A new study published in February revealed that consuming large amounts of the artificial sweetener erythritol can lead to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. The sweetener, popularly used in keto products, is leading some to question the benefits of the modern “health awareness” culture.
Artificial sweeteners are considered to be a healthier option than their original counterpart, sugar, which causes weight gain and obesity. Most sugar substitutes move harmlessly through the digestive tract, causing little damage to the body. However, erythritol is different.
10% of erythritol gets absorbed into the bloodstream, circulating around the body before being disposed of. This erythritol leads to a higher risk of blood clots by causing the platelets of the blood to coagulate and stick together. Once formed, a blood clot can travel all around the body, leading to a heart attack, stroke or various other significant health risks.
This is particularly dangerous for diabetes patients who are already at a higher risk of blood clots due to their condition. Because their bodies can’t process sugar, many diabetics turn to artificial sweeteners, such as erythritol, to safely consume products such as baked goods, candy and ice cream. Not knowing about the risks of erythritol, many diabetics are putting themselves in danger, especially considering the pre existing risks of their condition.
Erythritol is also consumed by people who follow a keto diet, which restricts carbs in order to produce short-term weight loss. People on the keto diet are encouraged to limit their carbs to 5% of their diet, while healthy fats take up a whopping 75%. By focusing on proteins and fats, people can send their body into ketosis, where their body starts consuming their excess fat.
This diet has been used as an effective treatment for obesity for many years, helping obese and overweight people achieve a slimmer figure and healthier lifestyle. As a result, the keto diet is widely regarded as a partial solution to the long time American obesity epidemic.
Senior Abby Mulvania believes that the keto diet can be dangerous, particularly given the emergence of this new study. “…it [diet culture] can cause people to have an unhealthy relationship with food. I’m trying to have a better mindset with food and how my body looks and I don’t want to risk my health to lose weight,” said Mulvania.
While people on a keto diet are told to restrict their carbs, many still want to indulge in sweets. To fill this hole in the market, many companies have begun making prepackaged sweet treats that are keto diet friendly. Companies such as Halo Top, Slimfast and Think! make sugar-free treats for people who don’t consume sugar.
However, most sugar-free products on the market contain some form of erythritol. Slimfast’s giant peanut butter cup contains two grams of erythritol per cup in its chocolate coating. Think! brand peanut butter chocolate keto bars contain seven grams of erythritol per bar, with erythritol listed as the second ingredient. One company—Swerve— makes a granulated sugar replacement that is almost pure erythritol.
The worst offender of the erythritol craze is the brand Halo Top, which makes ice cream specifically targeted towards health conscious consumers. A pint of vanilla ice cream from the keto friendly line contains 25 grams of sugar alcohol, another name for erythritol. In both their keto-friendly and traditional vanilla pints, erythritol is listed as the third ingredient.
Even more alarming is the amount of erythritol needed to thoroughly sweeten a product. Because erythritol only has 70% of the sweetness of sugar, manufacturers must add more of it to their products in order to achieve the desired sugary taste. The more erythritol a person consumes, the higher risk they are for health problems.
Senior Julianne Binto believes that healthy alternatives such as erythritol can be just as dangerous as a regular diet. “Marketing diet products as healthier alternatives is dangerous because it can lead people to consume these products in much larger quantities than they normally would if they knew the true risks of the chemicals the products contain,” said Binto.
Dr. Stanley Hazen, the director of the Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, revealed that eating just a small amount of erythritol a day can lead to major health risks. “Thirty grams was enough to make blood levels of erythritol go up a thousandfold,” Hazen said. “It remained elevated above the threshold necessary to trigger and heighten clotting risk for the following two to three days.”
Just one pint of Halo Top ice cream or four Think! bars can lead to potentially catastrophic health risks.
In response to the study, Robert Rankin, the director of the Calorie Control Council, released a statement to CNN. “…the results of this study are contrary to decades of scientific research showing reduced-calorie sweeteners like erythritol are safe, as evidenced by global regulatory permissions for their use in foods and beverages,” said Rankin.
This study regarding erythritol has shined the light on the dangers of diet culture, especially when the public is made to believe that artificial substitutions are healthier for them than natural foods. Manufacturers must do the research on what chemicals are in the foods they eat, or else run the risk of serious health complications.
