Tagatose

Tagatose is a hexose monosaccharide found in small amounts in various foods, particularly dairy products where it forms when milk is heated, and it has drawn interest as an alternative sweetener because it resembles table sugar in texture and appearance while providing 92 percent of sucrose's sweetness at only 38 percent of the calories. It is produced commercially by hydrolyzing lactose into glucose and galactose, then isomerizing the galactose under alkaline conditions with calcium hydroxide to form D-tagatose, with alternative methods using enzymatic processes from whey or enzymatic cascades from starch. Because it metabolizes differently from sucrose, it has minimal effect on blood glucose and insulin, earned generally-recognized-as-safe status from the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization in 2001 and FDA approval in 2003, though consuming more than about 30 grams can cause digestive discomfort since it is processed mainly in the large intestine, much like soluble fiber.