The Best Sweetener: Erythritol

Edit: August 8, 2024. Erythritol is linked to blood clotting and a risk of heart disease. https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/08/health/erythritol-blood-clotting-wellness/index.html

Edit: February 27, 2023! Erythritol can be harmful! It is linked to heart attacks and strokes! https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/27/health/zero-calorie-sweetener-heart-attack-stroke-wellness/index.html

Original article:

I thought all low calorie sweeteners were harmful until I found this.

• No adverse effects associated with other low and non-caloric natural and artificial sweeteners
• May have antioxidant potential
• Has 60-80% the sweetness of sugar
• Can be used in baking
• Safe for diabetics

Buy the powder since the granular form needs to be dissolved in liquid otherwise it remains granular.  It is $9 a pound for powder in the US, and in Canada ranging from $8/lb (5 lb bag includes $10 shipping) (but may crystallize in liquids after a time), $12 (free shipping), or $19 per pound (free shipping) in Canada.

If using it in baking, it is a little tricky.  It really really wants to re-crystallize.  Be careful when putting it in things that are dry, like cookies and brownies, as it will re-crystallize as it cools.  You can prevent this effect by using it in a combination of 1:8 of Thick-it-up Low Carb Thickener to erythritol (2 T per cup) for powdered form and 4 T/cup for granular form.

For higher liquid products, like icing and pies, you should be okay, but you can also grind it into a powder if it has re-crystallized in storage or if you have the granular form.

It leaves a cooling/minty effect in your mouth in some cases.  Some bakers like the crunch from the re-crystallization in their products.

On a cautionary note...

Erthryitol was rejected by the EFSA in March 2013 as an additive to soft drinks because for children aged 3-9 years old (22 kg on average), drinking 650 mL of the soft drink had a laxative effect.  I don't know what kind of parent would let their sub-10 year old drink the equivalent of two cans of pop a day, but I'm sure they exist.

Here is a list of harmful sweeteners:

acesulfame-K (Sweet One) - DNA damage

aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal) - hypertension

cyclamate (Sugar Twin) - banned 39 years ago but still sold in Canada

saccharin (Sweet'N'Low) - bladder cancer

sucralose (Splenda) - migraine trigger

sorbitol, xylitol - (Extra, Eclipse, Orbit...) - laxative

We don't know whether stevia is safe.  Yet.  I bought stevia leaf powder, and it was horrible to use.  It had a distinctive leafy green taste, and a terrible aftertaste.  Not the kind of stuff I want to put in my baking or tea.