What is erythritol stevia

The latter symptom is often a result of excessive diarrhea because the body is dehydrated. The laxative effect the substance is known for is true of all sugar alcohols. You must consume a significant amount of erythritol to experience these effects.

One study found consuming about half a gram of the sweetener per pound of body weight is safe and will not result in side effect issues. Generally, you have to consume more than 18 grams to experience problems. However, no two human bodies are alike, so while ingesting 18 grams or more of the substance may affect you, it might not affect your friend or neighbor.

Yet another potential complication this sweetener presents is overeating. Because it is not digested by the body, it may trick your brain into thinking you are still hungry. Since the side effects of this substance depend on the dose, the dangers are relative to the amount ingested.

How sensitive you are to the artificial sweetener and sugar alcohols, in general, may result in anything from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to severe nausea and diarrhea. It does not take long for the body to become dehydrated if diarrhea is continuous, which is why some people with food poisoning end up in the hospital. They cannot keep liquids down and require saline IVs to stay hydrated and out of life-threatening danger. Long-term gastrointestinal issues from continual consumption may result in chronic heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome, and indigestion.

These problems are not only uncomfortable, they result in extreme stress. Research indicates a powerful connection between stress and stomach trouble. You will likely experience more stomach problems and more stress in what could become a very detrimental cycle. It's been marketed for over years and became popular during World War II when sucrose was hard to acquire. Birch xylitol and other hardwood-based forms of xylitol are the traditional forms produced.

Nowadays, though, commercial production varies, and plant waste is often used to produce this alternative sweetener, making it quite an ecologically friendly product. Xylitol is unique because of its sweet, natural flavor akin to traditional sucrose sugar — but it's actually a polyol similar to erythritol. This means that xylitol is not fermentable and can't be absorbed by your body's digestive system.

Xylitol has two main benefits for your health:. The same positive aspect — indigestibility — of xylitol is also its primary negative. Like other indigestible sweeteners and polyols, xylitol has been known to cause gastrointestinal side effects. These include cramps, bloating, gas and diarrhea. Xylitol can be made from a myriad of different sources.

You can obtain xylitol that has been made from foods like:. If you have food allergies, be careful when purchasing xylitol, since it can be made from any one of these products or a combination. Xylitol can also be produced by microorganisms like yeasts, bacteria and fungi.

The method used to produce xylitol from plants versus microorganisms is slightly different, but the end product is the same. You can find xylitol in all sorts of products , from chewing gum to candy to toothpaste.

It's not typically used in beverages or for cooking as its consumption should be limited on a daily basis due to its gastrointestinal side effects. Stevia is an alternative sweetener from the South American plant Stevia rebaudiana , a type of sunflower. These days, stevia is grown all over the world in countries like Paraguay, Kenya, China and the United States. It requires very little land, water and energy to grow , making it an ecologically friendly and affordable crop that can be grown in most of the world.

The word stevia typically refers to sweeteners sourced from the stevia plant , rather than a brand or exact product. Stevia has only been popular for the last 50 years , making it a fairly new alternative sweetener. It has been shown to have positive health benefits , including lowering blood pressure and making it easier for people with diabetes to improve their nutritional status. Stevia primarily contains steviol glycosides, which can be used to make a sweetener 10 to 15 times as sweet as regular sugar.

However, products sold as stevia may also refer to high-purity stevia leaf extract, which can be up to times as sweet as regular sugar.

Specific steviol glycosides that can create such high-intensity sweeteners include :. Stevia is safe and healthy to consume, even though it's so much sweeter than sugar. It actually contains beneficial nutrients , like proteins and minerals, that remain if you choose to consume stevia plant powder or leaves, rather than the sugar substitute.

Unlike sugar, stevia doesn't accumulate in the body or produce energy; it passes through the gastrointestinal system and is excreted in urine. This essentially means that stevia is a zero-calorie sweetener. Even though stevia has no calories, you shouldn't consume it in excess.

Since stevia products can vary, the acceptable daily intake is based on steviol glycosides : 12 milligrams of stevia extracts per kilogram of body weight. This is obviously not much, especially when considering that erythritol is not broken down in the digestive system and thus cannot be changed into glucose and used as energy or stored as fat in the body.

This is great news for those looking to cut calories. A quick look at a nutrition label for a product containing erythritol may set off alarm bells, as it usually shows that the product contains significant amounts of carbohydrates. Erythritol contains about four grams of carbs per teaspoon but has zero net carbs because the body is unable to break it down.

Erythritol, unlike Stevia, is considered an antioxidant that can reduce the risk of heart disease and control diabetes. It has also found use as an excellent oral health-friendly sweetener for toothpaste. The health benefits of erythritol, while modest, would put it just ahead of stevia if not for one side effect. When used in excess, erythritol can cause bloating, gas, and diarrhea. An additional consideration is heat stability.

So, if you are using a sugar substitute in your baking, stevia may be a better choice. Still, both stevia and erythritol are better choices than artificial sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame and natural sweeteners like sugar and corn syrup. Choosing either is a step in the right direction. BlissMark provides information regarding health, wellness, and beauty. The information within this article is not intended to be medical advice.

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