In recent years, the trend of replacing sugar in our diet with another sweetener has been increasing. Therefore, given the need to sweeten foods and beverages, products such as erythritol have emerged, a carbohydrate that sweetens but has no calories because it belongs to the family of sugar alcohols, also known as polyols.
Erythritol is found naturally in small amounts in certain foods such as some fruits and mushrooms, but the industry synthesizes it chemically from the fermentation of glucose with the addition of some yeast. To know when a product has erythritol among its ingredients, we must check if the labeling says E968.
This product is becoming one of the most used when it comes to sweetening coffee or desserts, due, in part, to the rise in social networks like TikTok. It shows thousands of recipes where erythritol is used as a sugar substitute, so it has spread among people who lead a very healthy lifestyle and control their diet to be as natural as possible.
Although it has benefits, its excessive use can be harmful to health if consumed in large quantities, leading to digestive problems. However, experts agree that the best way to ensure a quality diet is to eliminate any additives to sweeten our drinks and foods from our diet, as glucose is already intrinsic in the foods we consume daily.
Pros and cons
One of the biggest benefits of erythritol is its ability to sweeten drinks and foods without providing practically any calories. La Voz has asked the nutritionist and dietitian, Flavia Baridón, to learn more about this product. "Sugar provides 4 calories per gram and erythritol 0.2, which is practically zero. In fact, when it is used in energy drinks or cola drinks that say they are zero, these have this polyol among their ingredients," she explains.
In addition, in terms of oral health, erythritol is a good ally to use as a substitute for white sugar. "It does not cause cavities because there is no sugary effect, and many sugar-free chewing gums and candies contain this sweetener," explains nutritionist Flavia Baridón to La Voz.
Another point in favor of erythritol is that it has no effects on glucose or insulin, so "it is suitable, for example, for diabetics or for people who follow a Keto diet because it has a very low carbohydrate content," says the nutritionist.
However, consuming large amounts of this sweetener can cause health problems. "We are talking about a continuous consumption of more than 50 grams per day, which can be reached if a person is continuously ingesting sugar-free drinks, chewing gums, candies or products," indicates Flavia Baridón.
The effects it can have on our body are at the digestive level, such as discomfort, colic or gas. "This happens because it slightly imbalances the intestinal microbiota and can even have a laxative effect and cause diarrhea," explains the specialist.
The expert recommends its use but always in moderation. Even the UN published a statement talking about how people who consume high amounts of this sweetener can have heart problems and heart attacks. However, "this report has its nuances since it talks about people who ingest more than 50 grams in large quantities continuously and, in addition, had previous pathologies," clarifies the expert.
"I would recommend it for diabetics and for those who want to follow a very low carbohydrate diet, but in small amounts really," advises the nutritionist.
We have to get the palate used to removing sugar
When we constantly think about which sweetener is healthier or which is better nutritionally, a myriad of them come to mind, such as honey or agave syrup, but they are not the best options.
"If you ask me which is the best sweetener, I say it is stevia, but the pure one, not the one they sell in the supermarket because those have other sweeteners, it is additivated," she says. Another sweetener that the dietitian highlights is yacon syrup, a tuber, and that "if a large amount were planted, it would grow perfectly in Spain," she points out.
Despite this, according to Baridón, "the ideal thing is really to get the palate used to removing sugar because we are hooked on the sweet taste and if we add a lot of sweetener we are covering up a problem, so we have to reduce the need for sweetness."
By adding more sugar than the foods themselves have, what we do is raise blood glucose. "We have to avoid glucose spikes to not force the pancreas to continuously produce insulin secretions because in the long run it can create problems of insulin resistance or early diabetes," she indicates.
Likewise, the possible consequences can also be inflammation, insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, fatigue, mood swings and, even, it is related to cancer," she explains.
"That tendency to the sweet taste, to the need to consume sugary foods, we bring it from childhood because since we are little they put sweets everywhere and this ends up having consequences on physical and emotional health," concludes the nutritionist.
