A Popular Sweetener Could Be Damaging Your Brain's Defenses, Says Recent Study

Found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks, erythritol has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar. But new research suggests this widely used sweetener may be quietly undermining one of the body's most crucial protective barriers—with potentially serious consequences for heart health and stroke risk.

- HAVOVI CHICHGER

A recent study from the University of Colorado suggests erythritol may damage cells in the blood-brain barrier, the brain's security system that keeps out harmful substances while letting in nutrients. The findings add troubling new detail to previous observational studies that have linked erythritol consumption to increased rates of heart attack and stroke.

In the new study, researchers exposed blood-brain barrier cells to levels of erythritol typically found after drinking a soft drink sweetened with the compound. They saw a chain reaction of cell damage that could make the brain more vulnerable to blood clots—a leading cause of stroke.

Erythritol triggered what scientists call oxidative stress, flooding cells with harmful, highly reactive molecules known as free radicals, while simultaneously reducing the body's natural antioxidant defenses. This double assault damaged the cells' ability to function properly, and in some cases killed them outright.

But perhaps more concerning was erythritol's effect on the blood vessels' ability to regulate blood flow. Healthy blood vessels act like traffic controllers, widening when organs need more blood—during exercise, for instance—and tightening when less is required. They achieve this delicate balance through two key molecules: nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, and endothelin-1, which constricts them.