Have you ever encountered a situation where you eat quite normally, but you just have diarrhea for no reason?
In addition to irritable bowels, many people overlook the very common possibility: you may eat too much sugar substitute foods (especially sugar alcohols).
Sugar substitute food is also the Internet celebrity on the shelf in the past two years: "sugar-free" food, which retains the sweet taste but has a lower calorie, which is simply a paradise for sweet lovers.
And how did we discover this secret?
It starts with the story of a sugar-free lollipop in the mall...
A toilet massacre caused by a lollipop
The story comes from our planner Afa, the mom of a 7-year-old. Last weekend they passed a candy store while shopping, and a sugar-free lollipop caught my daughter's eye.
As a member of the cloves, Ah Fa insisted on a healthy philosophy of eating less sugar, and she carefully examined the labels and ingredient list to be sure that this was a real "sugar-free" lollipop.
Image source: I took it myself
The ingredient list does not secretly add sugar, isomaltitol is a common low-calorie sugar substitute, the ingredient list is also very simple, the main ingredient is sugar substitute, with lactic acid, flavoring, lemon red, erythrosite red tonal (), no problem.
And for her daughter, a 7-year-old, all that's left is happiness.
The happiness of the sugar lasted for 2 hours (it was too big), and when the family was still joking about how long the sugar could be eaten, the accident happened:
"Mom! My stomach hurts! It hurts!"
Image source: Network
This was followed by 3 consecutive episodes of diarrhea.
In fact, at the beginning, the mother Ah Fa, who was very anxious, did not think that it was a lollipop problem, but thought that it was something unclean, which is probably what most people can think of when they have diarrhea.
By unexpected coincidence, before the lollipop, the child had not eaten for 3 hours, and after starting to eat the lollipop, because the happiness of the lollipop was too long-lasting (it was too big), no food could make the child escape from the happiness of the lollipop.
That is to say, in these 5 hours, except for a 25-gram lollipop and a bottle of water, the child did not eat anything.
Sugar-free lollipops
Does it really make people diarrhea?
Theoretically, the answer is yes: yes! Really will.
Ah Fa, who experienced his daughter's diarrhea, nervously asked a gastroenterologist on the Lilac Doctor App.
Through the detailed description, the judgment given by experts is that the protagonist of this "toilet tragedy" is likely to be isomaltone sugar alcohol in the ingredient list.
Isomaltitol belongs to a very important family of sugar substitutes: sugar alcohols, which are also a sweetener.
Common are maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, lactitol and so on.
These ingredients can be found in many "sugar-free" foods such as biscuits, jellies, yogurt, flavored milk, candy, pastries, and other everyday sweet snacks.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
We simply understand that this type of sugar substitute is not really sugar, but a sweet carbohydrate. The way it is metabolized in the body is very different from sugar.
One of the benefits of this is that it is not completely absorbed, the calories are lower, and the emphasis is: sugar alcohols are still calories, and writing 0 sugar does not mean no calories.
Isomaltketol, for example, has only half as many calories as sucrose, while the more common addition of erythritol to a beverage is even lower, at less than 1 kcal per gram.
The disadvantage is that it may become the culprit of the snubbing.
Sugar alcohols are trapped in the intestine because they cannot be fully absorbed. Their presence increases osmotic pressure in the intestine, increasing the water of the intestinal tract.
In addition to absorbing water, the microorganisms in the intestines are also idle, and sugar alcohols are their favorite foods. The fermentation effect of microorganisms makes the intestine gas production increase, and the overactive microbes may also cause some reactions in the intestines - in short, it will make you bloated and even fart continuously.
As a result, under the dual action of water and gas, the light is bloated and abdominal pain, and the heavy is forced to transform into a spray warrior and thin.
However, some people may say that they have also eaten, as if such a problem has not occurred?
In fact, this is related to everyone's physical condition.
On the one hand, each person's tolerance to sugar alcohols is different, and more importantly, there are several sugar alcohols that can be used as sugar substitutes, and the types of sugar alcohols that each person is sensitive to may not be the same.
Whether you will become a jet warrior, when you will become a jet fighter, and how much you will eat will become a jet fighter, you have to rely on your own personal test to know.
We can think of it as some people drinking milk will have diarrhea, and some people will not, some people will have diarrhea after drinking half a cup, and some people will have diarrhea if they drink a cup, lactose intolerance and sugar alcohol intolerance is actually a truth.
In the past, there were fewer products that only used sugar alcohols, but as the concept of "sugar-free" is accepted by more and more people, more people may inadvertently tap into their sugar alcohol tolerance.
For example, Ah Fa's daughter swore that she would never want to eat such a big lollipop again.
All sugar-free foods
Does it make people diarrhea?
Some people may be worried, then can you still eat "sugar-free" food with confidence? The risk of becoming a jet warrior anytime, anywhere, is still a bit scary.
First conclusion: the whole is safe, but pay attention to the amount of control!
First of all, the sugar substitutes that currently cause diarrhea are mainly sugar alcohols.
That is, the maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, isomaltoneitol and lactitol that we mentioned earlier all have the word "sugar alcohol" ending.
Our common sugar substitutes added to beverages are aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and steviol glycosides, which are usually not very easy to cause diarrhea, and erythritol used in beverages is relatively safe because of its relatively high tolerance.
Secondly, the diarrhea caused by sugar alcohols is "transient diarrhea", that is, it is fine after pulling, and it will not affect the body.
The EU EFSA did not approve erythritol for use in beverages due to concerns about the risk of diarrhea, but it was also liberalized in 2016. So far, it is safe for the human body.
The main cause of this diarrheal reaction is due to excessive one-time intake.
How much is the amount of calculation? Let's take the amount of safety in the domestic candy standard as a reference:
Image source: References
Mannitol and lactitol are relatively low tolerance, and a single intake of 5 grams may cause diarrhea, such as seeing it in yogurt, you may have to be careful.
Note: A lollipop takes all the sugar alcohols
In addition, children's tolerance may be relatively low, with maltitol exceeding 48 grams per day for adults of 60 kg to cause diarrhea, while children with 15 grams may cause diarrhea.
A common 1 lollipop is 10 grams, and eating two a day is a good overdose! Even without diarrhea, a large intake of such sugar alcohols can lead to bloating and cause physical discomfort.
A personal experience like the one we talked about earlier is likely to be a typical case of low tolerance itself, coupled with a large intake of a short period of time (25 grams), and drinking too much water at the same time, so that diarrhea comes quickly and violently.
At present, the international restrictions on sugar alcohols are not very strict, and the us Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given a recommendation to check the food ingredient list and nutrition labels to monitor the total amount of sugar alcohols you consume every day.
Some countries require manufacturers to mark the amount of "may cause diarrhea" on their products, but there is no relevant requirement in China.
Remarks: There are no clear labeling requirements in China
Focus on these "high-sweet foods"
How do you prevent yourself from accidentally transforming into a jet warrior?
1. Pay attention to identify foods with high sugar alcohol content;
2. When diarrhea appears, review which sugar alcohols you are sensitive to and what amount you tolerate.
Generally speaking, most people don't reach the sensitivity value because of a bottle of sugar-free drinks, but some foods are really hidden "sugar substitutes". In particular, we should remind everyone to pay attention to two types of food.
A prepackaged food such as candy, chocolate, chocolate milk, which contains a lot of "sugar" itself, is replaced with sugar alcohol, and this amount is very large.
The other is customized products such as pastries, mooncakes, and milk tea. Often for the sake of taste and sweetness, some sellers can easily add 20 to 30 grams of sugar substitutes, which is very easy to exceed tolerance.
The way to identify it is to look at the ingredient list when you see the words "sugar-free" or "0 sugar", and be careful if the word "sugar alcohol" appears in the first two places.
We've seen this kind of complaint about sugar-free chocolate milk on some platforms:
Remarks: Well, diarrhea may not really be a pot in the interim period
Last year's Mid-Autumn Festival also occurred, the amount of sugar substitute used in the moon cake was too large, causing many people to have diarrhea after eating it.
Pay special attention when buying for the elderly and children, and remember to remind a small amount of consumption.
Still that sentence, you can eat, but pay attention to the amount.
Well, see here let's go back to the opening question: Have you ever had diarrhea for no reason?
whoop
Finally, there is advice from Afa as a witness (which she strongly asks to add):
Please write a warning on the packaging of most people's tolerance, and the daily life of turning into a jet warrior anytime and anywhere is not what everyone wants.
Also, sugar-free candy, don't make that big.
This article is co-authored by experts
This article is reviewed by experts
bibliography
[1] Oku T, Nakamura S. Threshold for transitory diarrhea induced by ingestion of xylitol and lactitol in young male and female adults[J]. Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology, 2007, 53(1): 13-20.
[2] Oku T, Okazaki M. Laxative threshold of sugar alcohol erythritol in human subjects[J]. Nutrition Research, 1996, 16(4): 577-589.
[3] Thabuis C, Cazaubiel M, Pichelin M, et al. Short-term digestive tolerance of chocolate formulated with maltitol in children[J]. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2010, 61(7): 728-738.
Planning and production
Curator: Murphy | Executive Producer: Feidi
Cover image source: Stand Cool Helo | Typography: Snail