That puts allulose in a class of its own.
If you havent encountered the stuff yet, you surely will soon.
Heres all you should probably know about allulose.
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What is allulose and why are you just now hearing about it?
First off, allulose is actually not a new discovery.
And yes, it is truly a sugar.
Its not an artificial sweetener.
Its arealsugar, Dr. Wyatt says.
More precisely, its a monosaccharide (or single sugar).
(Sucrose, or table sugar, is a combination of glucose and fructose.)
(Ill explain why in a bit.)
Our bodies actually handle allulose differently than other sugars.
Allulose passes through our system largely intact, Tewksbury says, sort of likeinsoluble fiber.
(Research cited by theFDAsuggests about 70% of allulose is excreted intact.)
The fact that we dont absorb much energy from allulose means it provides very few calories.
Based on the current evidence, theFDAhas decided on 0.4 calories per gram.
(For now, at least.
So its notnocalories, but its negligible, Tewksbury explainsjust 10% of the calories in sugar.
Allulose also appears to have minimal impact on blood sugar or insulin levels, according to theFDA.
(The majority of thestudies considered by the FDAwere done using animals.)
Allulose tastes and acts a lot like regular sugar.
(!!!)
Okay, what everyonereallywants to know about a sweetener is whether it actually tastes likesugar.
Usually thats a big fat NOPE.
But with allulose, the taste profile and the mouthfeel is really good.
Its a lot like the sugars were used to…clean, well-rounded, Dr. Wyatt says.
And the lack of aftertaste is a big [plus].
(Were looking at you, stevia.)
The main difference youll notice?
Its not as intensely sweet Tewksbury says.
A widely cited figure is that allulose is about 70% as sweet as table sugar.
It cooks well and bakes pretty well, Dr. Wyatt says.
Because you use allulose in a similar volume as regular sugar, its more interchangeable in recipes.
(Moist muffins, people!)
The ingredient browns and caramelizes very nicely, Tewksbury says.
(Um, have you ever tried to caramelize Splenda?)
So far, allulose comes off as pretty safe and well-tolerated.
It just means so far, so good.
Thestudiesshow it has good digestive tolerance, Dr. Wyatt says.
Although there have been some reports ofG.I.
Oh, and another bonus: Allulose doesnt promote dental decay like sugar does, per theFDA.
(More human trials are underway, Tewksbury says.)
Theyre following FDA-acceptedusage guidelinesthat limit how much allulose various kinds of products can contain.
But were definitely going to be seeing it more and more.
