Is Maltitol OK on Keto and How Much Maltitol Will Kick You Out of Ketosis?

Maltitol is a sweetener in lots of no-sugar-added snacks. With half the calories of sugar, it can allow people on a low-calorie diet to have a sweet treat. So is maltitol OK on keto? Maltitol is a carbohydrate, so check the nutrition label to see if the carbs in that food item will put you over your carb limit for the day. While maltitol is an alternative to sugar, there are other sweeteners that are more keto friendly than maltitol, as they have fewer carbs.

Maltitol is a sugar alcohol, a type of carbohydrate. It is a white powder that dissolves easily in water. Some fruits and vegetables naturally contain maltitol. People also make maltitol from starches like corn, wheat, and potatoes. It's almost as sweet as sugar, and food companies have used it as a sweetener for over 30 years.

Maltitol dissolves in the same way sugar does, so when you eat it, your taste buds expect sweetness. This helps no-sugar-added food taste as sweet as sugary treats. Maltitol doesn't absorb much moisture, so it keeps foods fresh longer. Candy companies sometimes coat pieces of gum or other candies in maltitol because it stays crunchy longer than sugar.

You can find maltitol in many store-bought foods, including:

• baked goods such as cakes and pastries
• candies and chocolates
• snack bars
• ice cream

Drug companies use maltitol to sweeten medicines that you take by mouth, such as chewable tablets. It is especially helpful in medications that come in a syrup form. When they use sugar to sweeten liquid medicine, the syrup tends to crystallize. That means it gets gritty and sticky, sometimes even making it hard to get the top off the bottle of medicine. Maltitol doesn't crystallize, so the syrup keeps longer.

Maltitol health benefits may include:

Blood sugar control

Compared to sugar, maltitol has a much lower glycemic index. That means it won't make your blood sugar go up as much or make it spike quickly. The rise in blood sugar with maltitol is small, slow, and gradual.

Fewer cavities

Maltitol may help fight cavities in two ways: by decreasing the number of cavity-causing bacteria in your mouth and by reducing plaque. The bacteria that cause cavities use sugar as fuel, but they can't use maltitol. Plaque is a clear film on your teeth that gives bacteria a place to live and makes acid that can wear away at the outer layer of the tooth. Chewing maltitol-sweetened gum may help keep plaque from growing.

Weight management

Maltitol is nearly as sweet as sugar with about half as many calories. Maltitol-sweetened treats can be part of a low-calorie diet for people who want to lose or maintain weight.

Most adults can eat as much as 40 grams of maltitol per day with no problems, and children can have up to 15 grams. When they eat larger amounts of maltitol, people sometimes have symptoms such as:

• gas 
• bloating
• stomachache
• nausea 
• diarrhea 

While maltitol has fewer carbs than sugar, it is a form of carbohydrate. Like fiber, though, maltitol is not completely absorbed by the body. If you are counting carbs, subtract half of the grams of maltitol from the total grams of carbohydrates to get your net carbs. For example, if the nutrition label says that a serving has "Total Carbohydrate 20g" and "Sugar Alcohol 10g", subtract 5 grams (half of the 10 grams of sugar alcohol) from the total 20 grams. One serving of that food would have 15 net carbs.

If you are maintaining ketosis by counting carbs, maltitol won't kick you out of ketosis unless you eat too much and consume too many carbs. Be sure to read the nutrition label. You may find it difficult to stay under 20 grams of carbs for the day if you eat a treat with maltitol in it. Erythritol, a sugar alcohol that has zero calories, is a more keto-friendly option.