Polydextrose and its calorie value in animals and people
What it found
Polydextrose provides about 1 kcal per gram, based on 14 energy balance and isotope studies in animals and people.
About half of what is eaten passes out undigested.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Resists digestion
The unusual bonds between its glucose units mean the body's gut enzymes cannot break it down.
What happens in the gut
It is only slightly absorbed in the small intestine and partly fermented in the large intestine, making volatile fatty acids.
Studies in people and animals
Calorie value
Across the 14 studies, polydextrose had a caloric value of about 1 kcal/g.
Amount excreted
About 50% of the amount eaten leaves the body undigested.
Other findings
How it is made
Polydextrose is made by heating glucose and sorbitol together without air, giving a randomly bonded polysaccharide.
Similar to other fibers
In this behaviour it is like many other soluble fibers that are poorly digested.
What the authors conclude
“The weight of available experimental evidence in the 14 studies described herein shows that polydextrose has a caloric value of approximately 1 kcal/g.”
Also in their conclusions
- They report that the weight of available experimental evidence shows polydextrose has a caloric value of approximately 1 kcal/g.
How it was done
The authors looked at 14 energy balance and isotope-label studies in animals and people that measured how many calories polydextrose provides.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The studies measured calorie value, not long-term health effects.
- They cannot show how polydextrose affects health over time.
The paper
- Title
- Caloric availability of polydextrose
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Auerbach MH, Craig SA, Howlett JF, Hayes KC (2007). Caloric availability of polydextrose. Nutrition reviews. doi:10.1301/nr.2007.dec.544-549PubMed 18236693DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error