Functional sugar balm for teeth and body?

Functional sugar balm for teeth and body?

10/10/2013

Isomaltulose has long been considered an efficient substitute for sugar. Conventional sugar, with its strong caries-causing effect could have served in the future. This alternative sugar, a so-called functional sugar, does not affect the teeth so much and ensures a lower blood sugar curve. The delivered energy can be used longer.

Properties of isomaltose
The sweetness of isomaltulose is similar to that of sugar. However, caries-producing bacteria in the mouth can not be used for acid formation, resulting in less dental disease. Just like conventional sugars, isomaltulose is fully metabolized in the body. In contrast to sugar, this process takes place much more slowly, so that the energy-yielding effect persists over a longer period of time. This can sometimes have a crucial role on both physical and mental performance.

"The bacteria in the mouth can not take this sugar," says sugar researcher Jürgen Seibel of the University of Würzburg. "It's sugar that causes less tooth decay, but it also has a different sweetness." Some nutrition experts are still skeptical.

The spokeswoman for the German Nutrition Society, Antje Gahl, has doubts. "It's just another form of sugar," she says. "Functional sugars have their advantages, but they too are broken down into simple sugars and can then begin." The best method is to be conservative with conventional sugary foods.

Concerns about functional foods
Hartmut König, nutrition advisor at the Consumer Affairs Center Hessen, sees this in a similar way "We generally say that we have functional foods: we do not need such products in a balanced diet with a high proportion of fresh food."

The Mannheim-based Südzucker subsidiary Beneo, which produces and distributes isomaltulose, sees things differently. "If someone does not manage to eat a balanced diet, it's nice to have an alternative that makes it easier," says a Beneo spokeswoman. In the market, the sugar is sold under the name Palatinose. Among other things, customers are online providers of sports nutrition and producers of drinks and sweets for children.

The market is still small
Although the market for isomaltulose in Germany is still relatively small, it is growing steadily. "The supermarkets certainly do not offer the widest range of functional sugar," says the company spokeswoman. In Western Europe, consumers are often skeptical about new offers. Many have a desire for a natural origin in products that end up in the shopping cart.

Palatinose is also made from beets, as is table sugar, says the spokeswoman. Only the manufacturing process is slightly changed. Many people lack the look in everyday life for a healthy diet. Functional foods, ie foods enriched with additional ingredients and promoted with a positive effect on health, can play the part of consumer conscience. "They calm the bad conscience“, says the managing director of the Frankfurt Zukunftsinstitut, Andreas Steinle. Often the effect is just a psychological one. "A single product can not make me healthier or sicker," says Steinle. (Fr)