Concerns about sorbitol and sucralose

[wormwood]

These two ingredients are in my beloved kava candies. This wouldnt worry me so much if I werent going through anywhere from 5-10 candies daily. I feel like Im getting a hefty dose of these two ingredients every single day and this worries me long term. Any chance of you guys producing a flatter, worse tasting kava drop that doesnt have all the artificial sweeteners.? I suppose that part of the purpose of the candies in the first place is to mask the kava taste.

 

[kastom_lif]

Those sweeteners are basically sugars that our bodies don't digest. That's why they seem to run straight through you, so to speak. What would be desired instead?

Natural sugars that can be metabolized? Pros: Good for the tummy. Should make a hard candy with similar texture and mouth feel. Cons: not so good for diabetics and diet-conscious consumers.

Non-sugar sweeteners, like stevia, ace-k, aspartame, or saccharin? Pros: zero calorie, tummy friendly. Cons: won't produce a hard candy that holds together, not popular with consumers because "artificial" (except stevia).

 

[wormwood]

Those sweeteners are basically sugars that our bodies don't digest. That's why they seem to run straight through you, so to speak. What would be desired instead?

Natural sugars that can be metabolized? Pros: Good for the tummy. Should make a hard candy with similar texture and mouth feel. Cons: not so good for diabetics and diet-conscious consumers.

Non-sugar sweeteners, like stevia, ace-k, aspartame, or saccharin? Pros: zero calorie, tummy friendly. Cons: won't produce a hard candy that holds together, not popular with consumers because "artificial" (except stevia).

Well theres a lot of worry and debate in the nutritional world over these things. And sorbital can affect blood sugar, so its not so simple as it just doesnt affect you at all.

Theres been research on sucralose as well, "Pepino commented: "When study participants drank sucralose, their blood sugarpeaked at a higher level than when they drank only water before consuming glucose.Insulin levels also rose about 20 percent higher. So the artificial sweetener was related to an enhanced blood insulin and glucose response."May 30, 2013"

Then there was the concern with the saccharin cuasing cancer in those lab rats which some believe isnt a worry to humans because, "Because the bladder tumors seen in rats are due to a mechanism not relevant to humans and because there is no clear evidence that saccharin causes cancer in humans, saccharin was delisted in 2000 from the U.S. National Toxicology Program's Report on Carcinogens" Still, that stuff makes one pause.

For every postive you can dig up a potential negative. Its far from a forgone conclusion that these are simply harmless, particularly when you are dedicated at taking them BOTH every single day for potentially years. One may be able largely confident that these are fairly harmless, in large frequent quantities, or they may not. At any rate, Im nowhere near comfortable saying "forget it."

At any rate, as I had stated in my original post, I was wondering if they would consider a plain bad tasting product with no sweeteners. This wouldnt have pleasant taste obviously, and I might be the only one interested in such a product,

 

[Crunked]

Nothing is harmless at unlimited doses. Water can kill you. Sucralose has been extensively tested and never found to be harmful to health. Compare that to sucrose (sugar). The actual amount of pure sucralose in a kava candy would be miniscule as it is, on average, 600 times sweeter than sugar. I am very health conscious and try to keep up to date. There are some artificial sweeteners I completely avoid, such as aspartame. The only possible negative effect that sucralose may have, and the evidence is far from conclusive, is that it may affect the gut microbiome. I'm happy to take the chance given the minute amounts of sucralose I consume and the other steps I take to maintain a healthy gut. The only adverse studies that suggest sucralose could have harmful effects were poorly conducted (and mostly on rats) and/or were paid for by the sugar industry. Check the wikipedia.

Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol that is a natural component of many stone fruits. It can have a laxative effect on susceptible individuals. It is called a sugar alcohol, not because it is either sugar or alcohol, but because its chemical composition bears some similarity to sucrose (sugar) and alcohol. IMHO sorbitol and sucralose are much safer and healthier options than sugar.

 

[wormwood]

Nothing is harmless at unlimited doses. Water can kill you. Sucralose has been extensively tested and never found to be harmful to health. Compare that to sucrose (sugar). The actual amount of pure sucralose in a kava candy would be miniscule as it is, on average, 600 times sweeter than Isugar. I am very health conscious and try to keep up to date. There are some artificial sweeteners I completely avoid, such as aspartame. The only possible negative effect that sucralose may have, and the evidence is far from conclusive, is that it may affect the gut microbiome. I'm happy to take the chance given the minute amounts of sucralose I consume and the other steps I take to maintain a healthy gut. The only adverse studies that suggest sucralose could have harmful effects were poorly conducted (and mostly on rats) and/or were paid for by the sugar industry. Check the wikipedia.

Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol that is a natural component of many stone fruits. It can have a laxative effect on susceptible individuals. It is called a sugar alcohol, not because it is either sugar or alcohol, but because its chemical composition bears some similarity to sucrose (sugar) and alcohol. IMHO sorbitol and sucralose are much safer and healthier options than sugar.

This puts me a little more at ease and sort of echos sentiments I already had, but I was getting at earlier that I would prefer a candy without any sweetener. But then it would hardly be a candy would it lol.

 

[Krunkaroo]

I made a similar thread a few weeks ago. I bought a box of Kava candy but haven't touched it in a while because of the sweeteners. I know its not as convenient but I take micronised kava, wet it with water and then take it sublingually.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

@wormwood Maybe you should switch to drinking kava for your daily kava consumption. No additives, more kavalactones, one or two shells is equal to a whole pack of candy.

 

[kastom_lif]

Hey just because we're eating kava candy on the daily, doesn't mean we also drink traditional kava too!