Add the fucking shit to the headline: Spoiler: it's Erythritol
this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2025
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The authors caution that their study was a laboratory study, conducted on cells, and larger studies in people are needed.
Ok, nice to know, moving on.
There are other studies using humans, see https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/erythritol-cardiovascular-events
This sugar substitute is going to be the asbestos of sweeteners in the next few decades. And I find it remarkable it is in so many foods.
Awesome. Drink sugar free energy drink, have stroke.
I've never seen an energy drink with erythritol
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I took a look at the two most famous colas and two fake colas, and the only sweeteners I was able to find were aspartame, acesulfame K, and sucralose. No sign of erythritol. I wonder if I've ever even seen a beverage with that stuff in it. However, I have seen bags of it sold in supermarkets, so apparently it isn't restricted in that sense.
No sign of erythritol.
It's significantly more common in baked goods (because it's stable under oven temperatures) and extremely more common in "fitness" branded alternatives like low calorie yogurt, low calorie peanut butter, and so on.
Where I am at (Texas) I find it in many sugar free yoghurts
I'm beginning to think this must be one of those EU things. I couldn't find a single yogurt like that in my local supermarket.
Reading more of the comments here, from Spain and Denmark, it seems it is in other food items in the EU; perhaps there are better regulations with yogurt?
I don't consume many sugar-free products, except Coke Zero Sugar. Not Coke Zero, but Coke Zero SUGAR. They are two separate products (which taste significantly different), and even servers in restaurants often don't know the difference. They've got to be phasing out the Zero in favor of the Zero SUGAR, became ZS tastes far better.
Anyhoo, I've been wondering about the artificial sweetener they must be using for them, and now I'm wondering if it's this stuff. Your post seems to indicate that I'm in the clear.
Just read the label or look it up.... What the fuck is this "I'm just gonna decide on it being this way without even lifting a finger even though all the info is readily available"? If it is that sweetener you're great proof that it does indeed damage brain cells and if not...then you're just this dumb naturally.
Not dumb, just don't care. One advantage to getting old is that the dangerous stuff that takes years to kill you won't have the time to get you before you die anyway, so you can go wild. If it tastes better, I'll drink it. It'll kill me in 30 years? Yeah, but I'll be dead in 20, and it tastes good, so I don't care.
I have seen a few people who are similar to that become old; struggling for decades with damage done to their bodies when younger.
I am not judging others , just remarking the survival rate is high
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Why not just say, “Popular sugar substitute, erythritol…” in the title?
I mean we both know the answer is for clicks
Maybe the ultimate answer will turn out to be JUST EAT LESS FUCKING SUGAR.
This seems interesting because they did some research in the actual mechanism that could create a cause-effect relation. Still need to be repeated to justify legal changes but that's a good start.
Much better than these "correlation" studies that say nothing. Like the ones saying "people who doesn't drink any alcohol die sooner that people who drink a cup of wine each day", that's totally faulty for a lot of evident reasons. And until now most artificial sweeteners studies were like that "people who use artificial sweeteners tend to have more health issues", like with the drink is reasonable to assume and consider that people who do such dietary changes is more likely to already have an underlying health issue that they are trying to cope with and it's obviously more in risk that healthy people that doesn't feel the need to control their diet.
As I said this study seems a little more promising as they did research on the actual mechanisms on which the health issues may happen. I hope it gets repeated enough times and, if needed, the product would be banned or properly labeled.
I always told my buddy who was dieting in college that getting fake sugar sodas isn't the solution, it's to stop drinking soda...
Not even that, find something healthy that scratches the itch. Your body indicates it wants energy (unless your addicted in which case its the microbiome or something), get it some berries or throw them in some water with lemon juice
I've found that a lot of times when I'm craving something sweet, what I actually want is water. It seems my brain associates sweetness (such as from fruit) with hydration. When I can, I'll have some fruit. But when fruit's unavailable, I know I just have to drink more water.
Meh…. It’s a research from the US. Let’s wait till more reputable sources confirm the studies.
fair, but more reputable countries may not have exposed their populations to this poison to begin with
UC Boulder sends like a reputable source to me.
So what brand is this stuff sold under so that I can speedrun that stroke?
In America, it's usually branded as "sugar alcohol", and is found in many sweeteners as an additive.
Don't the food labels go into any more detail than that?
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God damn it, I've been using this a lot. It's almost flavorless except sweet and doesn't take much to sweeten a large amount of water. I've been using the Truvia packets one in a large bottle of water with 1/8 of a teaspoon of crystalized lime or orange ( from a brewer supply co). All the other ones seem to have a chemical aftertaste to me.
Oh well, the second best time to stop is now I suppose.
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What even uses this stuff? I only see Acesulfam-k, Sucralose, Stevia.
Edit: i'm european.
It's commonly sold mixed with stevia or monk fruit
Brand names in the US are Swerve and Truvía. I don't think it gets added to much in junk food factories, but it is available in packets for tea and such.
Lot of things. Here in Spain I have a big box of sweetener little packages that have "STEVIA" la el big but it's 96% eritriol and only 3% stevia.
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I fucking knew it, this shit made me feel weird all the time.
If you can, avoid any fake sugar. I love science, but science sugar tricking your brain that something is sweet feels wrong.
Or not. I'm not a nutritionist I don't know anything about anything.
Thats because it is wrong, youve hit the nail on the head. Anything that is sweet activates certain receptors on your tongue, and that stimulates the production of insulin. That insulin is then going to travel your body looking for sugars to break down. Thing is, insulin only breaks down sugars, not artificial sweeteners. So its going to break down sugars elsewhere in your body or leave free insulin in your blood. That fucks you up good and leads to diabetes.
ALL ARTIFICAL SWEETENERS ARE BAD, unless you already have diabetes.
Actually you could be a nutritionist if you call yourself one since it's not a legally protected term. Dietitian is the actual one that is a protected term.
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Erythritol makes my entire mouth feel like it's on fire as soon as it touches my tongue. My body did me a favor on this one.
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erythritol was always a not so favored ingredient for me due to the weird cooling mouthfeel and GI effects
now if it turns out that allulose is bad for you, I'm going to be SO UPSET.
Just another thing to check labels for, none of the drinks I have contain it which is good
As long as they don't find a problem with maltitol. I just discovered "low-sugar" ice creams made using the stuff and they're amazing
It's not zero sugar like erythritol, and it's not as sweet, but I like it
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