Current Events > Beware erythritol, linked to heart attack and stroke

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A sugar replacement called erythritol used to add bulk or sweeten stevia, monkfruit and keto reduced-sugar products has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a new study.
The degree of risk was not modest, said lead study author Dr. Stanley Hazen, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention at the Cleveland ClinicLerner Research Institute.
People with existing risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, were twice as likely to experience a heart attack or stroke if they had the highest levels of erythritol in their blood, according to the study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.
If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25% compared to the bottom 25%, there was about a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke. Its on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes, Hazen said.
Additional lab and animal research presented in the paper revealed that erythritol appeared to be causing blood platelets to clot more readily. Clots can break off and travel to the heart, triggering a heart attack, or to the brain, triggering a stroke.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/27/health/zero-calorie-sweetener-heart-attack-stroke-wellness/index.html

Considering its used in some energy drinks, which have already been linked to heart attack and stroke, this could be a serious issue for some of us here.

bro wtf

is this news hitting the keto community hard? i found thread of some keto dudes being upset that monster energy no longer has erythritol. this was from 2019 lol

which energy drinks have it?

Man that's ass, the Monster Zero Sugars have been my go to for awhile now to satisfy my caffeine addiction without having sugar. I wonder if one every other day is enough to put you in that 25%

Gwynevere posted...

Man that's ass, the Monster Zero Sugars have been my go to for awhile now to satisfy my caffeine addiction without having sugar. I wonder if one every other day is enough to put you in that 25%

Yeah. I have a bad habit of drinking 2 500ml cans of that a day, mainly from when I was on meds that would make me reeeeaaaaally sleepy.

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im having a hard time finding a list. i use two different ones for a pre workouts (c4 and lit). doesnt seem like the ingredient is listed on the can but who knows

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But their Ultra ones say zero sugar so I'm confused as to specifically which ones

iirc Monster dropped erythritol.

but even then, each can had like 2g per 16oz. You'd probably be OD'ing on caffeine etc before OD'ing on this if this is your main source of consuming the sweetener.

That list also doesn't have the energy drink that I usually drink which is Sparkling Ice plus caffeine and looking at the can it doesn't have erythritol

nice, c4 is good. i also drink ghost sometimes, next time i get one ill check the can

I only drink gfuel and it is sweetened with sucralose so shrug I guess

Thank the Lord my ultra peachy keen doesn't have it.

Drinking anything other than water isn't healthy. Sugar artificial sweetener it doesn't really matter they're both bad for you and you shouldn't drink either.

Water sucks though

Cancer, heart attacks, strokes and diabetes are also not great

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That would make it better

Damn, Ive been really into drinking Bubblr sparkling water for the last several months. It contains 7g of erythritol per can, and I usually drink two of them while Im at work. Gotta stop that now.

I usually drink a Monster Ultra Watermelon twice a week, but theres only 2 grams per can. Guess Ill drink more Rehab flavors with good old sugar, those are my usual choice anyway, not much sugar either.

Holy crap. Ive been using it a lot for the past 1 1 /2 year. Like a spoonful or so every morning for my oatmeal

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Damn you to hell! It's the only thing that gets me going in the am!

JuanCarlos1 posted...

Holy crap. Ive been using it a lot for the past 1 1 /2 year. Like a spoonful or so every morning for my oatmeal

At least it's only a spoonful I've been putting a funnel in my butt and just pouring it in

god damn it.

oof

just drink black coffee like a normal person

FL81 posted...

just drink black coffee like a normal person

Black coffee really cleans my pipes. No thank you.

good thing I like my energy drinks loaded with sugar

Kakapo posted...

Black coffee really cleans my pipes. No thank you.

Yea, that's actually a big selling point when you get older. <_<

Looks like no more monster zero ultras for me, back to sugar baby.

Oh no does this mean stevia might be unsafe?

VampireCoyote posted...

Oh no does this mean stevia might be unsafe?

All fake sugar is unsafe. Pure cane sugar is the best option, and still, it should only be used sparingly.

Imit8m3 posted...

All fake sugar is unsafe. Pure cane sugar is the best option, and still, it should only be used sparingly.

I thought stevia wasnt an artificial sweetener though

VampireCoyote posted...

Oh no does this mean stevia might be unsafe?

Perhaps, it has been popularized longer so it theoretically should be safer since it has been around longer without someone linking it to bad things.

Personally, I'm leery of any kind of artificial sugars and avoid them.

VampireCoyote posted...

I thought stevia wasnt an artificial sweetener though

That's the magic of marketing.

erythritol is the one that leaves a terrible cooling after taste in your mouth

Imit8m3 posted...

That's the magic of marketing.

its literally a natural sweetener

This is good to know but it's still worth comparing to the rates of stroke/heart attack/etc from consumption of real sugar products, which are already known to cause all of those things. If the rate is lower with artificial sweeteners then it's still a net benefit to consume those instead of real sugar.

ssk9716757 posted...

This is good to know but it's still worth comparing to the rates of stroke/heart attack/etc from consumption of real sugar products, which are already known to cause all of those things. If the rate is lower with artificial sweeteners then it's still a net benefit to consume those instead of real sugar.

This I am curious about as well. Along with how much consumption puts you in the danger zone

ssk9716757 posted...

This is good to know but it's still worth comparing to the rates of stroke/heart attack/etc from consumption of real sugar products, which are already known to cause all of those things. If the rate is lower with artificial sweeteners then it's still a net benefit to consume those instead of real sugar.

Yeah, also the study is mostly about people 60+ already with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The fact they had erythritol in their system is due to them choosing "healthier" alternatives cause theyre already sick.

How do we know if this more simple correlation than causation?

Just in case didnt add any to my oatmeal this morning and instead added more strawberries.

I think this is the part people are missing:

Healthy volunteers
In a final part of the study, eight healthy volunteers drank a beverage that contained 30 grams of erythritol, the amount many people in the US consume, Hazen said, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which examines American nutrition each year.
Blood tests over the next three days tracked erythritol levels and clotting risk.

The top 5 ways to cut sugar from your diet
Thirty grams was enough to make blood levels of erythritol go up a thousandfold, Hazen said. It remained elevated above the threshold necessary to trigger and heighten clotting risk for the following two to three days.

Kakapo posted...

I think this is the part people are missing:

Gootcha. Ok quitting it for good.

What beverage has 30g lol? Don't the Ultra's only have like 2?

Irony posted...

What beverage has 30g lol? Don't the Ultra's only have like 2?

Yeah I just looked it up and they have 2g. Looks like a total non issue as long as you're not engaging in extreme overconsumption, which makes sense.

I wonder if the 30g drink was in the same vein as those super heavy sugar drinks they give pregnant women to test for diabetes