Erythritol is a zero-calorie sweetener commonly found in items like sugar-free ice cream, candy, gum, cookies, cakes, protein bars and fruit spreads. It can also be bought as a powder to add to drinks or use in baking.
Erythritol was discovered in 1848 by Scottish chemist John Stenhouse and first isolated in 1852. In 1950 it was found in blackstrap molasses that was fermented by yeast, and Japanese companies pioneered the commercial development of erythritol as a sweetener in the 1990s.
Truvia, Pepsi’s stevia product, also contains erythritol
Erythritol is an organic compound that actually occurs naturally in some fruit and fermented foods, as well as in human bodily fluids, such as eye lens tissue, serum, plasma, fetal fluid, and urine. Because of this, it is often marketed as a “natural” sweetener. It has no effect on blood sugar or blood insulin levels and does not cause tooth decay. However, when used as a sweetener in processed foods, it’s usually added in quantities more than one thousand times higher than any amount that would ever occur naturally in either foods or the human body.
Vitamin Water Zero, made by the Coca-Cola Company, contains erythritol
Halo Top low calorie ice cream contains erythritol
As with anything being out of balance in this way, raised levels of erythritol can impact human health. A NIH-funded study published in 2023 and led by Dr. Stanley Hazen at the Cleveland Clinic found that raised erythritol led to blood clots, which in turn increased risk of heart attacks. The study also showed that drinking one erythritol-sweetened beverage led erythritol levels in the blood to increase to more than 1000 times their usual, and to remain increased for several days afterwards. Erythritol levels in the blood remained high enough to trigger clots for up to two days.
So how do you avoid erythritol? Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.
The FDA categorizes erythritol as “GRAS” (Generally Recognized as Safe) because it’s a naturally occurring compound. This means that long-term safety studies have not been required, and food companies don’t even have to list it on their nutrition labels. The safest approach is to avoid anything that claims to be “sugar free,” “low sugar” or artificially sweetened.
Stevia, which claims to be the “number one brand recommended by doctors and dietitians” contains erythritol