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A recent pilot study showed that drinking beverages containing erythritol significantly increased the risk of blood clots in healthy individuals. Erythritol is an artificial sweetener often used in stevia, monk fruit, and keto products. The study was conducted on ten individuals, reports CNN.
Blood clots pose a serious risk, potentially causing a heart attack or stroke if they travel through the bloodstream. Earlier studies have also linked erythritol to increased risks of stroke, heart attack, and mortality.
Erythritol is a type of “sugar alcohol”. It is found naturally in various fruits and vegetables. Commercially, erythritol is produced in large quantities because of its benefits. It is “zero calorie”.
Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular disease prevention and health at National Jewish Health in Denver, was not involved in the research, and he found the small study interesting.
Freeman told the publication that, while there’s no immediate need to stop using sugar alcohols, the findings have raised concerns about their safety.
“What was remarkable about this was that every measure of platelet reactivity (clotting) increased after erythritol intake in every person,” CNN quoted Dr. Stanley Hazen, the study’s lead author and director of the Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention Center at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, as saying.
Hazen reported that when another group of 10 people consumed a drink containing the same amount of glucose, there was no change in their blood platelet activity.
He emphasized that this study marked the first direct comparison between the effects of glucose and erythritol on different aspects of platelet function. According to the study, glucose does not affect clotting, but erythritol does.
The ‘safe option’
The Calorie Control Council responded to the study. The group representing industry interests spoke to CNN. It said that more than three decades of research shows that erythritol is a reliable and safe alternative to reduce sugar and calorie intake.
The council urged consumers to be very careful in interpreting the study’s findings. Chairwoman Carla Saunders pointed out that only 10 participants in the study were given unusually high amounts of erythritol, which is about four times the limit allowed in any US beverage.
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