Lactitol and Gut Health

Composed of sorbitol and galactose, lactitol is a disaccharide polyol produced by the hydrogenation of lactose. Lactitol is defined as a nutritive sweetener with a mild sweetness and 48% to 40% fewer calories than sucrose, so it is often used as a low-calorie sweetener. Lactitol is not easily digested and absorbed in the stomach and small intestine. It is mainly fermented into short-chain fatty acids by beneficial intestinal bacteria in the large intestine, and can inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria. Lactitol can improve intestinal microecology and plays a very important role in human health. Experimental results show that 20g of lactitol per day can proliferate beneficial intestinal bacteria, inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, and improve intestinal flora.

As a popular sweetener, it always has its advantages, such as:

1. It has good stability. Lactitol has strong stability and can still maintain its stability under acid, alkali, light and high temperature conditions. In addition, lactitol does not have free hydroxyl groups in its molecular structure and is a non-reducing sugar alcohol that cannot undergo Maillard reaction or enzymatic degradation. In this way, adding lactitol to foods that require high temperature processing or are acidic or alkaline can avoid and reduce food deterioration, and better maintain the original color, aroma and taste of the food.

2. It has low calories. Studies have shown that after the human body ingests lactitol, lactitol is undetectable in the blood, only about 0.5% of the intake is recovered in the urine, and the amount in the feces is negligible. Short-chain fatty acids and microorganisms increase in the feces, so Lactitol is fermented and utilized by microorganisms in the large intestine. The heat released is 8.36kJ/g, which is about half of sucrose. It is a low-calorie sweetener. In this way, lactitol can be used alone or mixed with other sweeteners to replace sucrose to prepare low-calorie foods to meet the needs of people who need energy control.

Effects of lactitol on fecal moisture, pH and short-chain fatty acids.

Short-chain fatty acids are the main end products of colon bacterial metabolism. They are organic fatty acids with carbon chains of 1 to 6. They are mainly produced by anaerobic microorganisms fermenting indigestible carbohydrates. Short-chain fatty acids in the colon can not only provide energy for intestinal mucosal cells and promote cell metabolism and growth, but can also reduce the pH value of the colon environment, reduce the growth of harmful bacteria, and prevent intestinal dysfunction. More importantly, recent studies have confirmed that short-chain fatty acids can promote the production of anti-inflammatory factors and inhibit colon inflammatory responses; short-chain fatty acids can also inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells, control the expression of proto-oncogenes, and promote tumors cell differentiation and apoptosis play an anti-tumor role.

Lactitol can increase lactic acid and acetic acid, lower intestinal pH and increase stool water content, thereby preventing or treating constipation.

Effects of lactitol on aromatic compounds.

Toxicology of tyrosine derivative metabolites derived from early findings, it was suggested that phenols and cresols produced in the colon returned to the liver through the portal venous system, causing spontaneous liver tumors. Indole and skatole derivatives produced by tryptophan metabolism may induce bladder tumors. The results show that compared with placebo, taking lactitol can significantly reduce the concentrations of cresol, indole, phenol and amino acids, reducing the harm of toxic substances to the human body.

In short, lactitol can affect intestinal flora, fecal short-chain fatty acid and aromatic compound concentrations, and fecal carcinogenic enzyme activity, which can improve the intestinal microecological environment and benefit human health.