Here's a video in case you prefer watching over reading :)

What is Allulose?

Allulose is a type of sugar. It tastes and feels like regular sugar, but it’s not digested by the body in the same way that regular sugar is. When we consume regular sugar, the body breaks it down into glucose, which serves as energy (calories). However, when we consume allulose, the body is unable to break it down into glucose and instead is excreted by the body unchanged. This is what makes allulose special… It’s sugar, but it’s not metabolized like sugar, and as a result, it doesn’t raise your blood sugar, and it contains very few calories. 

How does it compare to sugar?

So… allulose is in fact a “healthy” sugar. But, how does it compare to regular sugar in every other way? Let’s explore that. Let’s quickly compare allulose and regular sugar on the following aspects: 

1. Sweetness: Allulose is around 80% as sweet as sugar, so you would have to add a bit more to get to the same level of sweetness of sugar. As a side note, Allulose is often blended with natural sweeteners like monk fruit in order to make it just as sweet as sugar. I recorded a whole video on this kind of blend, so make sure to click on the link above if you want to learn more. 
2. Impact on blood sugar: Allulose has virtually no impact on blood sugar while regular sugar of course does. 
3. Caloric content: Allulose has 10x less calories than sugar, 0.4 calories per gram as opposed to 4 calories per gram.
4. Usage in Cooking: You can use allulose for pretty much anything you would use sugar for. Just keep in mind that allulose is slightly less sweet than sugar so you have to account for that. Also, something worth noting is that allulose caramelices faster than sugar, so make sure to keep an eye on it!
5. Dental Health Impact: Sugar is metabolized in the mouth, which promotes tooth decay. Allulose is not metabolized in the mouth and therefore does not promote tooth decay. 
6. Gastrointestinal (GI) Impact: Allulose, like any other poorly digested carbohydrate, can lead to gastrointestinal discomfort. This study concluded that the maximum level of consumption before experiencing any gastrointestinal discomfort was 0.4g per kg of body mass as a single dose and 0.9g per kg of body mass as total daily intake. However, this is very personal, some people are not as affected, while others with special conditions like Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) should be extra careful of how much they consume.
7. Regulatory Status: Of course, both are recognized as safe by the FDA. Allulose was recognized as safe back in 2010 and in 2019 the FDA announced that allulose could be excluded from “total” and “added” sugars counts on Nutrition and Supplement Facts labels, acknowledging its minimal impact on blood glucose and insulin levels.
8. Cost: Allulose is much more expensive than sugar, about 6-7x more expensive. This is due to its high production cost at the moment, especially after the rapid increase in demand allulose has gotten in the last couple of years. 

Types of Allulose

Allulose can be found in crystalline and liquid forms:

Crystalline allulose is the most popular type of allulose. It can also be found by itself, sold as 100% allulose, or as a filler in other products, usually stevia and monk fruit sweeteners. 

Liquid allulose can be found either by itself, sold as 100% liquid allulose, or as an ingredient (usually as the base) in other products, like syrups.

How is Allulose made?

Before going out there shopping for allulose you might be wondering… how is this stuff made? Let’s talk about that.

Allulose is naturally found in fruits such as figs and raisins but in very small quantities. The allulose you find in the store is made through a multi-step process at an industrial scale. 

That doesn’t make it bad, just don’t be fooled… Brands love to tell you that allulose is found in figs but they don’t tell you that the one they sell to you actually comes from corn (which is the case for most of the allulose in the market today).

Allulose is made by taking fructose (usually extracted from corn), and then transforming it into allulose. 

This is the manufacturing flow chart of one of the leading Allulose manufacturers:

Seems like a lot, but the process can be broken down into 4 major steps:

• Conversion: Enzymes are used to trigger the chemical transformation of fructose into Allulose. Enzymes, by the way, are proteins that accelerate chemical reactions, in this case, the transformation of fructose into allulose. 
• Filtration: The product is filtered multiple times and in different ways to remove impurities.
• Crystallization: The product is transformed from liquid Allulose into crystalline Allulose. Of course, this step is not necessary when making liquid Allulose.
• Packing & Testing: The product is packed and tested to make sure it’s safe to consume.

Chemistry of Allulose

Now let’s geek out a bit… Allulose is a monosaccharide, just like fructose and glucose. Monosaccharides are the most basic units from which all carbohydrates are built. For example, Sucrose, which is the regular sugar we have all consumed at some point, is made out of 2 monosaccharides, glucose and fructose.

In fact, Allulose is VERY similar to fructose. They have the same chemical formula, meaning they are made from the same type and number of atoms, BUT they are arranged slightly differently. As you can see in this image here ("D-Psicose" stands for Allulose):

This difference, even though it may seem small, is what makes the body unable to break down allulose the same way it breaks down fructose. You can actually think of allulose as the healthy twin of fructose. 

Conclusion

Allulose is a type of sugar that tastes and feels pretty much just like regular sugar. What makes allulose special is that it’s not metabolized by the body, which makes it an overall healthier alternative to sugar.