Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@distilledscience/video/7532996792334519583
Transcript
Have you been destroying your brain cells by eating erythrotol sweetened treats like these? Maybe, but probably not as much as recent headlines like these would have you believe. I'm Avisha, a scientist who helps you cut through all the headlines and hype to instead make better practical life decisions based on actual research. For science. This was the study published last month. The articles all say that researchers in the lab treated human cells that lined blood vessels in the brain for three hours, with about the same amount of arithetol contained in a typical sugar-free beverage. And they found that the cells had more free radicals, a reduction in the cells' ability to break down blood clots, a shifted balance toward blood vessel constriction, all of which they warned could lead to increased risk of strokes and heart attacks, which is pretty scary. But only really worrisome if the study conditions were analogous to what our actual human brain cells would experience inside our body after eating a normal amount of erythritol. So, first, the paper and the abstract, for some reason, don't agree. The abstract says that the cells were exposed to arithetol for three hours, which is what all the news headlines picked up on. But the paper method section said that they exposed the cells for 24 hours. Slight difference, which is important because they use the concentration supposed to Exhibitly equivalent to what you would get in a human body after consuming 30 grams of erythritol. But humans have bladders, and this is the sort of concentration that you would get inside of human body after eating it. Shown by the study they cite. Look how quickly it drops. It doesn't stay at peak for 24 hours. Second, speaking of 30 grams, the study authors say that that's a serving size worth of the sugar substitute, which you'd find in a single can of commercially available artificially sweetened beverage. This is 30 grams. A serving of bi is 5 grams. 10 for a bottle. A full pint of halotop is 15 grams. There are no cans with 30 grams of erythritol because erythritol is really bad for sweetening drinks, which is why Coke and Pepsi don't use it for their diet in zero brands. This ginger beer had 12 grams, which was the most of any sugar-sweetened can I could find. Third, this whole warning is about brain cells, because that's the type of cell they used in the study in a petri dish, which itself has a ton of reasons why you can't extrapolate from the petri dish to human brain. But let's keep focusing on the dose. The authors say that erythritol crosses the blood-brain barrier because of this study. But I read the study, and it doesn't measure that at all. only showed that consuming 75 grams of erythritol created some complex pattern of brain activation in an fMRI scan. So would swallowing this turtle, but I don't expect that to cross the blood brain barrier. However, this study in rats showed that only 15% of erythritol crosses the blood brain barrier. So the only brain cells being exposed to the full blood concentration level of erythritol are those that make up the barrier itself. So bottom line, is erythritol harmful to your brain cells? We don't really know. This study showed a plausible mechanism for harm, conclusions. And the 2023 study that did show that humans who had elevated erythritol levels in their blood had an increased risk of cardiovascular events? Well, they didn't measure human dietary consumption of arithratol, and we do naturally produce it, which means we need more research. In the meantime, if you enjoy erythrotol sweetened foods and use them as a method of lowering your overall caloric intake while staying happy, I wouldn't jump to throwing them away. But I would be mindful of consumption levels, maybe viewing it as an occasional treat rather than part of your high-level everyday consumption. And for a deeper dive into all of this, check out the article on my substack.
Additional notes
❓ What’s your favorite sweetener and why? I’ll often add a few drops of stevia to a glass of seltzer with a splash of juice and bitters–it’s my go-to soda replacement :) Here are four more reasons why this type of study is hard to extend to the real world: 1. A Dish is Not a Body: The most crucial limitation is that this was an in vitro study. Cells in a culture dish are isolated from the incredibly complex environment of a living organism. They lack the systemic metabolism, hormonal signals, and interactions with other organs that occur in the human body. 2. Missing Cell-to-Cell Chatter: In the brain, endothelial cells don't work alone. They are part of a "neurovascular unit," constantly communicating with neighboring cells like astrocytes and neurons. These other cells could potentially buffer or even worsen the effects of erythritol. This study, by its nature, could not account for that crosstalk. 3. No Blood Flow: The cells were grown in a static plate. They were not exposed to the constant physical force of blood flow (known as shear stress), which is a powerful signal that influences the health and function of blood vessel linings. 4. Acute vs. Chronic Exposure: The experiment modeled a single, acute exposure over a few hours. This tells us what happens right after you have a diet soda, but it can't tell us the effects of drinking one every day for years. It's possible the cells could adapt, or, conversely, the damage could accumulate and become even worse over time. #science #health #erythritol #sweeteners #nutrition
References
- Erythritol in vitro brain endothelial-cell study discussed in transcript; title/source URL/DOI/PMID not listed in workbook.
- Human erythritol concentration study, fMRI study, rat blood-brain barrier study, and 2023 cardiovascular-events study mentioned in transcript; direct source details not listed in workbook.