Sugar intake is a real concern for people who've had gastric bypass, in fact most patients fear sugar. The foremost fear isn't weight gain, it's dumping. Foods containing sugar pass too quickly through the small pouch, they are rapidly absorbed and cause insulin levels to drop resulting in dumping.
Very unpleasant. Instead of taking chances with sugar many of us reach for "sugar free" sweets or diabetic candy to satisfy our sweet tooth. Many of these products contain sugar alcohol, a natural sweetener derived from fruits and berries. Unlike artificial sweeteners that contain no calories, sugar alcohol has about half the calories of sugar. Diabetics are able to have food with sugar alcohol because it's converted more slowly to glucose and require very little insulin to be metabolized.
While sugar alcohols are low in calories and slow to convert to glucose, the down side is they can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. I learned this the hard way. One day that devil we call temptation seduced me into buying a bag of sugar-free jelly beans. Jelly beans are dangerous because they are little bites of soft food which means a gastric bypass patient can eat too much volume. I ate the entire bag in about an hour (true confessions of the closet snacker). I soon became uncomfortable with a small tummy ache. The tummy ache turned to bloating, cramping and gas. Extreme cases of all three symptoms. Painful "take me to the hospital I think I'm gonna explode" symptoms. It took a couple of days for my body to return to normal, a couple of stressful and uncomfortable days.
The jelly beans I ate contained Mannitol, a common sugar alcohol extracted from seaweed. I know they contained Mannitol because I read the package mid-way through the crisis. The package contained this warning, "Warning: excessive consumption can cause a laxative effect" Fine time to be reading labels I told myself! Mannitol is found naturally in pineapples, olives, asparagus, sweet potatoes and carrots. It's about 60% as sweet as sugar, so more product is needed to replicate the sweetness of sugar. "Mannitol lingers in the intestines for a long time and therefore causes bloating and diarrhea." Yup! That's exactly what happens all right.
What other names are sugar alcohols called?
Sorbitol is found naturally in fruits and vegetables. It is manufactured from corn syrup. Sorbitol has only 50 percent of the relative sweetness of sugar which means twice as much must be used to deliver a similar amount of sweetness to a product. It has less of a tendency to cause diarrhea compared to mannitol. It is often an ingredient in sugar-free gums and candies.
Xylitol is also called "wood sugar" and occurs naturally in straw, corncobs, fruit, vegetables, cereals, mushrooms and some cereals. Xylitol has the same relative sweetness as sugar. It is found in chewing gums.
Lactitol has about 30-40 percent of sugar's sweetening power, but its taste and solubility profile resembles sugar so it is often found in sugar-free ice cream, chocolate, hard and soft candies, baked goods, sugar-reduced preserves and chewing gums.
Isomalt is 45 - 65 percent as sweet as sugar and does not tend to lose its sweetness or break down during the heating process. Isomalt absorbs little water, so it is often used in hard candies, toffee, cough drops and lollipops.
Maltitol is 75 percent as sweet as sugar. It is used in sugar-free hard candies, chewing gum, chocolate-flavored desserts, baked goods and ice cream because it gives a creamy texture to foods.
Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH) are produced by the partial hydrolysis of corn. HSH are nutritive sweeteners that provide 40 - 90 percent of the sweetness of sugar. HSH do not crystallize and are used extensively in confections, baked goods and mouthwashes.
Should Gastric Bypass Patients indulge their sweet tooth with sugar alcohol?
The American Diabetes Association claims that sugar alcohols are acceptable in a moderate amount but should not be eaten in excess. In addition, weight gain has been seen when these products are overeaten. Personally, I'm not dipping my sticky fingers into sugar-free candy again. For gastric bypass patients generally the key, as in all eating, must be moderation, not a full bag of jelly beans. And of course, we can always rely on the old advice of conventional dieters, "Hungry for something sweet? Reach for a piece of fruit."
Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.com
LivingAf terWLS is a no-nonsense resource for people Living After Weight Loss Surgery. Our community is growing in numbers even as we are shrinking in pounds. Together we support one another in this lifestyle, that it turns out, is NOT the easy way out.
Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often. To subscribe to the LivingAfterWLS monthly newsletter "You Have Arrived" click on http://www.livingafterwls.com and enter your details in the subscription box.
maid service near Lake Forest ..It's 5:30 p.m. and you're heading home after a long,... Read More
Essential fatty acids are the number one recommendation for anyone... Read More
On average 30% of foods in our daily diet are... Read More
Apple cider vinegar is a product of apple juice fermentation.... Read More
An American culture that is marked by a chronic lack... Read More
There are a lot of very good reasons to eat... Read More
One of the biggest mistakes many new bodybuilders make is... Read More
Please feel free to comment, so that the article may... Read More
Finally, a positive solution regarding America's difficult and costly campaign... Read More
Have you ever thought about where your drinking water comes... Read More
When it comes to the topic of sports nutrition there... Read More
The makers of Bumble Bee Tuna generated some buzz today... Read More
Secretly we all want just a few things in life,... Read More
America's major dietary deficiency - EFA a panacea for good... Read More
Millions of people around the UK consume dairy products on... Read More
Sprouts not only taste good, but they are also a... Read More
You can spot a juicer a mile off at the... Read More
Obesity is epidemic in this country for both children and... Read More
Unhealthy eating is a harmful problem in America, and contrary... Read More
The word 'homeostasis' is made up of two Greek words:... Read More
You really are what you eat. You are also very... Read More
It is ironic how something as obvious as nutrition has... Read More
I'm going to be a bit radical here, but know... Read More
Coconut oil is less known compare to olive oil, corn... Read More
Eating orange mean absorbing vitamin C to our body, is... Read More
top rated cleaning service Des Plaines ..Although you may have heard about soy and all of... Read More
Secretly we all want just a few things in life,... Read More
America's focus on nutritious eating began to receive national attention... Read More
Just what is the "New Biology of Health?" And who's... Read More
Water is a vitally important component of any valuable and... Read More
I had finally come to a place in my life... Read More
The confusion about eating healthy and dieting will now be... Read More
"You are what you eat."Does it sound familiar? You probably... Read More
With so much 'diet advice' around today it is little... Read More
New studies bring to our attention that high levels of... Read More
Finally, a positive solution regarding America's difficult and costly campaign... Read More
Understanding ocular nutrition and eye health can be one of... Read More
What are Glyconutrients? Glyconutrients are eight newly discovered biologically-active sugars... Read More
About 12.6 million Americans currently have heart disease.1.1 million Americans... Read More
Dieting is a pain. I think basically everyone would agree... Read More
Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, was thought of as... Read More
How well do you know about vitamin K? This vitamin... Read More
The best weight training and cardio workouts will do very... Read More
America's major dietary deficiency - EFA a panacea for good... Read More
We come from a society where growing organic and just... Read More
Nails are a protective horn at the end of our... Read More
Spring is in the air and ? summer is around... Read More
Fats have been unfairly lumped together as being all bad... Read More
White-spotted or yellow splotched teeth may reveal more than needed... Read More
Several years ago, Marilyn M. couldn't even spell fibromyalgia.Now she... Read More
Nutrition |