More Evidence Links Artificial Sweetener Erythritol to Blood Clots …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>>
Key Takeaways
New research links artificial sweetener erythritol to blood clots.Researchers found that sugar didn’t have the same impact.This isn’t the first time erythritol has been connected to vascular and heart disease.
New research has linked erythritol, an artificial sweetener, to a higher likelihood of developing blood clots.
This isn’t the first time the FDA-approved low-calorie sweetener has been linked to heart and vascular issues, raising questions about the safety of using erythritol.
“The data suggests there is reason to be concerned over the long-term safety of erythritol in everyone,” study coauthor Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences at the Cleveland Clinic, told Verywell.
What Is Erythritol?
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol and artificial sweetener.
“It’s often used because it provides fewer calories than sugar,” Jessica Cording, MS, RD, told Verywell. It’s also “not quite as sweet” as sugar, providing about 70% of the sweetness you’d get from table sugar, she added.
The FDA classifies erythritol as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) “under its intended conditions of use,” which means it’s considered safe for consumers when it’s used as intended.
Erythritol Affected the Blood of Every Study Participant
The study, which was published in the American Heart Association’s journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, analyzed data from 20 healthy volunteers who were either given a drink that contained 30 grams of erythritol or 30 grams of sugar after fasting overnight. The study participants had their blood drawn before having the beverage and 30 minutes later.
The researchers found that those who had the erythritol drink had more than double the risk of developing blood clots than those in the sugar group. Specifically, erythritol made a type of blood cell known as platelets more active, raising the risk of blood clots. People in the sugar group did not have the same reaction.
“In every subject, for every measurement made, at every dose/level tested, we observed an increase in clotting potential after drinking erythritol compared to the baseline,” Hazen said. “The data suggests there is reason to be concerned over the long-term safety of erythritol in everyone.”
It’s important to note that this was a small study, Yu-Ming Ni, MD, cardiologist and lipidologist at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, told Verywell. “However, all 10 patients who had erythritol had an increase in these platelet activity factors.” Ni said that larger studies are needed but also said people should pay attention to these findings.
“I personally am not using erythritol anymore,” he said.
Why Is Erythritol Linked to Health Risks?
This isn’t the first time erythritol has been linked to the risk of developing serious health issues. Research published in the journal Nature Medicine last year found that higher levels of erythritol were found in blood samples of more than 4,000 people with an elevated risk for heart attack or stroke. However, most of the data came from research on mice and a small group of eight people.
Critics also pointed out that erythritol can be naturally produced in the body. When that occurs, it serves as an indicator that someone has cardiometabolic dysfunction.
But researchers say it can serve as a source of health problems when ingested.
“Our research shows that ingesting erythritol made platelets more hyper-responsive,” Hazen said. “This is not just an increased risk for those with known heart disease.”
Ni said that the information around erythritol and potential health risks “just keeps evolving.”
“You’re always looking for direct relationships,” he said. “This study doesn’t quite do that, but it gives more credence to the idea that erythritol causes blood clots.”
While the latest study is small, Hazen said it’s noteworthy that everyone in the erythritol group had the same reaction.
“Every subject examined showed the same trend of increased platelet responsiveness, and increased thrombosis potential following ingestion of the erythritol,” he said. “In stark contrast, no change in multiple measures of platelet function was observed in participants after consuming a comparable amount of glucose.” The findings, Hazen said, “suggest that glucose is a safer alternative option.”
How to Know if a Product Contains Erythritol
Erythritol should appear on a product’s ingredients list under the same name, Cording said.
Erythritol has become an increasingly popular sugar substitute—it shows up in Bai flavored waters, Quest bars, and Truvia sweetener, to name a few.
“This sweetener isn’t entirely new, but it has become more popular with the increase in low-carb diets and products designed to have a lower carbohydrate load,” Cording said.
Cording stressed that more research is needed but recommends that people limit their use of artificial sweeteners. “We’re just starting to understand the different impacts they may have when [consumed] in excess,” she said. “This is a small study, but it’s one to pay attention to.”
What This Means For You
Research has linked the artificial sweetener erythritol to a higher risk of blood clots, heart attack, and stroke. While experts stress that more research is needed, they also recommend limiting your use.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Mazi TA, Stanhope KL. Erythritol: an in-depth discussion of its potential to be a beneficial dietary component. Nutrients. 2023;15(1):204. doi:10.3390/nu15010204
Food and Drug Administration. Agency response letter: GRAS Notice No. GRN 000789.
Witkowski M, Wilcox J, Province V, et al. Ingestion of the non-nutritive sweetener erythritol, but not glucose, enhances platelet reactivity and thrombosis potential in healthy volunteers. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. Published online August 8, 2024. doi:10.1161/ATVBAHA.124.321019
Witkowski M, Nemet I, Alamri H, et al. The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk. Nat Med. 2023;29(3):710-718. doi:10.1038/s41591-023-02223-9
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