山梨醇是一种以糖为基础的酒精，在一些水果和浆果中自然存在少量，但它更多的是以人工合成和作为糖的替代品而为人所知。山梨醇通常存在于无糖产品中，如口香糖、糖果、冰淇淋和咳嗽糖浆。然而，山梨醇在你的身体中代谢非常缓慢，众所周知，山梨醇具有通便作用，还会导致肠道内产生气体的细菌导致腹胀。如果你有肠易激综合症或其他消化问题，向你的医生咨询一些山梨醇的副作用。
山梨糖醇
山梨醇存在于苹果、梨、桃子、李子和一些浆果中，但含量非常少。一旦摄入，它最终会被大肠中的几种酶转化为果糖或“水果糖”。山梨醇被认为是一种营养甜味剂，因为它为新陈代谢提供能量，每克约2.6千卡，这意味着它所含的无糖产品并不是没有糖，也不是没有卡路里，《食品科学与技术词典》指出。
腹胀
山梨醇需要较长的时间才能消化，而未被消化的山梨醇在小肠中扮演着细菌发酵的底物或平台的角色，正如《高级营养与人类新陈代谢》一书的作者Sareen Gropper所解释的那样。As bacteria ferments, hydrogen gas is produced, causing abdominal cramps, bloating and severe flatulence. As such, sorbitol may aggravate irritable bowel syndrome and similar gastrointestinal problems resulting in severe abdominal pain, even from small amounts ingested. Although not common, some people may also have an allergic reaction to sorbitol and other sugar-based alcohols.
泻药属性
山梨醇还能起到通便作用，因为它能将水吸入大肠，这被称为渗透式清除，并刺激肠道运动。因此，根据《医学营养和疾病:基于案例的方法》一书，摄入山梨醇可能会导致你的肠道水状运动和更频繁，从而增加脱水的风险。Additional bloating might be caused as fluid rushes into your bowels via osmosis, although it would likely be relieved with a bowel movement. Sorbitol is so effective at stimulating bowel movements that it is sold as a pharmaceutical laxative.
建议
根据《健康与疾病中的功能生物化学》一书，早在20世纪80年代和90年代的科学研究就确定，摄入10克山梨醇会导致一些使用者腹痛、腹胀、肠胃气胀和腹泻。Everyone's laxation threshold, which is the amount of sweetener that can be consumed before abdominal discomfort sets in, is different and can increase with regular intake. Some sugar alcohols have a lower laxation threshold than sorbitol, such as xylitol, but xylitol doesn't often cause as much symptomatology as sorbitol does. Check the labels of your sugar-free products and consult with your doctor if your suffer from excessive bloating and gastrointestinal distress.