Sorbitol and Sugar

The day after my first (gastrointestinal) pain free day I snacked on some prunes when I first got up. I didn't need those for 'regularity', but just wanted to enjoy the prunes before they got too dry. My husband had purchased a new tub of prunes over the weekend. I enjoyed one after dinner Monday night. So I wanted a few more the next morning. For the next 8 hours I had cramping intestinal pain and bloating.

I'm very sensitive to sorbitol, most likely because I have 'leaky gut' caused by years of undiagnosed celiac damage to my intestinal lining. Any sorbitol sweetened gum, candy, etc. can cause hours of excruciating (bit of broken glass in my intestines) pain, bloating and eventually diarrhea. So I obsessively avoid that artificial sweetner and any other alcohol based artificial sweetners, like mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, etc. All of those cause me to have painful gastrointestinal reactions.

However, I easily tolerate fruits with natural sorbitol, like fresh figs, apples (or apple juice), peaches, pears and plums. So I didn't realize that prunes contain more natural sorbitol than any other fruit. Now I know and will limit prunes to one after a full meal, rather than eat those on an empty stomach.

I already abstain from cane sugar, one of my diagnosed allergens. So I sometimes substitute beet sugar on fruit like strawberries or raspberries. However, more recently while adjusting to HCl supplements, I monitor whether I experience burning stomach pain or reflux, signs that I may have taken too much or too little HCl. I've noticed that I get reflux after eating strawberries or raspberries topped with about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. I thought that reaction was caused by the acidity of those berries.

Although other acidic fruit, like tomatoes and citrus, can irritate an inflamed esophagus, they don't cause reflux, because they don't relax the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). So I reread the list of foods which relax the LES and cause reflux (according to Dr. Jonathon Wright, author of 'Why Stomach Acid is Good for You'). That list included SUGAR ... not honey or agave or stevia but SUGAR, processed beet or cane sugar. So the next time I had strawberries on my peanut butter and muffin, I used about 1/2 packet of Equal. I didn't get ANY reflux, despite taking HCl with that meal.

I know ... Equal is the dreaded 'aspartame', which can cause headaches and other symptoms, when used regularly. However, I don't consider 1/2 packet of Equal 1-2 times a week 'regular use'. I rarely drink aspartame laced diet pop any more. I don't use aspartame on anything else or consume any other aspartame laced foods, mainly because I rarely consume processed, packaged foods or snacks. So I plan to use a tiny bit of aspartame to sweeten strawberries or raspberries, when I eat them on my peanut butter muffin. Stevia is fine for other fruits, but seems too bitter (even the least bitter brand) for strawberries and raspberries.

Anyway, I learned yet another reason to avoid sugar: Sugar relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter and causes reflux. No wonder I could so easily throw up after I ate even moderate amounts of sweets. I never had to force myself, because the sugar sweetened food was coming up all by itself. I just decided to 'go with the flow'. LOL