The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk?

This new study has led to some concern for ketogenic diet proponents and for diabetic patients in general. As with any study, it’s important to evaluate what it suggests and based on its design, what it can really tell us. First off, it’s an observation study and it suggests an association between erythritol and heart disease. ASSOCIATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSATION!!! They studied more than 1000 patients and determined that those patients with higher level of erythritol in their blood were at higher risk for stroke and heart attack. Every patient in their study had co-morbid conditions setting up for heart disease. An important caveat is that the study could not separately account for the amount of erythritol in the body that is separately produced by the body; which can happen as your body breaks down other sugars. Additionally, the level consumed that led to increased clotting is a ridiculously high amount (30g), way more than anyone would consume in one day, let alone in two minutes

Witkowski, M., Nemet, I., Alamri, H. et al. The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk. Nat Med (2023).
https://doi-org.ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/10.1038/s41591-023-02223-9.

I think what it can suggest is that until more research is done, avoid consuming 30g of erythritol in one sitting

Jason & Rita