Low in calories, high in trouble

Q: What are sugar alcohols, and do I need to avoid them if I'm trying to cut down on sugar?

A: Sugar alcohols are sweeteners that don't come naturally in bananas, or pumpkins or any of the other foods you should be eating.

If you eat well, there's really no reason that you'd be consuming them. Sugar-alcohol sweeteners are made by adding hydrogen atoms to sugars, and they have a multitude of names, including sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, maltitol, lactitol, isomalt, erythritol, even "hydrogenated starch hydrolysates."

Sugar-alcohol sweeteners have one thing going for them: They don't spike your blood sugar as much as the regular stuff, because your body doesn't absorb them well. But that still doesn't make them a dieter's dream: Sugar alcohols are almost as caloric as the genuine article.

There's another incentive to think before you sweeten: Too much sugar alcohol can cause bloating, gas and diarrhea. In fact, in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration even requires a "laxative effect" warning notice on labels of foods that have 50 grams of sorbitol or 20 grams of mannitol in a serving.

Read more health advice from The You Docs tomorrow in Living.