“Sweetener Situation?”
I'm a teenage girl who cares a lot about health. I have been trying to eat healthier for about 2 years. Whenever I was craving desserts at the beginning of my journey, I would make desserts with erythritol instead of sugar. One day I ate a dessert with erythritol in it, my stomach expanded to a very uncomfortable, stuffed length with a very uncomfortable feeling. Suddenly, I always felt bloated when I ate it. Maybe I'd always felt that way, and never known! My mother called her friend, and we realized through trial and error that the cause was erythritol, so I stopped eating it immediately. I immediately lost a decent amount of weight (I don't weigh myself so I don't know for sure how much it was, but I went from the bigger side of normal to the skinny side of normal).
I wondered if the erythritol had been causing me to maintain a higher poundage or something? Moving on. About a month ago, I accidentally had erythritol, and again I felt horribly bloated. It was awful. But I love the sweetener so much...is there any way I can eat it without feeling bloated? Can I slowly "work up" to a larger amount of erythritol? I know it sounds silly, but is there any way that I can eat erythritol again? I looked into it, and according to google it said something about how "erythritol is a sugar alcohol, and therefore it can't be fully digested and causes bloating." Is this true, or is it possible I have an erithrytol intolerance? Would I be fine to eat small, moderate amounts of it?
I wondered if the erythritol had been causing me to maintain a higher poundage or something? Moving on. About a month ago, I accidentally had erythritol, and again I felt horribly bloated. It was awful. But I love the sweetener so much...is there any way I can eat it without feeling bloated? Can I slowly "work up" to a larger amount of erythritol? I know it sounds silly, but is there any way that I can eat erythritol again? I looked into it, and according to google it said something about how "erythritol is a sugar alcohol, and therefore it can't be fully digested and causes bloating." Is this true, or is it possible I have an erithrytol intolerance? Would I be fine to eat small, moderate amounts of it?
Female | 15 years old
Complaint duration: 2 years
Medications: none
Conditions: bloating, uncomfortable feeling of being "stuffed"
2 Answers
Dietitian-NutritionistDietitian-Nutritionist
Dear Patient,
Erithritol is a sugar alcohol and causes bloating: I could not find any study that would support increasing doses to avoid complications and therefore unable to support your desire to slowly desensitize yourself to side effects. I would avoid sweeteners in general as they may lead to an increase in sugar intake as well as syrupy sugar drinks, which can cause obesity, elevated triglycerides as well as fatty liver.
Respectfully,
Marvin A. Leder, MD FACP FACE
Erithritol is a sugar alcohol and causes bloating: I could not find any study that would support increasing doses to avoid complications and therefore unable to support your desire to slowly desensitize yourself to side effects. I would avoid sweeteners in general as they may lead to an increase in sugar intake as well as syrupy sugar drinks, which can cause obesity, elevated triglycerides as well as fatty liver.
Respectfully,
Marvin A. Leder, MD FACP FACE
Erythritol causes bloating. That is why it isn’t popular. Nutrasweet is safe and consists of 2 amino acids. Safe as can be. Splenda is very very safe. 85% is not absorbed 15% is urinated out without not 1 carbon being left in the body. It consists of 2 sugars molecules with replacement of 3 hydroxyl groups with chlorines like in NACL (tablet salt). Millions of people have drunks gallons of the aforementioned. There is no evidence of harm.
