In the past, some scientists have sung erythritol’s praises.

Are they changing their minds?

This is likely because sugar alcohols are a key in of polyolthe P inFODMAPs.

Lets see what the study found and whether you should be concerned.

How Was This Study Conducted & What Did It Show?

This study was pretty straightforward.

All the volunteers were nonsmokers without heart disease, hypertension or diabetes, and had normal kidney function.

The volunteers blood was tested for baseline data, including their blood levels of erythritol.

The volunteers then fasted overnight.

Their blood was drawn 30 minutes after drinking the solutions.

Instead, they were testing volunteers blood to see if erythritol affected blood clotting factors.

What does blood clotting have to do with anything?

Platelets are cells that are involved in clotting.

How Does This Apply to Real Life?

So, should you be concerned?

And should you eat foods with sugar alcohols?

Cardiovascular disease builds over time, and heart disease is the leading cause of death globally.

We need to confirm the foods we eat arent hidden contributors.

But the FDA has given erythritol and other sugar alcohols, like xylitol, their GRAS stamp of approval.

Weve seen this withbrominated vegetable oil (BVO), which was found in some citrus-flavored sodas.

We also saw this with trans fats.

Scientists initially thought they were healthier than saturated fatsuntil enough research proved they were even more harmful.

This increases the risk of blood clots, potentially increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Its important to note that this study was small and that research on this topic is in its infancy.

Read the label, especially if youre trying to avoid sugar alcohols.

Could you start replacing some of your diet or regular sodas with waterevensparkling waterif you need the bubbles?

Could you replace your daily afternoon candy bar with a piece ofdark chocolateand a handful of almonds?

Yes, all foods can fit into a balanced diet and can be enjoyed.

Its about patterns and the big nutrition picture.

What does your pattern look like?

U.S. Food & Drug Administration.Aspartame and other sweeteners in food.