I have FINALLY learned my lesson on the sugar alcohols having awful side effects.
I usually do pretty good if it has a little sugar alcohol on it but I recently bought some Sugar free JElly Bellies and sugar free chocolates from an online company because I love JElly Bellies and did not realize they had sugar free ones.
They have 36 g of carbs and 32 sugar alcohols in them so basically 4 g for 36 jelly bellies -not bad BUT..............................

I have had the most awful case of diarrhea I have ever had in my life-honestly and sorry to get so personal but people that don't know really need to know-It has been violent diarrhea -pure water coming out. I have had to drink ALOT more water to keep from getting dehydrated. and that is from only eating like may 5 or 10 of them .


Then a few weeks ago I bought Blue Bunny no sugar added ice cream-Double Strawberry swirl-YUM YUM--no problems eating it

After I finished that I decided to try the Blue Bunny Mint Decadence in No sugar added and after eating about 1/2 cup serving I got diarrhea really bad again and thought "What the heck is going on?"
It had the warning on the side that this product may have a laxative effect on it-BOY OF BOY DID IT EVER. Must have been the chocolate in it.

I have wasted at least $40 between the chocolates,Jelly Bellies and ice cream and am throwing it all away because of the HORRIBLE side effects .

The only good thing that came out of it was that I lost 5 lbs in 2 days due to diarrhea but I don't want to lose that way

Anyway-JUST A WARNING TO ALL about sugar alcohols-They are the

I have found that the Atkin's Diet causes me to become constipated... and the sugar alcohols keep me regular.
That sucks that you can't eat them.

I heard lots of people on here say that sugar alcohols cause the same problem for them while they don't bother others. My DH can eat them with no side effects.

You would think that I would have learned my lesson by now, being one of the individuals who is effected. But.... As they say, no pain, no gain.

Yup...reactions to sugar alcohols are very individual. Some people can eat quite a bit of them and not have a problem while others spend the afternoon in the bathroom after having only a little.
I've found that a little (20 grams or less) sugar alcohol doesn't have a bad effect on me, but more than that and I blow up with gas like the Goodyear blimp.
If you've never had a product with sugar alcohols in it before, my advice would be to start with only a small amount until you know what effect they will have on you. Those warnings about possible laxative effects are there on the label for a good reason! The alternative is a mad dash (or several) to the loo and perhaps a good deal of discomfort as well.

::Cough::

If you are planning to just throw the chocolate away you could give it to me instead.

:oes not care about occasional diarrhea::

Atkins can constipate me so sugar alcohols keep things moving. Anyway I try not to binge and eat a ton of candy all at once. That's what really make me run for the bathroom.

Sugar Alcohols have NEVER affected me...

I never had a problem with sugar alcohols before eating this chocolate and ice cream-I wonder why all of a sudden ?
I was kind of hoping my body would get used to it instead of rejecting it so suddenly.
There are different kinds of sugar alcohols aren't there?
Lactitol,Sorbitol and Maltitol- Is that correct and if so does anyone know if one effects more than another one does??

In addition to throwing me out of ketosis, these things KILL my stomach. Maltitol, El Diablo!

Are they actually BAD for you though? Do they affect the way you burn fat or anything? Or is the only problem the diarreah???

I'm gonna echo Steph44's question - are these things bad for us? How do they work? How do our bodies metabolize them? It just seems strange that they're 'free carbs'. Curious if anyone knows more....

ohhh that does suck the SF chocolate is the only thing that keeps me going. I love the carbolite crispy nutrition bars in PB they are 2 g AWESOME!!!!!! And Jello too mmm thats too bad they are wonderful for saving u during cravings!!

I found an intersting website that tells about Sugar alcohols:

http://wilstar.net/lowcarb/sugaralcohols.htm

Maybe this will help us to understand them better. THanks for everyone who has responded to my post on this.

Can someone help me understand this. I've seen sf candy in the grocery store near atkins products but never bought any because the carbs are 22g per 5 pieces. Am I understanding this wrong? You can subtract the sugar alcohols from the carbs? How do you know how much sugar alcohol is in the product?
I would really like to try some sf products but was too afraid of the high carb count.

Thanks
Deana

Hey! I'm with you! I am praying for the day when they substitute all that gas producing stuff with Splenda!! I made the mistake of eating half a bag of carbolite jelly beans and thought I would die with stomach cramps!!