From low -carbohydrate ice cream to protein -free “sugar” bars to “sugar -free” soda, the decade that sweeteners erythritol is everywhere.
But the new study by the University of Colorado shows that the popular sugar substitute and the special food additive comes with severe disadvantages, affecting brain cells in many ways that can enhance the risk of stroke.
The study was published in Newspaper of applied physiology.
“Our study adds to the evidence that the non -noisy sweeteners that are generally supposed to be safe may not come without negative health consequences,” said senior writer Christopher Desouza, a professor of total physiology and director of the Laboratory.
It was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001, Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, often produced by corn fermentation and is found in hundreds of products. It has almost no calorie, it is about 80% as sweet as table sugar and has a negligible impact on insulin levels, making a favorite for people trying to lose weight, keep their blood sugar under control or avoiding carbohydrates.
But recent research has begun to shed light on its dangers.
A recent study involving 4,000 people in the US and Europe found that men and women with higher levels of redritol were much more likely to have a heart attack or stroke over the next three years.
Desouza and the first writer Auburn Berry, a postgraduate student in his workshop, began to understand what could lead to the increased risk.
Researchers in human cells who have been treated with a laboratory aligned with blood vessels in the brain for three hours with about the same amount of erythritol contained in a typical sugar -free drink.
They observed that processed cells were changed in many ways: they expressed significantly less nitrate oxide, a molecule that relaxes and expands blood vessels and more endothelin-1, a protein that restricts blood vessels. In the meantime, when it was caused by a thrombin-called thrombin formation, the cell production of natural compound causing a T-PA clot was “remarkably blunt”. Cells that have been treated with erythritol also produced more reactive types of oxygen (ROS), known as “free radicals”, metabolic by -products that can age and damage cells and inflammation of the tissue.
A large picture, if your boats are more limited and your ability to break blood clots is reduced, the risk of stroke rises. Our research demonstrates not only this, but how erythritol is able to increase the risk of stroke. ”
Auburn Berry, first writer
Desouza notes that their study only used one sugar substitute. For those who consume multiple portions a day, the impact may probably be worse.
The authors warn that their study was a laboratory study, conducted in cells and needing larger studies in individuals.
Taking this, De Souza encourages consumers to read labels, searching for erythritol or “sugar alcohol” on the label.
“Taking into account the epidemiological study that inspired our work and now our cellular findings, we believe that it would be prudent for people to monitor the consumption of non -nutrients like this,” he said.
Source:
Magazine report:
Berry, Ar, et al. (2025). Non -religious sweetener redritol adversely affects the function of microvascular endothelial cells of the brain. Newspaper of applied physiology. doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00276.2025.
