Natural Sugar Tagatose May Treat Type 2 Diabetes
Filed in archive Drugs, Vaccines and Therapeutics , Food and Agriculture by ruth on April 21, 2008

Tagatose is a sugar similar to fructose and can be found naturally in some dairy products. Only 20 percent of tagatose that is ingested is fully metabolized, principally in the liver, following a metabolic pathway identical to that of fructose. The FDA deemed it a safe sweetener for foods and beverages in 2001. The sugar substitute, marketed under the name Naturlose, is used in ready-to-eat cereals, sodas, mouthwash, toothpaste, lipstick and over-the-counter and prescription drugs.
"In addition to its potential for treating Type 2 diabetes, tagatose shows potential for promoting weight loss and raising high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, both important ancillary effects in controlling diabetes," the authors say, adding that tagatose is also an antioxidant and a prebiotic, both of which are considered important to good health.
Phase III clinical trials are currently underway.
Source: University of Maryland Medical Center
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diabetes
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