Sorbitol and similar ingredients aresugar alcohols, also called polyols.
Sugar alcohols are less sweet-tasting, however, so sugar-free products containing them often include artificial sweeteners as well.
As valuable as sugar alcohols are, its long been known that they can cause gastrointestinal distress.
Sorbitol is a common ingredient in sugar-free gum and other low-sugar foods.Photo: Nor Gal (Shutterstock)
Past research in mice has suggested that disturbing the gut microbiome can temporarily induce polyol intolerance.
But these scientists wanted to get a better sense of how the condition can become chronic in some people.
These bacteria are known to be anaerobic, meaning they only grow well in the absence of oxygen.
Our research suggests that microbial sorbitol degradation normally protects the host against sorbitol intolerance.
These drugs include mesalazine, which is already used to help treat Crohns disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases.
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