What Is Sorbitol?
Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol.
It’s often used as a substitute to other sugars, like cane and corn sugars.
Sorbitol has a very low glycemic response and fewer calories than sucrose.
It’s about half as sweet as sucrose.
Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol with a sweet taste which the human body metabolizes slowly.
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Sorbitol Is A Common Substitute
Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol commonly used as a substitute for cane and corn sugars.
Sorbitol occurs naturally in fruits such as apples, cherries, and apricots.
Sorbitol can be produced synthetically from glucose. (source ◳)
Sorbitol has about half the sweetness of sucrose. The sweetness profile of sorbitol compares more to glucose than sucrose.
Sorbitol In Foods
In foods, sorbitol is mostly used in sweet food categories such as cakes, pastries, confectionery, chewing gum, and snack bars.
It is also used to sweeten medications. (source ◳)
Sorbitol is stable when heated. So it is often used in baking.
For instance, is there is browning when using sorbitol as a sweetener. (source ◳)
Low GI
Sorbitol has a very low glycemic response and fewer calories than sucrose.
That is why it is commonly used as a sugar replacement for people with diabetes. (source ◳)
Side-Effects Of Sorbitol
Sorbitol has diuretic, laxative, and cathartic properties.
It was formerly used as a diuretic and may still be used as a laxative and in irrigating solutions for some surgical procedures. (source ◳)
Sorbitol can cause diarrhea and IBS-like symptoms with as little as 10g per day. (source ◳)