Excessive consumption of sugar free foods leads to weight loss

Doctors warn that chewing sugar-free foods can lead to significant weight loss. Doctors say excessive amounts of sorbitol used instead of sugar in chewing gum and some types of chocolate can lead to significant weight loss.

The doctors issued the warning after a comprehensive examination of two patients complaining of frequent diarrhea, gum pain and major weight loss, as well as an analysis of their eating habits.

One of the two patients, a 21-year-old woman, was chewing a large amount of 'sugar-free' chewing gum and therefore lost 15-20 grams of sorbitol daily. One stick of chewing gum contains about 1.5 grams of sorbitol. The other patient, a 6-year-old man, ate 20 sticks of sugar-free chewing gum a day, as well as about 200 grams of chocolate or sweets containing a total of 50 grams of sorbitol.

Both patients were given a diet without sorbitol, which reduced their complaints of diarrhea and caused them to gain weight, doctors noted.

"Both of these cases show that sorbitol consumption causes diarrhea but at the same time the patient loses about two per cent of his weight even though he does not intend to lose weight. The authors of the study said that consumers are unaware of the side effects of sugar-free and sorbitol-containing products as the amount of sorbitol is written in very small letters on the package of such products.