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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.

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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

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