A Sugar, By Any Other Name, Would Still Raise Your Blood Glucose Excessively

Photo by mali maeder: https://www.pexels.com/photo/strawberry-beside-spoon-of-sugar-141815/

If you’re trying to limit your sugar intake because you’re diabetic (or at increased risk for developing diabetes), because you’re on a ketogenic diet, or because you just want to eat reasonably healthy and avoid big blood sugar spikes, there’s a food additive you might want to keep an eye out for.

It’s also good to be on the lookout for it if you have any sort of inflammatory bowel conditions, as it is reported to increases symptoms in such cases.

That additive is known as maltodextrin (for now, I’m talking about the digestible form – more on the “digestion-resistant” form in a bit), but it also is commonly hidden on food labels with alternate names such as modified tapioca starch, modified corn starch, modified rice starch, modified wheat starch, and corn syrup solids. While it starts out as a relatively benign substance (such as tapioca or corn), the processing it undergoes drastically changes how it acts in the body.

Maltodextrin is used as a thickener and flavor enhancer and it shows up in a wide variety of products, including cereals, meal replacement shakes, bodybuilding supplements, condiments, snack foods, pre-made sauces, and pie fillings.

Probably the most unethical use of maltodextrin by the large food manufacturers is in products that are marketed as “sugar-free” or “keto-friendly.” Technically, maltodextrin is not a sugar, so the manufacturers can legally get away with this type of marketing. But while it is not a sugar, maltodextrin most definitely ACTS like sugar in the body!

Actually, it doesn’t just act like sugar, it acts like sugar on steroids!

A food’s glycemic index is a measure of how much and how quickly it elevates your blood sugar after you consume it. As the baseline standard, pure glucose has a glycemic index of 100 and table sugar comes in at about 65. Maltodextrin, depending on the exact form and what other ingredients it is in combination with, can have a glycemic index of anywhere from 95 to 135!

Now, if you’re a healthy person who engages in intense exercise, maltodextrin can give you a boost in energy and it may even help with protein utilization in muscle building, which is why it’s a popular ingredient in bodybuilding supplements and shakes.

But if you’re having difficulty managing your blood sugar, or if you’re trying to lose weight via some form of ketogenic diet, maltodextrin is not your friend!

In addition, as mentioned previously, maltodextrin may increase symptoms in those with various inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders. It’s also thought to disrupt the balance in the normal gut flora, potentially causing digestive issues even in those without any particular inflammatory disease.

Generally speaking, it’s probably best to check labels and try to avoid maltodextrin altogether – unless we’re talking about the “digestion-resistant” form.

Most of the problems with maltodextrin are with the highly digestible form, but there’s another type that passes through the digestive tract without being significantly broken down and absorbed.

Digestion- resistant maltodextrin is typically used for dietary fiber supplementation. It’s a water-soluble form of fiber, which makes it easy to consume by mixing it with a liquid.

This form of maltodextrin does not significantly alter blood sugar levels. It has similar side-effects to consuming large quantities of almost any type of fiber (bloating, gas, diarrhea, etc.), but is generally considered safe for the purposes any other fiber supplement would be used for.

Going back to the digestible form of maltodextrin, again, the big food manufacturers like to hide it with the names previously discussed. In particular, watch out for anything with the words “modified” and “starch” in a single ingredient name (for example, “modified tapioca starch”). And unfortunately, it’s particularly important to watch out for it in foods being marketed as sugar-free, keto-friendly, or any other words that are hyped as being low in sugar.

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.