Erythritol – The Sweet Antioxidant that will Sweeten Your Days

Have you ever heard about erythritol? If no, now is the right time to get to know this amazing low-calorie sweetener. This is a natural sweetener that tastes almost the same as sugar only that it doesn't contain the calories and there are no side effects if taken on a daily basis. Basically, erythritol represents all the good stuff contained in regular sugar, only without the bad ones.

What is Erythritol?

Erythritol is a part of the class of compounds that are called sugar alcohols. Generally speaking, there are many different sugar alcohols that can be found in natural foods like fruits, but all of them belong to the “sugar-free” category of products. The molecules they have and their structure gives them the ability to stimulate the sweet taste on our tongues making them the perfect substitute for white sugar.

These days, we can enjoy in a number of sugar alcohols like sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, and more, however, erythritol is the one that stands out as the best one. The first and most important benefit of erythritol granules is that it contains much fewer calories than any other sugar substitute. To be exact, erythritol contains 0.24 calories per gram while xylitol 2.4 calories per gram and table sugar 4 calories per gram.

Although it has a significantly small amount of calories, it still has enough sweetness which is pretty great. Because of its unique chemical structure, our bodies don’t break it down meaning that it stays unchanged through our system, without causing harmful metabolic effects.

Benefits of Erythritol Over Other Sugar Alcohols

• The first and most important, erythritol has 0.2 calories per gram which basically is zero calories.

• When compared to other alcohol sugars like stevia and xylitol, erythritol is the most commonly used sugar substitute by people as it tastes almost the same as table sugar.

• Another great benefit of erythritol is that it doesn't upset the stomach and it doesn't cause diarrhea unlike other sugar alcohols like xylitol and sorbitol.

• When speaking about erythritol benefits, it is good to know that this natural sweetener can't affect the blood sugar nor the insulin levels.

• Last but not least, erythritol won't harm the tooth enamel and won't contribute to tooth decay.

Where is Erythritol Derived From?

Just like we said, erythritol occurs naturally and in small amounts in some fruits like corn and in greater amounts in some types of mushrooms, as well as in fermented foods like soy sauce and wine.

Generally speaking, erythritol is made of fermentation of plant sugars, however, there are some types of erythritol that are made by adding water to plant sugars after which the end result will be a crystallized substance that looks almost the same as table sugar in both taste and texture.

Where to Find Erythritol?

These days, erythritol is widely available in stores, so most of you can find it online in any specialized store for natural sweeteners. It comes in two forms, as a powder and as erythritol granules and whichever form you choose you can't go wrong.