I have to admit … I love it when our patients bring me food packages with questions about the ingredient list, nutrition facts, or label declarations in general. I am a self-proclaimed ingredient police and enjoy learning which ones aren’t bad or deserve a red flag. You might have noticed allulose in the ingredient list more recently, particularly on product labels that like to announce the low net carbs. Many of our patients rely on 0-calorie sweeteners to decrease their total calorie and carbohydrate intake and encourage fluid consumption in general. Keeping up to date on the best sugar alternatives that can help our patients accomplish this in the healthiest way is important to us.

Allulose is a sweetener created by processing a naturally occurring sugar in certain foods like molasses, maple syrup, and figs. It is about 70% as sweet as table sugar and tastes like sugar but does not contribute to your daily calorie total since it is not absorbed into the bloodstream.

There is no long-term research done on allulose yet, however short term data shows that allulose has no affect on insulin and does not cause tooth decay. For now, allulose appears to be a promising sugar substitute for those looking to reduce total calorie intake, but keep in mind that we don’t know how it affects our bodies in large amounts over time. Another consideration for alternative sweeteners, in general, is that they are super sweet! This can “trick” our taste buds resulting in natural foods tasting bland and less desirable. As always, processed foods or ingredients should be consumed in moderation.