Is Maltitol Better or Worse Than Sugar? Are There Side Effects?

Maltitol is a sweetener that belongs to a larger group of artificial sweeteners called sugar alcohols. There are several reasons why maltitol could be a better choice when compared to natural sugar.

Many people who enjoy sweet treats but don’t want the extra calories turn to artificial sweeteners to get a sweet taste without all of the sugar. Artificial sweeteners pack a very sweet taste into a small amount of product and are low-calorie or sometimes even calorie-free. 

There are many artificial sweeteners out there, many of which you are probably already familiar with. One sweetener that you may or may not have heard of is maltitol. Here’s what you need to know about maltitol and your health.

Maltitol is a sweetener that belongs to a larger group of artificial sweeteners called sugar alcohols. Also called polyols, these are sweeteners that are naturally found in some foods, like vegetables and fruit. The first polyol to be discovered was a natural carbohydrate called sorbitol that’s found in the berries of mountain ash shrubs.

Other polyols that have been discovered since then include:

• Maltitol
• Mannitol
• Erythritol
• Isomalt
• Xylitol

Polyols can occur naturally or be produced artificially. They are nutritive sweeteners, meaning they have calories, though fewer calories than sugar. Sugar alcohols are used in food production to make foods and drinks taste sweet while keeping the calorie count low.

Some things that maltitol is used for are:

• Baked goods
• Ice cream
• Sugar-free hard candies
• Gum
• Chocolate-flavored confectionery products
• Chocolate coatings

Maltitol is made from starches that contain high levels of sugar maltose, like wheat, corn, and potatoes. It’s used in the products listed above not only to sweeten but to give them a smooth, creamy texture, as well. Maltitol is used to make food bulkier and can help keep baked goods moist in their packaging. This sweetener can partially or fully replace sugar in these products to offer sugar-free or low-calorie options to buyers. Some producers use maltitol together with other artificial sweeteners to mask the bitter taste that intensely sweet sweeteners sometimes have.

There are several reasons why maltitol could be a better choice when compared to natural sugar.

Calories. One of the biggest benefits of maltitol, when compared to sugar, is the difference in calories. Sugar has about four calories per gram compared to maltitol, which has just 2.1. The FDA permits products made with maltitol to be marked as reduced-calorie since maltitol has nearly half the calories of sugar, so it meets the 25% reduction requirement for this label.

Dental health. It’s well-known that sugar is bad for your teeth. Sugar alcohols, like maltitol, don’t decay or damage teeth the way that sugar does. In fact, they may even help improve your dental health. Maltitol is noncariogenic, meaning that the acids created when the bacteria in your mouth metabolize it don’t form cavities or wear away at the enamel. These bacteria don't have all the enzymes to fully break down maltitol, so they create fewer acids than when they are breaking down sugar.

Blood sugar. People with diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar levels and the amount of sugar and sweets that they eat. When you eat maltitol, though, it’s absorbed slowly. This means that it doesn’t cause your blood glucose to spike as quickly when compared to sugar. Maltitol is a low-glycemic substance, so it causes a slower insulin response. People with diabetes can often enjoy sweets with sugar alcohols in moderation as a part of a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Weight management. Maltitol has few calories, but it also has a lower carb count than sugar does. People who follow low-carb diets can enjoy a sweet treat from time to time if it’s made from sugar alcohols like maltitol. Even so, though, it’s important to remember that these sweet products aren’t entirely free of carbs and calories, so they should still only be enjoyed in moderation.

In the past, it was thought that artificial sweeteners could cause cancer. Today, health experts agree that there is no solid evidence to prove that this is the case. Sweeteners don’t cause any other serious health problems, either. When eaten in limited amounts, sweeteners like maltitol are safe to consume in foods and drinks. 

Even so, there are some side effects of maltitol to be aware of:

Laxative effect. Sugar alcohols can have a laxative effect when eaten in high amounts. This is true of many other nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners, as well. Health experts agree that most people can tolerate up to 30 grams of maltitol with no side effects, but it’s recommended to limit your intake to 10 to 15 grams per day.

Gastrointestinal problems. Sugar alcohols can’t be fully digested. Because of this, some people experience gastrointestinal problems after they eat products that contain these sweeteners. When you eat large amounts of these sweeteners, you might experience problems like bloating, gas, and diarrhea. If you notice these problems after eating foods with maltitol, you should switch to another kind of sweetener.

Even though neither are sugar, sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners aren’t necessarily the same. Artificial sweeteners like aspartame and saccharin are very sweet and don’t contain any calories. They are grouped as non-nutritive sweeteners. Sugar alcohols like maltitol are usually artificial, too, even though they can be found in nature.

Both nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners are used in a number of different products. Maltitol is used to make lots of different treats since it’s naturally 90% as sweet as sugar and has a good taste. Unlike artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols aren't as sweet as natural sugar. 

Weight management is an important part of daily health, and many Americans want healthy options with lower calories, carbs, and fat without sacrificing all flavor. Low-calorie sweeteners like maltitol can help solve this problem. It works well when combined with other ingredients, so producers have lots of options when it comes to placing it in different foods. This is an economic advantage for producers and good for consumers, since maltitol can be used to create lots of different flavors.