Guest guest Posted August 8, 2006 Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Hello - I was at a group meeting last night and we were wondering about Maltitol. Does anyone know what it is? Is it gluten-free? It sounds dangerous. Barbara in SoCal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 > > ... we were wondering about > Maltitol. Does anyone know what it is? Is it gluten-free? > > A slow or nearly non-digestible artificial sweetener, a sugar alcohol derived from maltose, that is from corn. This is the answer I read from the web. It can cause trots, like sorbitol and other " -ol " sweeteners. Some people report additional adverse effects such as headaches. It seems to be listed as GF in all the places I looked. Whether you really want much of it in your diet is a personal choice. I wouldn't chew several packs of gum/day sweetened by it. But the occasional luxury of a dark chocolate bar sweetened by it would proably be OK by me. Esther in RI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Maltilol is not dangerous. If you look up the definition, it is: " a disaccharide polyol produced by the hydrogenation of maltose. It occurs widely in nature (eg, in chicory and roasted malt). About 0.9 times as sweet as sucrose with similar sweetness and body. Suitable for many kinds of confectionery, particularly good for candy coating. FDA allows the use of a caloric value of 2.1 calories per gram. " There is a small GF baking business near here, and they use maltilol in their products. I have spoken with the owner quite a few times, and she gets asked by so many celiacs that she has researched the question. She uses maltilol that is NOT from barley sugar, and says the commercial maltilol is gluten-free. As for what maltose is: " Maltose (known as malt sugar) is a disaccharide (sometimes called di-glucose). It is formed from two glucose molecules joined together at carbons one and four by a glycosidic bond. It is the beginning of an important biochemical series, as more glucose units are added it becomes malto-triose, malto-tetrose, and so on. Long chain molecules of glucose are called dextrins or malto-dextrins. " As we all know, maltodextrin does not always come from a gluten source, so assuming anything with the word " malt " in it is dangerous will cause a lot of unnecesary worry. If you use Google, you can type in define:_______ to find out more about what something really is. Maureen > > Hello - > > I was at a group meeting last night and we were wondering about > Maltitol. Does anyone know what it is? Is it gluten-free? > > It sounds dangerous. > > Barbara in SoCal > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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