I figured out what was giving me the shits so bad earlier this week. Maltitol.

See, when the candy company makes sugar-free candy, they have to put something in instead, right? Sometimes it’s aspartame, sometimes it’s Splenda, sometimes it’s sugar alcohol, and sometimes it’s maltitol.

Turns out, maltitol has a laxative effect. Which is putting it mildly since, for me, it has more of a Montezuma’s Revenge bent. I ate a candy bar with maltitol in it at the hockey game last night (which was AWESOME, by the way) and about 20 minutes later I was making a break for the bathroom. I almost didn’t make it home in the car, either. Terrible, terrible, terrible.

So now I have to figure out what kinds of sugar-free treats I can eat that don’t have maltitol in them. I think I found some jelly beans, but I’ll have to check the package again to be sure.