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Allulose is an alternative sweetener that tastes like white sugar and does not affect blood sugar or insulin. What you need to know to determine if it is a good choice for your family.
Allulose is one of the newest in a slew of alternative sweeteners flooding the market.
And, even if you don’t plan to use it in your home, listen up!
You’re going to need to know about it anyway!
What is Allulose?
Allulose is what’s known as a “rare sugar”. This is because only a few foods like corn, wheat, figs, and raisins contain it.
The good news is that allulose is a monosaccharide. This single sugar molecular status means that it is legal for those on the gut healing GAPS diet because it is technically in the same category as honey and fruit.
Here are five fast facts about allulose that tells you everything you need to know:
- The chemical structure is almost identical to fructose.
- The look and taste is virtually the same as white sugar with no aftertaste issues.
- Allulose contains 10% of the calories of white sugar.
- Allulose is 70% as sweet as white sugar.
- British manufacturer Tate & Lyle claims that allulose is non-glycemic (does not affect blood sugar or insulin) because 84% is excreted in the urine without being metabolized.
What does #5 above remind you of?
To me, it sounds similar to the marketing tagline used to hasten the acceptance of the sugar substitute sucralose into the marketplace.
Mmmm.
Not so coincidental in fact!
Tate & Lyle is the same refined sugar giant that brought us Splenda®, the best-known brand name of sucralose. Incidentally, the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Microbiology published an ominous study in 2019 raising concerns about the use of sucralose during pregnancy and breastfeeding along with the alternative sweetener acesulfame K. (1)
Allulose Manufacturing
Guess which crop Tate & Lyle uses to manufacture allulose?
Not such a hard question, right?
Of course, it is CORN, one of the cheapest, most highly subsidized crops in the world!
The process of making allulose is quite simple in fact.
Extract the d-fructose from corn (90+% chance it’s genetically modified Round-up Ready too), and then treat the fructose with an enzyme that rearranges the molecular structure into d-psicose, otherwise known as allulose. (2)
Is Allulose Safe?
The official FDA answer to this question is yes, allulose is a safe sweetener. In fact, the FDA has granted allulose coveted GRAS status (Generally Recognized as Safe). (3)
The truth is that the science is far from settled! Research to date consists of animal studies on rats and mice only. No high quality, placebo-controlled studies on large numbers of people exist at the present time.
Thus, whether you accept the FDA’s assessment at face value will probably depend on how you feel about GMOs in general.
If you are concerned about the growing number of multi-million dollar judgments against Roundup and its manufacturer Bayer (the company that merged with/bought out Monsanto), then you probably will take pains to avoid allulose since it is primarily made from glyphosate drenched GMO corn.
If you think GMOs are just fine and dandy, destined to feed the world, and that people who avoid them are science deniers, then you won’t mind chowing down on foods that contain it.
Allulose on Food Labels
Do you fall into the skeptical camp when it comes to allulose given that there are no high-quality studies about its effect on human health and the poor track record of alternative sweeteners in general? (4)
If so, then listen up!
Not only has the FDA granted allulose GRAS status, but it has even allowed manufacturers to leave it completely off the “Total” and “Added Sugars” section of the nutritional label!
This means that you will need to read labels very, very carefully if you want to avoid this sweetener!
At first glance, a food may look like it has little to no sugar in it, but perusing the ingredients may tell a very different story if allulose appears somewhere in the ingredients.
Since the word “allulose” doesn’t even sound like a sweetener, so much the sneakier. It sounds more like the common food ingredient “cellulose”, a fiber found in green vegetables.
This is the very first time the FDA has approved a sugar to NOT be included as part of the total or added sugars categories on food labels.
The shocking decision came in response to a petition made from allulose manufacturer Tate & Lyle to the FDA.
Keto Sugar?
Breakfast cereal subscription start-up Magic Spoon, which markets its products as “perfect for anyone on a ketogenic or low carb diet” is slated to be the first product to contain phantom sugar allulose. (5)
It sure won’t be the last given that allulose is being marketed with the oxymoronic catchphrase “keto sugar”.
With the first unlabeled caloric sweetener now approved, food manufacturers will no doubt be falling all over themselves to sign a deal with Tate & Lyle to include allulose in their products.
That’s the endgame after all, right?
A sweet deal for food manufacturers that’s sure to leave a sour taste in the mouths of consumers.
References
(1) Splenda® Sucralose
(2) Preparation of d-psicose from d-fructose by immobilized d-tagatose 3-epimerase
(3) Allulose GRAS
(4) No Evidence of Sugar Substitutes Health Benefits
(5) Rare Sugar Gets a Hall Pass from the FDA
You don’t show that many ‘valid’ references to back up your claim:
1: the splenda connection? where is the “fact” that Tate & lyle are the discoverers of Allulose? Not in the link you provide.
2:Prep…..: Please! I can’t pronounce almost any of the words here…I’m not a scientist, so I have NO ideas, from this link WHAT is being said!
3:This post is simply stating that Allulose does NOT effect blood sugar levels, and when listed as a sugar on products, it was misleading consumers to assume that SUGAR was an ingredient, when it would NOT affect blood sugar levels… NOTHING MORE! That is why it was allowed to not be on labels, to avoid confusion to Type 1 & Type 2 diabetics so that they would not be confused into thinking products having allulose as an ingredient contained SUGAR.
4: This post merely says that sugar substitutes have no food value for weight loss or other benefits. Well, most people using ‘sugar substitutes’ aren’t using them for weight loss, but because to consume honey, maple syrup or other ‘natural’ forms of sugar is unhealthy for us, even deadly due to bodily imbalances (Type 1 or 2 diabetes). I believe that was the intent of the link, but was not able to read the entire post as you had to sign in.
5: this post was not available to me without subscribing for money, and also allowing tracking and 3rd parties access to my information. NO THANKS.
I therefore, don’t believe that you have proved your case against allulose.
Who are you to tell me, despite what my naturopathic DOCTOR says, that consuming honey and FRUIT are not going to harm me, DESPITE the fact that my blood sugar levels are too high and consuming those items WILL raise it higher!!! I HAVE consumed them to find that they always raise my blood sugar levels.
I’m sorry, your writing to tell T1 & T 2 diabetics to consume honey, maple syrup and other natural sugars is wrong. To assume that you know what is best for people with food issues, and dietary restrictions that could cause MAJOR health issues, including early death shows how arrogant “normal” people can become when they assume they know everything.
The only thing I agree with you about is that most all sugar substitutes are unhealthy, including sucralose, aspartame, agave, sugar alcohols, etc. And that lowering or cutting out table sugar completely is a healthy choice.
Your comment is confirmation bias. That said, it is your choice to continue eating it!
By the way, I got so many messages just like yours 10 years ago when I was warning about erythritol. Erythritol now has numerous studies backing up how dangerous it is. Those people who ignored the early warning signs back then sure are sorry they got scammed by Big Food into eating erythritol for so many years.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
I’m reading Dr Perlmutter’s new book “Drop Acid” (uric acid), and he suggests allulose as an alternative sweetner :(, along with stevia, monk and small amounts of honey.
A doctor who is promoting this toxic sweetener that you can easily see is dangerous by examining the research is clearly doing it for the money. What these celebrity diet doctors commonly do is say enough things that are correct to obtain the trust of the unsuspecting alternative health fan reader, then put out things that are profit-driven only which takes people down the wrong path but makes them a ton in promo money.
When you know Tate & Lyle, you don’t want anything from them.
Hi Sarah:) I think I found a really good sugar substitute no one is taking about – it is called BochaSweet – zero calories, zero glycemic response… Seems like a great option! Thoughts?
Bocha Sweet is xylitol, just from another fruit, (instead of from Birch): the kabocha plant.
Hi Sarah, so what sugar substitute do you use at your house? What would you recommend out of them all?
I use stevia drops occasionally in beverages. We don’t use sugar substitutes other than that. Just whole sweeteners in moderation.
Would LOVE to hear what your knowledge is on non-dairy cheeses and which, if any, are “safe” to use. Especially Violife and Follow Your Heart brands. Thanks so much! I enjoy your emails SO MUCH!! I so trust your expertise!!
I have not investigated any of the non-dairy cheese brands. Good idea!