Sugar alcohols can be found naturally in some foods like artichokes and when you look at the ingredients list you might see a word with an -ol ending like sorbitol or xylitol — those are sugar alcohols. 

Sugar alcohols are safe for those with diabetes, but a few things to remember:

• Some sugar alcohols have fewer carbohydrates than sugar but they may still have some calories so they can still affect your blood sugar.
• Sugar alcohols are poorly digested in your gut so you may have side effects like gas, bloating and diarrhea.  
• Typically "sugar-free" products made with sugar alcohols still have carbohydrates from other sources so you still need to check the portion size and "count" the carbohydrates.  

You can find more information on sugar alcohols and carbohydrate counting by going to the American Diabetes Association website www.diabetes.org.

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Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN

Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian

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