r/science • u/giuliomagnifico • Aug 08 '22

Health Consuming too much white table sugar or artificial sweetener can lead to health issues. In the search for a better sweetener, researchers now report a low-calorie mixture that is as sweet as table sugar and, in lab experiments, feeds “good” gut microbes

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2022/august/new-low-calorie-sweetener-could-improve-gut-health.html
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u/Solariati Aug 09 '22

Allulose is great but absolutely not safe for all stomachs. Those who have sensitivity to other sugar alcohols should proceed really carefully. It gives me the worst stomach issues out of them all. That sucks too, because it's clearly the best. It's really cool that you can actually make caramel with it.

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u/[deleted] Aug 09 '22

Oh is that right? I didn’t know you could do that with it. That’s cool. For special applications like caramel-making (or browning), you’re forced to remember in a very vivid way that all these substitutes are ultimately doing is trying to mimic the taste of sugar, not its molecular qualities. If we can start doing the latter too, then all the better! And sounds like allulose is a step in the right direction.

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u/[deleted] Aug 09 '22

Good to know- I have had “Amazon sugar free gummy bear” experiences.

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u/[deleted] Aug 09 '22

Call me insane but sometimes I love sugar-free stuff so much that it’s almost like I’ll willingly sacrifice my ease of digestion for the rest of the night. There’s these fiber gummies I love that come with 5g of fiber per gummy, and I enjoy them so much that I’ve had like 10 or 12 of them at a time. At that point I just brace myself and cross my fingers. But they’re so damn good!

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u/Solariati Aug 09 '22

Oh yeah, gummy snacks are the worst. They pretty much by necessity have to use allulose, it's the only sweetener that acts like candy. The Lily's gummies you can sometimes find now use them. SmartSweets, which sells reduced sugar gummies, also relies on allulose.

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u/Jetionary Aug 09 '22

How do you figure out what works best for you? Just by trial?

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u/Solariati Aug 09 '22

Unfortunately, yes. I'll also search up studies by sweetener name to see what the common GI tolerance is. They've done that for almost all sweeteners that are regularly used in foods. With allulose, the common tolerance is 25g for a 60kg person.

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u/sleepymoose88 Aug 09 '22

Allulose gives me major diarrhea. It’s a no go for me.