Is acesulfame potassium high in polyols?

Polyols status

Safe

Find out whether acesulfame potassium is high or low in polyols, see its exact rating, and check its FODMAP, salicylate, oxalate and diet compatibility all in one place.

Related checkers

Compare acesulfame potassium across criteria

HistamineSafe Histamine LiberatorsNo data FODMAPsFit FructansSafe GOSSafe FructoseSafe

Sensitivity notes

Why polyols food checker matters

Polyols (sugar alcohols) are found naturally in some fruits and vegetables, and are used as artificial sweeteners. They're poorly absorbed and can cause digestive symptoms, especially in IBS sufferers.

Avoid sugar-free products with sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol
Stone fruits are naturally high in polyols
Cooking doesn't reduce polyol content

Triggers

HistamineSafe

Histamine Liberators

FODMAPsSafe

FructansSafe

GOSSafe

FructoseSafe

PolyolsSafe

GlutenSafe

LactoseSafe

Dairy ProteinsSafe

NightshadesSafe

SalicylatesSafe

OxalatesSafe

NickelSafe

SulfitesSafe

NitritesSafe

GlutamatesSafe

TyramineSafe

CaffeineSafe

LectinAvoid

Low FermentationAvoid

Diets

GlutenFit

InflammationAvoid

VeganFit

VegetarianFit

Paleo AIPAvoid

MediterraneanAvoid

DASH DietAvoid

EoE CompatibleAvoid

FODMAPsFit

Low FermentationAvoid

Priority ingredient notes

Serving size, prep, and portion notes for acesulfame potassium

Acesulfame potassium, listed as Ace-K or E950, is an intense sweetener roughly two hundred times sweeter than sugar that your body does not metabolise at all: it is absorbed, passed through unchanged and excreted in urine, so it delivers no calories and no blood sugar response. On the sensitivity columns it comes back A across the board, including gluten, lactose, dairy protein, histamine, salicylate, oxalate, nickel, sulfite and glutamate, and every FODMAP group including polyols is clean, so it does not behave like the sugar alcohols it often sits beside. The catch is that you almost never meet it alone. On its own it carries a bitter, slightly metallic finish, so manufacturers blend it with sucralose or aspartame to mask that, which means a reaction blamed on Ace-K is frequently a reaction to the blend. It is also graded E for low-fermentation and SIBO protocols and E for DASH, which are plan-fit calls about ultra-processed sweeteners rather than chemical trigger findings.

Watch for

It is a blending sweetener, not a solo one. Check the full sweetener line on the label before attributing anything to Ace-K, because sucralose or aspartame is nearly always in there with it / Graded E for low-fermentation and SIBO plans and E for DASH, so it is one to leave out if you are running a strict protocol of either kind, even though the chemical trigger columns are clean / It is not a sugar alcohol. Sorbitol, maltitol and xylitol pull water into the bowel and ferment, which is why they cause gas and loose stools. Ace-K has no polyol content and grades A for polyols, so that particular mechanism does not apply to it / Heat stable, unlike aspartame, so it survives baking and turns up well beyond soft drinks: protein powders, yogurts, chewing gum, sauces, flavoured waters, medicines and toothpaste. Your total exposure is usually wider than you think / The potassium in the name is just the counter-ion that makes the salt. The quantity used to sweeten a drink is measured in tens of milligrams, so it is not a meaningful source of dietary potassium

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