Maltitol and blood sugar response across three ethnic groups
What it found
Blood sugar responses to maltitol were similar in white, South Indian, and Chinese people.
Maltitol raised blood sugar by about a third as much as pure glucose.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood sugar after maltitol
The average blood sugar rise from maltitol was 33.5% in white subjects, 32.9% in Chinese subjects, and 23.1% in South Indian subjects. These differences between the three groups were not significant.
Compared to glucose
Maltitol caused a much smaller blood sugar rise than pure glucose. The pattern held true across all three ethnic groups tested.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that different ethnic groups show similar blood sugar responses to both low and high glycemic drinks.
- Their results suggest that the body handles maltitol in the same way regardless of ethnic background.
How it was done
Diets that cause smaller blood sugar spikes may help manage or prevent diabetes and heart disease. Most research on these diets has focused only on white people, so the authors wanted to see if other ethnic groups respond differently.
They ran a trial with 30 people: 10 white, 10 South Indian, and 10 Chinese subjects. Each person drank either glucose or maltitol containing 50 g of the test product on separate occasions. Finger-prick blood samples were taken before drinking and at several points over the next 3 hours.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial measured short-term blood sugar changes over 3 hours. It cannot show long-term effects of eating maltitol regularly.
- Only 30 people took part, so the findings might not apply to everyone in these ethnic groups.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Oxford Brookes University, UK
The paper
- Title
- No observable differences in glycemic response to maltitol in human subjects from 3 ethnically diverse groups
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Pratt M, Lightowler H, Henry CJ, Thabuis C, Wils D, Guérin-Deremaux L (2011). No observable differences in glycemic response to maltitol in human subjects from 3 ethnically diverse groups. Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.). doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2011.02.002PubMed 21481716DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error