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Sugar alcohols can have some unpleasant side effects, which make them unpopular for general use. They can cause bloating, flatulence, and diarrhea if you consum

Sugar alcohols can have some unpleasant side effects, which make them unpopular for general use. They can cause bloating, flatulence, and diarrhea if you consume too much of them. The pop-culture example of this is the review section on http://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Sugar-Free-Gummy-Bears/dp/B008JELLCA http://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Sugar-Free-Gummy-Bears/dp/B008J..., or in a less ridiculous form at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol#Safety and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol#Side_effects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol#Side_effects. That's not at all to say they're bad or poison; I love sugar-free gum a lot, but the amount of sugar alcohol in each piece is very low. The problem is just that the side effects mean that if they're widely used, eventually someone is going to crap themselves and blame your product, and almost nobody wants that.

mrfusion 11y ago
I put two tbsp of xylitol into my smoothies and I've never had a problem. It's also supposed to be good for your teeth. I do wonder how something can be so dangerous for dogs and safe for humans. Aren't our cells almost identical?
- amputect 11y ago
  Yeah, xylitol inhibits bacterial growth in the mouth. I like it in gum, it seems to help me. It seems like different people have different tolerances for xylitol to some extent; I know that my wife, who is much smaller than me, has a higher absolute tolerance than I do (i.e. if we eat the same amount without accounting for body weight, I will experience discomfort and she will not). I'm not a vet but I'm waiting on some batch tests at work so I did some reading. According to http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/new-findings-effects-xylitol-ingestion-dogs http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/new-findings-effects-xy..., dogs absorb Xylitol much more quickly than rats or humans do. Xylitol also provokes dogs to release insulin, but not people. The reasons behind that are not completely clear to me, but since they quickly and completely absorb Xylitol, they end up producing a ton of insulin very quickly which tanks their blood glucose levels. That's dangerous without any complicating factors. Additionally, dogs metabolize xylitol differently, and it's thought that a side effect of the metabolization is to deplete adenosine triphosphate in the liver, which can cause liver necrosis (obviously very bad news). Humans don't absorb xylitol well (it's only partially digestible and some of it acts as dietary fiber, sort of), and we don't metabolize what we do absorb very efficiently. The difference is likely in both the dose relative to body weight, and the intensity (since dogs metabolize it much faster and more completely). That's all secondhand info though, I don't have a JSTOR or equivalent account so I couldn't read any interesting primary papers. If we coincidentally have a vet wandering through I'd love to learn more about this.
  - lnufnu 11y ago
    You can adapt to xylitol in your diet. It is best to introduce it slowly into your diet. Chewing gum is a great way to use it daily and increase your intake over time. Dental recommendations are 6-10 grams per day, but most people would experience discomfort starting off at that amount.
- ars 11y ago
  > I do wonder how something can be so dangerous for dogs and safe for humans. Aren't our cells almost identical? There's lots of differences in the enzymes that are made though. For example humans are one of the few species that can not make vitamin C. Usually if you check the reason a food is dangerous for some animal it's that they lack an enzyme needed to degrade it, so it builds up.
  - logfromblammo 11y ago
    The LD-50 for theobromine (found in chocolate) is 300 mg/kg for dogs, and 1000 mg/kg for humans. Additionally, dogs metabolize it more slowly than humans. As a result, a dog who eats 1 oz milk chocolate or 0.25 oz dark chocolate per pound of its own body weight could die. A 192-lb human who eats 12 pounds of milk chocolate is unlikely to die... from theobromine poisoning. Cats have an ever lower LD-50 for theobromine, but they are less likely to eat a lethal dose of chocolate, because they don't taste sweetness, while dogs can. Birds are not affected by capsaicin, but are absolutely repulsed by methyl anthranilate (artificial grape flavoring).
Riseed 11y ago
I actually used knowledge of their unpleasant side effects to help overcome my unhealthy diet. While I was still addicted to sugar and craving the taste of sweets, I switched to the "sugar free" sugar alcohol versions of treats. The knowledge that anything more than a reasonable portion would lead to discomfort (at best) was wonderful motivation to keep my portions in check. I used the same method to wean myself off of potato chips and other greasy, salty snacks. I'd heard plenty of horror stories about Olean when I was a child, so I never dared eat more than 4 Fat Free Pringles at a time. The necessarily smaller portions made it easier to focus on enjoying the treats (and thus be satisfied with less), instead of getting lost in a binge. I don't even bother to walk down the sweets or snacks isles at the grocery anymore. I highly recommend the method for anyone whose willpower needs just a wee bit of bolstering.

mrfusion 11y ago

I put two tbsp of xylitol into my smoothies and I've never had a problem. It's also supposed to be good for your teeth. I do wonder how something can be so dangerous for dogs and safe for humans. Aren't our cells almost identical?

amputect 11y ago
Yeah, xylitol inhibits bacterial growth in the mouth. I like it in gum, it seems to help me. It seems like different people have different tolerances for xylitol to some extent; I know that my wife, who is much smaller than me, has a higher absolute tolerance than I do (i.e. if we eat the same amount without accounting for body weight, I will experience discomfort and she will not). I'm not a vet but I'm waiting on some batch tests at work so I did some reading. According to http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/new-findings-effects-xylitol-ingestion-dogs http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/new-findings-effects-xy..., dogs absorb Xylitol much more quickly than rats or humans do. Xylitol also provokes dogs to release insulin, but not people. The reasons behind that are not completely clear to me, but since they quickly and completely absorb Xylitol, they end up producing a ton of insulin very quickly which tanks their blood glucose levels. That's dangerous without any complicating factors. Additionally, dogs metabolize xylitol differently, and it's thought that a side effect of the metabolization is to deplete adenosine triphosphate in the liver, which can cause liver necrosis (obviously very bad news). Humans don't absorb xylitol well (it's only partially digestible and some of it acts as dietary fiber, sort of), and we don't metabolize what we do absorb very efficiently. The difference is likely in both the dose relative to body weight, and the intensity (since dogs metabolize it much faster and more completely). That's all secondhand info though, I don't have a JSTOR or equivalent account so I couldn't read any interesting primary papers. If we coincidentally have a vet wandering through I'd love to learn more about this.
- lnufnu 11y ago
  You can adapt to xylitol in your diet. It is best to introduce it slowly into your diet. Chewing gum is a great way to use it daily and increase your intake over time. Dental recommendations are 6-10 grams per day, but most people would experience discomfort starting off at that amount.
ars 11y ago
> I do wonder how something can be so dangerous for dogs and safe for humans. Aren't our cells almost identical? There's lots of differences in the enzymes that are made though. For example humans are one of the few species that can not make vitamin C. Usually if you check the reason a food is dangerous for some animal it's that they lack an enzyme needed to degrade it, so it builds up.
- logfromblammo 11y ago
  The LD-50 for theobromine (found in chocolate) is 300 mg/kg for dogs, and 1000 mg/kg for humans. Additionally, dogs metabolize it more slowly than humans. As a result, a dog who eats 1 oz milk chocolate or 0.25 oz dark chocolate per pound of its own body weight could die. A 192-lb human who eats 12 pounds of milk chocolate is unlikely to die... from theobromine poisoning. Cats have an ever lower LD-50 for theobromine, but they are less likely to eat a lethal dose of chocolate, because they don't taste sweetness, while dogs can. Birds are not affected by capsaicin, but are absolutely repulsed by methyl anthranilate (artificial grape flavoring).

Riseed 11y ago

I actually used knowledge of their unpleasant side effects to help overcome my unhealthy diet. While I was still addicted to sugar and craving the taste of sweets, I switched to the "sugar free" sugar alcohol versions of treats. The knowledge that anything more than a reasonable portion would lead to discomfort (at best) was wonderful motivation to keep my portions in check. I used the same method to wean myself off of potato chips and other greasy, salty snacks. I'd heard plenty of horror stories about Olean when I was a child, so I never dared eat more than 4 Fat Free Pringles at a time. The necessarily smaller portions made it easier to focus on enjoying the treats (and thus be satisfied with less), instead of getting lost in a binge. I don't even bother to walk down the sweets or snacks isles at the grocery anymore. I highly recommend the method for anyone whose willpower needs just a wee bit of bolstering.