Question about digestive enzymes with sorbitol?

[amandapandatm]

I have been taking digestive enzymes for a couple days and found out that they contain sorbitol and mannitol (sp?), a sugar alcohol. However, they contain nothing else that is harmful, and it was the healthiest digestive enzyme I could find at the store. Other than these supplements, I am very strict whole30/paleo. Should I stop taking them? I have been having horrible bloating and digestive problems my first week and a half on whole30 so I am desperate!

[amberino21]

I find that sugar alcohols (any that end in "ol") cause me to bloat and generally not feel too great....

They aren't whole 30, so I'd find something else....they won't be helping your problem!

[Tom Denham]

You might want to order Now Foods Super Enzymes from Amazon.com to get a cleaner, Whole30-compliant enzyme.

 

The article on sorbitol in Wikipedia is really worth reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbitol

 

This is the section on adverse medical effects:

Sorbitol also may aggravate irritable bowel syndrome,^[17] and similar gastrointestinal conditions, resulting in severe abdominal pain for those affected, even from small amounts ingested.

It has been noted that the sorbitol added to SPS (Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate, used in the treatment of hyperkalemia) can cause complications in the GI tract, including bleeding, perforated colonic ulcers, ischemic colitis and colonic necrosis, particularly in patients with uremia. The authors of the paper in question cite a study on rats (both non-uremic and uremic) in which all uremic rats died on a sorbitol enema regimen, whilst uremic rats on non-sorbitol regimens - even with SPS included - showed no signs of colonic damage. In humans, it is suggested that the risk factors for sorbitol-induced damage include "... immunosuppression, hypovolemia, postoperative setting, hypotension after hemodialysis, and peripheral vascular disease." They conclude that SPS-sorbitol should be used with caution, and that "Physicians need to be aware of SPS-sorbitol GI side effects while managing hyperkalemia." ^[18]

[Bet]

Anything ending with -ol is also a FODMAP (they are part of the P,  Polyos, a type of sugar alcohol, and to be avoided if you have any kind of intestinal issues (IBS, Chron's). Not to mention junk that you don't want in your system.

[pixalu]

I just looked at my enzymes.  I'm not taking them during Whole 30 because I want my "testing" to be unaltered.  (I have IBS)  But I just looked to see if mine have any sorbitol in it.  No, but it does have rice flour.

 

I've really been struggling with my gut on Whole 30 and was thinking about starting up my enzymes while on the plan.  They generally do make me feel better.  Is that little bit of rice flour make me off plan?  I guess I can hold off these remaining 12 days.