to sugar substitutes like polyols (and specialty carbohydrates like polydextrose) to create better products with less calories and lower impact on the health of consumers.
The sugar alcohol Xylitol has proven to be an outstanding sugar replacement used in candies, gums, toothpaste and other dental products. It is low in calories and has a low glycemic index. It provides the proper sweetness, has a nice cooling affect in the mouth and like all polyols does not lead to dental cavities. Further it has been shown to interfere with the reproduction of oral bacteria, not by killing them but by creating an environment that inhibiting their growth. It has been shown to also reduce incidence of ear, nose and throat infections in children. Maltitol, a sugar alcohol commonly found in processed foods, is also attractive because it exhibits many of the properties of sugar. Being slightly less sweet, it is usually partnered with an artificial sweetener like acseulfame k or Sucralose. People who are insulin impaired, who are concerned about caloric intake and who have sensitive intestinal tracts should take care when selecting foods containing sugar substitutes like maltitol. This is especially true since foods containing sugar substitutes are typically over consumed.