Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jun 8;10(6):742.
doi: 10.3390/nu10060742.

The Important Role of Carbohydrates in the Flavor, Function, and Formulation of Oral Nutritional Supplements

Smaro Kokkinidou  1 , Devin Peterson  2 , Tama Bloch  3 , Ashley Bronston  4
Affiliations
Review

The Important Role of Carbohydrates in the Flavor, Function, and Formulation of Oral Nutritional Supplements

Smaro Kokkinidou et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Patients who are malnourished or at-risk for malnutrition often benefit from the consumption of oral nutritional supplements (ONS). ONS supply a range of micro- and macro-nutrients, and they can be used to supplement a diet or provide total nutrition. Since ONS are specially formulated products, all ONS ingredients—including carbohydrates—are added ingredients. This may seem to be at odds with the growing public health discourse on the need to reduce “added sugars” in the diet. However, carbohydrate is an essential nutrient for human health and is a critical ingredient in ONS. Helping to educate patients on the value of “added sugars” in ONS may be useful to improve compliance with nutritional recommendations when ONS are indicated. This perspective paper reviews the important roles of “added sugars” in ONS, in terms of flavor, function, and product formulation.

Keywords: added sugar; carbohydrates; nutrition labeling; nutrition policy; oral nutritional supplements.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Two authors work for or with Abbott Nutrition, which manufactures ONS products.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The new Nutrition Facts label with line designated for added sugar indented directly below “Total Sugars” [13].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Stratton R.J., Elia M. A review of reviews: a new look at the evidence for oral nutritional supplements in clinical practice. Clin. Nutr. Suppl. 2007;2:5–23. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2007.04.004. - DOI
    1. Engfer M., Green C. Oral Nutritional Supplement to Tackle Malnutrition: Summary Booklet. Medical Nutrition International Industry. [(accessed on 6 March 2018)]; Available online: http://www.file:///C:/Users/bronsal/Downloads/MNIBookletFINAL2911%20(2).pdf.
    1. Oral Nutritional Supplements The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Website. [(accessed on 10 May 2018)]; Available online: http://www.bapen.org.uk/nutrition-support/nutrition-by-mouth/oral-nutrit....
    1. Absorption of Monosaccharides Vivo Pathophysiology Website. [(accessed on 11 May 2018)]; Available online: http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/smallgut/absorb_....
    1. Tierney M., Gallagher A., Giotis E.S., Pentieva K. An online survey on consumer knowledge and understanding of added sugars. Nutrients. 2017;9:37. doi: 10.3390/nu9010037. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources