There is still a number of questions around that study - they didn't establish if the participants already were at risk etc

So while I am paying attention I do know this

85% of Diabetics die from Heart Disease, Heart Attack or Stroke due to high blood sugar levels - that happens "for sure"

Erythritol may raise my risk for those

But will it raise it as much as uncontrolled blood sugar?

If the answer is NO (no real rates were discussed simply "higher risk") then we may be better off eating the sweetener if it helps keep our blood sugar controlled which would then lower our risk from Diabetes

That is the conundrum that we live with as Diabetics - we WISH there was a SAFE choice but sometimes we simply have to choose the "less dangerous" one

Remember when we were told to stay away from Eggs - now they are the most highly rated sources of protein - early "fear" was created by incomplete studies

Here is my take - I can prove that drinking water and breathing air causes every cancer death out there - my proof?

Name a single person who died from cancer that never drank water or breathed air - and that may be the only two things they ALL had in common

Avoid the stuff if you feel there is merit to the claim. If we avoided everything that someone has said is dangerous we would live in a bubble

That's just my take on it - I want to see more directed studies with solid baselines - double blind control groups etc - not "we looked at 1000 people who say they have used a given product and they had more heart attacks then average"

If they were using the artificial and they mostly obese which already put them at higher risk did the erythritol do it, or their poor health in general?

Too many unanswered questions for me (and I did read the article that was cited)

PS - erythritol is a natural source (polyol) that is derived from Black Strap Molasses or Corn - it's not like it's some lab creation and molasses is in tons of products and corn is a major staple that "non-diabetics" gobble down every day - no warning for them?

Thank you for all your thoughtful answers to my query. I did receive a call back from General Mills and from Rebel ice cream creamery. They have done extensive research on Erythritol and even stated that it is naturally produced in our bodies and has been shown to reduce blood pressure. They stated that this latest study was completed with people who were at risk of cardio vascular disease and strokes. General Mills gave me a lengthy response about the safety of Erythritol used in their Keto cereals. After reading this I am going to continue eating Rebel ice cream and GM Keto cereal. Thanks again for all of your well thought answers.
BTW, I returned from 6 weeks in Florida and will be greeted by a winter storm tomorrow with up to 6 inches of snow and wind.
The joys of Michigan.

@A DiabetesTeam Member I did forget to mention that yes, our body produces the stuff as well naturally - it's a "saccharide" that we can synthesize ourselves

I believe it was mentioned in the article that there is no way to tell if erythritol in the blood can be distinguished as ingested or self produced so an elevated level may not be attributable from a given source

But as @A DiabetesTeam Member points out, sugar alcohols (polyols) can cause GI discomfort if consumed in higher quantities (and of course we all different tolerance levels)

Because, like fiber, they are mostly indigestible, they can cause significant irritation in some people and gas in others

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I do tend to try and find options that don’t use sugar alcohol just because it can cause stomach issues. That being said I do use a blend of monk fruit and erythritol as well as stevia and allulose. Like Graham said I will probably continue to use it in moderation as it’s still a better choice than sugar for diabetics.

For me Erythritol is the only sweetener I can tolerate, all other ones spike my numbers, since switching to Erythritol 3 yrs ago all my blood works are normal which was the frist time in 40 yrs. I have had elevated CRP since my teens, and this is a precurser to heart disease or any other inflammation in your body, it is not heart specific, but in CCU it was 1 blood test we took a lot, also when people have an infection CRP are elevated. Only once I switched to Erythritol did all my 40 yrs lab work become better. Even my cholesterol and LDL and other lipid profile came down to normal and even greater then normal, my Triglycerides are also way down, so I guess it depends on other health factors you may have. I have been seeing these articles come out on this, if it is so bad why are all my labs normal something doctors could not help me with for 40 yrs and why is it 5 months after starting to use Erythritol I came off diabetic medications since May 28th 2020. I believe for some people yes it might be a risk factor, but for me my heart is better then it ever was, I no longer get palpitations or rapid heart rates like I used to get, my heart rate used to be between 105 to 120 at all times, now 3 yrs later I am at 78 to 82. But then again I might be an exception to the rule, due to the fact I have 18 diseases with no cure and 5 being autoimmune, maybe my body does better with Erythritol then most.

According to my old Endo he and his nurse told me I did not have to count Carbs, that it would not help me and I would be on diabetic medications for the rest of my life, as I was diagnosed when my A1C was 11.9, which apparently is impossible to go into remission, maybe again I got lucky or am not part of the normal. But for me Erythritol is the only sweetener I seem to do well on. So again something to watch or look out for.

Most people using Erythritol are low Carbs high fat diet, maybe it has more to do with the high fats diet then Erythritol itself. Big Pharma cannot make money off Erythritol, it is to their disadvantage for us to go off diabetic medications. But again I may be the odd one out. I am walking again, enjoying life as we should be while retired, I attribute it all to my diet, Erythritol and Almond flour or Almond milk helps me also, so yeah I might be a little bias seeing my life is much improved now, Even being on steroids for 40 yrs did not accomplish what diet changes did for my health. Yeah I think I am bias, but we only have everything Erythritol in our house, Nathan and Arm's pre diabetes have not progressed since switching over for them also, we all eat it, except Arm likes a bit of honey from time to time.