Erythritol: Artificial Sweetener Linked to Heart Attack & Stroke!
Artificial sweeteners have become increasingly popular in society as a way to reduce the number of dietary calories. They’re marketed as a healthier alternative to sugar, but are they really safe?
Artificial sweeteners may seem like a great way to cut down on calories, but they come with a host of potential health risks. Studies have linked their consumption to a higher risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. One study even found that consuming artificial sweeteners could increase the risk of stroke and dementia.
Effects On The Gut Microbiome
Apparently, those fake sugars can really mess with our gut bacteria - you know, those little guys that keep everything running smoothly in our internal engine? Research shows that fake sugars don't get absorbed in our small intestine like regular sugar does, so they head straight down to the colon and start causing all sorts of trouble. The result? Inflammation and a weakened immune system.
And as a woman, if you’re pregnant or have some little ones around, you might want to be extra careful about this stuff. It can make kiddos a little rotund and mess up up their metabolism later on. (Rev Endocr Metab Discord)
I previously wrote an article that provides more details on the risks associated with Splenda and other artificial sweeteners. You can access it here: dangers of Splenda, to refresh yourself on all the health implications of these fake sugars.
Another Danger - Erythritol
At first glance, Erythritol looks like a great product: low calorie, doesn't affect blood sugar levels, doesn't contribute to tooth decay, and very little makes its way to the large intestine, so it can't feed organisms like Candida.
Once erythritol enters your body, it’s rapidly absorbed in the small intestine and bloodstream with about 90 percent being excreted in the urine. It essentially goes through your system untouched with zero metabolization.
Still, some research points to concerns, as the 10 percent entering the colon can produce abdominal gas, bloating and diarrhea in some individuals. They’re not completely absorbed by the body and are fermented by bacteria in the large intestine. One study specifically showed that the intake of 50 grams of erythritol caused stomach rumbling and nausea.
This sugar is also genetically modified, with consumption linked to potential health problems. And although rare, erythritol can cause an allergic skin reaction in some people, as demonstrated in a study published in 2000 in the Journal of Dermatology.
Source: DrAxe.com
But now some seriously bad news via Nature:
Artificial sweeteners are widely used sugar substitutes, but little is known about their long-term effects on cardiometabolic disease risks. Here we examined the commonly used sugar substitute erythritol and atherothrombotic disease risk… Our findings reveal that erythritol is both associated with incident MACE [major adverse cardiovascular events] risk and fosters enhanced thrombosis.
“Thrombosis” is the fancy medical term for blood clots that block blood vessels and induce heart attacks and strokes because the blood supply becomes choked off. It’s not a great condition to develop. (pjmedia.com)
So this study shows that the more erythritol you consume, the more likely you are to experience these problems.
Robb Wolf on his Substack says the authors fed a large dose (30g) of erythritol in the form of a sugar free beverage…on par with consuming about a pint of “keto” ice cream. He figures this would be in the ballpark of what some use for baked goods when using erythritol at home.
With that intake they found a remarkably increased level of erythritol above baseline- nearly a 1,000 fold increase which lasted for several hours, and most folks had reasonably elevated levels 2-days later. That, as they say, is bad news indeed.
“If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25% compared to the bottom 25%, there was about a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke. It’s on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes,” says Dr. Stanley Hazen, the lead study author.
Another study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association also says that if you eat a lot of erythritol, it might actually put you at a higher risk of getting heart disease. Crazy, right? And the risk is even higher for people who already have other risk factors like high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Yikes!
Conclusion
If you're not eating a diet based on whole foods that haven't been messed with and are low-to-moderate in carbs, you might want to think about making some changes. Sugar is the pits, and there's no real safe substitute for it. The refined kind, like high-fructose corn syrup (found in things like Ding-Dongs and Skittles), is especially bad.
While you might think that artificial sweeteners are a good way to cut down on calories, they can actually be pretty risky for your health, which I've already explained. To dial back on the sugar, it's best to do so using natural sweeteners like stevia or honey, but in moderation.