Erythritol: The New Kid on the Block
Filed Under Naturopathy |
Just when we thought scientists were done messing around with our sugar substitutes, another one pops onto the market. Erythritol, not really new, as it is found in our diets, is now available as an artificial sweetener. I know that I probably shouldn’t refer to it as artificial but I don’t have much faith in the powers that be.
First there was saccharine, A gift for our parent’s generation (until the scare in the 1970’s that it caused cancer in rats). Then there was acetoacetamide, circa 1988, found in everything from drinks to chewing gum, and then it was linked to thyroid cancer. And then there was aspartame, it tasted better than saccharine and was touted to be healthier, until we found out it was possibly linked to brain tumors and may contribute to the formation of formaldehyde. Isn’t formaldehyde used as an embalming agent?
Remember sorbitol? It is produced naturally in the body, yet it is poorly digested. Too much sorbitol has been linked to cellular damage. I bet you didn’t know that sorbitol is an ingredient in some cosmetics and hair gels as a thickening agent, and as a humectant in some cigarettes. When sorbitol is combined with potassium nitrate it becomes a crude form of rocket fuel!
Other sugar substitutes have come along and although less harmful they still have been known to cause considerable havoc on the gastric system. I am referring to sugar substitutes such as manitol, maltitol, and xylitol. If you have a history of gastric problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, ulcerative colitis, leaky gut syndrome, and others you may want to avoid ingesting these substitutes, as they can worsen your already aggravated condition. I was really disappointed when independent research showed that my favorite sugar substitute, sucralose (Splenda) may have caused thymus shrinkage, damage to the kidneys and liver, decreased red blood cell production, and was linked to pelvic hyperplasia, among other problems.
Indeed new products are constantly being added. The latest group advertised as coming straight from plant sources, aid in digestion, and taste very sweet are Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, and Stevia. Let’s talk about FOS first. FOS is indigestible in our bodies and is therefore a good bulking agent. It gets transported to the large intestine where it feeds on microbes. At first glance, this sounds good as it keeps the bad microbes in check. But upon further investigation, FOS also destroys the good microbes in our gut. Inulin, an oligosaccharides, is found in the roots of plants such as burdock and dandelion, both of which are common herbal remedies. It produces fructose and so is supposed to make our foods taste sweeter. Stevia is a plant found in parts of South America and Japan. It is sold as a dietary supplement and not as a sugar substitute.
I started this blog introducing Erythritol and so find it fitting to finish it the same way. It is about 75% as sweet as sucrose and has virtually no calories. It doesn’t affect blood sugar so it is safe for diabetics, and it doesn’t cause tooth decay and so we will soon find it in gum and dietary candy bars. Erythritol is processed in the kidneys and therefore bypasses the large intestine. But, yes you knew it was coming, excessive amounts of erythritol can spill over and be transported to the large intestine where it can cause severe diarrhea. I tried it and it tastes very good. It doesn’t have the funny after taste that many of the sugar substitutes on the market have.
Still I can’t help wonder and worry if Eythritol is just another on the evolutionary chain of sugar substitutes that will be found to cause harm. Our diets are bombarded with chemical – chemicals to process the food, to preserve and extend shelf live, chemicals to help with digestion, to add flavoring, color, and over-all enhance the appearance of the food. What ever happened to getting back to nature? Why do we have to enhance the flavor of fruits and vegetables? My children have always eaten their vegetables. Vegetables were always (and still are) a primary component of our meals. They know and appreciate the fact that snacks and desserts are secondary and a treat. But vegetables are a given and not to be passed over for ice cream and the like.
I will always advocate for a natural sugar alternative. I will always stress that anything 100% natural is better - as long as its taken in moderation. I have one cup of coffee a day and in that coffee I have one teaspoon of pure sugar. After the scare with splenda I threw my hands up in the air and gave in taking regular sugar. I don’t abuse it, and that is the key to my success. But don’t get me wrong, I’ll always keep looking for that great, all-natural sugar alternative that awaits me around the corner.
Take control of your health, go natural. You will be glad you did!
In health and wellness!
Dr. Mundorff
Comments
5 Comments so far
recent research and news re aspartame and stevia: Murray 2007.07.24
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1454
“Of course, everyone chooses, as a natural priority,
to actively find, quickly share, and positively act
upon the facts about healthy and safe food, drink,
and environment.”
Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@comcast.net
505-501-2298 1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages
group with 78 members, 1,455 posts in a public,
searchable archive http://RMForAll.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1395
Aspartame Controversy, in Wikipedia democratic
encyclopedia, 72 references (including AspartameNM # 864
and 1173 by Murray, brief fair summary of much more research:
Murray 2007.01.01
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1453
Souring on fake sugar (aspartame), Jennifer Couzin,
Science 2007.07.06: 4 page letter to FDA from 12 eminent
USA toxicologists re two Ramazzini Foundation
cancer studies 2007.06.25: Murray 2007.07.18
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNMmessage/1451
Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose) and coloring
agents will be banned from use in newly-born and baby foods,
the European Parliament decided: Latvia ban in schools 2006:
Murray 2007.07.12
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNMmessage/1437
stevia to be approved and cyclamates limited by
Food Standards Australia New Zealand:
JMC Geuns critiques of two recent stevia studies by Nunes:
Murray 2007.05.29
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1427
more from The Independent, UK, Martin Hickman, re ASDA
(unit of Wal-Mart Stores) and Marks & Spencer ban of
aspartame, MSG, artificial chemical additives and dyes
to prevent ADHD in kids: urray 2007.05.16
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2548747.ece
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1426
ASDA (unit of Wal-Mart Stores WMT.N) and Marks & Spencer
will join Tesco and also Sainsbury to ban and limit
aspartame, MSG, artificial flavors dyes preservatives additives,
trans fats, salt “nasties” to protect kids from ADHD:
leading UK media: Murray 2007.05.15
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1438
Coca-Cola and Cargill Inc., after years of development,
with 24 patents, will soon sell rebiana (stevia)
in drinks and foods: Murray 2007.05.31
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1277
50% UK baby food is now organic - aspartame or MSG
with food dyes harm nerve cells, CV Howard 3 year study
funded by Lizzy Vann, CEO, Organix Brands,
Children’s Food Advisory Service: Murray 2006.01.13
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1271
combining aspartame and quinoline yellow, or MSG and
brilliant blue, harms nerve cells, eminent
C. Vyvyan Howard et al, 2005 education.guardian.co.uk,
Felicity Lawrence: Murray 2005.12.21
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1417
formaldehyde as a potent unexamined cofactor in cancer research –
sources include methanol, dark wines and liquors,
aspartame, wood and tobacco smoke: IARC Monographs on the Evaluation
of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans implicate formaldehyde
in #88 and alcohol drinks in #96: some related abstracts:
Murray 2007.05.15
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1286
methanol products (formaldehyde and formic acid)
are main cause of alcohol hangover symptoms
[same as from similar amounts of methanol, the 11% part of aspartame]:
YS Woo et al, 2005 Dec: Murray 2006.01.20
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1143
methanol (formaldehyde, formic acid) disposition:
Bouchard M et al, full plain text, 2001: substantial sources
are degradation of fruit pectins, liquors, aspartame, smoke:
Murray 2005.04.02
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1455
FEMA slow to safety test Katrina toxic trailers,
Charles Babington, Associated Press — 1 ppm formaldehyde in air
is about half the daily dose from 3 cans aspartame diet soda
and ten times the 1999 EPA alarm level for drinking water:
Murray 2007.07.23
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNMmessage/1447
second study by expert Greek team of neurotoxicity
in infant rats by aspartame (or its parts, methanol,
phenylalanine, aspartic acid), KH Schulpis et al,
Toxicology 2007.05.18: Murray 2007.07.04
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNMmessage/1444
expert Greek group finds aspartame (or its parts,
methanol, phenylalanine, aspartic acid) harm infant rat
brain enzyme activity, KH Schulpis et al,
Pharmacol. Res. 2007.05.13: Murray 2007.06.23
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1414
effect of aspartame on oncogene and suppressor gene
expressions in mice, Katalin Gambos, Istvan Ember, et al,
University of Pecs, Hungary, In Vivo 2007 Jan;
scores of their relevant past studies since 1977: Murray 2007.04.14
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1373
aspartame rat brain toxicity re cytochrome P450 enzymes,
especially CYP2E1, Vences-Mejia A, Espinosa-Aguirre JJ et al,
2006 Aug, Hum Exp Toxicol: relevant abstracts re formaldehyde
from methanol in alcohol drinks: Murray 2006.09.29
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1340
aspartame groups and books:
updated research review of 2004.07.16: Murray 2006.05.11
Dark wines and liquors, as well as aspartame,
provide similar levels of methanol,
above 120 mg daily, for long-term heavy users,
2 L daily, about 6 cans.
Within hours, methanol is inevitably largely turned into formaldehyde,
and thence largely into formic acid — the major causes
of the dreaded symptoms of “next morning” hangover.
Fully 11% of aspartame is methanol — 1,120 mg aspartame
in 2 L diet soda,
almost six 12-oz cans, gives 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol).
If 30% of the methanol is turned into formaldehyde,
the amount of formaldehyde, 37 mg, is 18.5 times the
USA EPA limit for daily formaldehyde in drinking water,
2.0 mg in 2 L average daily drinking water.
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Do you know anymore about Stevia? I find it in the health food stores and have been using it in my morning coffee for a couple of years. I enjoy the taste, and have read some things on Stevia, which lead me to believe it is not harmful to the body. I tried to grow Stevia a couple of years ago, was able to grow a dozen or so plants, and harvested and dried the leaves, but found the crumpled and crushed leaves a poor substitute for the Stevia liquid extract, and now the Stevia tablets that I currently use. I would be interested in any current research, if you have any.
Thanks,
Basha
Basha,
Here is a good site on Stevia.
http://www.stevia.com/SteviaArticle.asp?Id=2269
Learn all you can before making a decision;
Armed with knowledge we can move mountains!
Rich,
Great research! Make sure you check your sources though as Internet sites are not always as they claim to be!
Dr. Mundorff
Great article. Erythritol looks like it is a Safe-Natural sweetener, something you can’t say about saccharine, aspartame, or sucralose (Splenda). I found some made in the U.S. at a very good price at www.xylitolnow.com. I plan on making it my main sweetener. We’ll see if it lives up to the latest hype.