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What Is Erythritol
Erythritol, a sweet ketogenic diet ingredient, is a sugar alcohol (polyol) that is approximately 60-80% as sweet as sucrose (table sugar). It is found in small quantities in fruits like pear, watermelon, and grape. There’s some even in mushrooms and fermented drinks like wine, beer, and soy sauce.
Many people have not yet learned about erythritol, but in Japan, it has been used as a food ingredient since the 1990s.
However, many Japanese scientists have done more tests to find out how safe consumption of Erythritol is, which are the side effects, etc. The USA approved consumption of erythritol in 2001.
It has been adopted by many people, as a substitute for white or brown sugar, or even as a substitute for powdered sugar.
Erythritol, like sugar, can be granulated or powdered. It has a low glycemic index and, as a result, it can be safely used by diabetics.
It is, of course, water soluble and the melting point is about 145 ° F (119 ° C). If you ask why we put this information here, it’s simple, it can be useful information for cooking purposes. The caloric value is less than 0.2 kcal / g, but it is not recommended to consume more than 25g / day.
There are two methods of fermenting the production of erythritol. Both ways include yeast-like fungi for fermentation of wheat or maize starch.
Then, the fermentation broth is heated to kill the production organism, and then the filtration procedure extracts the dead cells. Erythritol continues to carry out various purification processes so that the final product is at least 99% pure.
Human Studies Of Erythritol
Different studies show that most erythritol is not metabolized to a significant level in the body.
Depending on the dose, 60% to more than 90% of ingested erythritol is quickly assimilated in the small intestine. Then it is excreted unchanged in the urine within 48 hours.
In healthy volunteers and diabetic patients without insulin dependence, erythritol did not show any significant effect on blood glucose levels.
Furthermore, healthy subjects did not show changes in cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, sodium, potassium, or chloride, consuming erythritol.
A reduced number of studies has shown that erythritol can have a laxative effect, but at higher doses than other polyols. The laxative effect in humans is about 0.5 g per kg of body weight (or slightly below 0.2 ounces per kilogram of body weight) for a single dose.
This means you could start feeling a stomach discomfort if you eat a lot of erythritol in one place. Especially if it is not accompanied by many other nutrients. Again, this side effect is far less known than other sugar alcohols.
Is Erythritol Safe?
Should I Consume Erythritol On A Ketogenic Or LCHF Diet?
At first glance, the answer would be: Of course, why not? Studies show that it does not affect the level of glucose or insulin.
On the other hand, an individual may find that consumption of erythritol leads to some changes in insulin levels or to lower levels of ketone in the blood. Because every individual body acts differently, each “study” (N = 1) will show a different result.
What is important to know is that there are a lot of other background factors and mechanisms that we do not know about, which play a role in such measurement results at the subject level. It is hard to point your finger solely to erythritol.
I truly want an extended scientific study in this regard. I found this product review on the Keto diet blog (N = 2) very enjoyable.
If you click the link and scroll down, you will see some blood glucose and ketone levels after eating certain sweeteners.
So, in my opinion, everyone should decide on their own, taking into account their specific objectives. While My Sweet Keto encourages you to try all delicious recipes, I am very conscious that many of us need a lot of self-discipline to consume irresistible treatments just a little bit. We suggest that you take each dessert as a special treat, enjoying small bites.
Freeze the debris or invite friends. And if you are in measuring the ketone level, do not imagine that a kind of friendly ketone food remains a ketone friendly in any quantity.
Erythritol Keto – The Best Low Carb Sugar Substitute
I am saying this because I think it might be difficult for an ex high carb consumer (or even a dependent) to completely change their lifestyle and overcome their appetite if all the sweetness is still around them.
Even though if it should be guilt-free.
Sweet taste could cause cravings for more LCHF desserts (which could lead to overindulging) or even carbohydrates.
Try to decide if you are a person who can easily overcome or ignore the lusts and enjoy some keto-friendly desserts at the same time. If you are not sure, try keto sweets in small doses and see what’s going on.
When you experience lusts that were not present before, you should consider limiting your dessert consumption once a week or so. Try to schedule a day of treatment in your calendar.
In any case, I suggest that any keto / LCHF beginner go for a month or so, without keto. And then come back to this site.
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