New Erythritol Warnings

I recently wrote about my experience with the sweetener erythritol and new research about its possible dangers. The New York Times article I quoted in that post said:

“The researchers also found that when they fed mice erythritol, that promoted blood clot formation. Erythritol appeared to induce clotting in human blood and plasma as well. Among eight people who consumed erythritol at levels typical in a pint of keto ice cream or a can of an artificially sweetened beverage, the sugar alcohol lingered in their blood for longer than two days.”

In my own experience, after a few days of trying an erythritol/monk fruit syrup I started to get queasy and gave it up. Note that previously Dr. Michael Greger, respected author of “How Not to Die,” (considered the scientific research source for healthy eating) had posted about the safety of erythritol among sweeteners.

Now Dr. Greger’s site, nutritionfacts.org (a non-profit go-to research source) has this warning plastered on its top page:

There are many healthy sweetener alternatives. Date sugar is considered the healthiest, though I’ve yet to try it. Dr. McDougall of “The Starch Solution” fame (also an inspiration in my health journey), takes a more lenient approach on sweeteners and says as long as you’re eating basically vegan, whole foods, and no added oils a bit of sugar, and even honey (technically not vegan) is ok. As is white rice. The important point is to get away from the foods that are literally killing us and reverse these fat and cholesterol created diseases, as I have.

Dangers of Keto

There was also new research on the dangers of keto dieting. This page summarizes it well.

“People who follow a “keto-like” diet of high fat and low carbohydrate foods may be at greater risk for cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes, according to a new study.”

Great News from latest Hospital Visit

Finally, I have to mention my latest hospital visit last week. I’m only taking biannual blood tests right now (reduced from quarterly a year ago), but my local clinic which I visit regularly was curious and did a blood test last month. All my results are fantastic. And of particular interest is that my HbA1c dropped again, this time to 4.5. That is despite eating tons of carbs, including potatoes, rice, and fruits. And even having other sweet things.

That’s actually technically slightly below the normal HbA1c range, but Dr. McDougall kindly responded to me and wrote:

Congratulations on your success. You are a star mcdougaller.Lab values are based on the population average. This population is sick from the food and as a result the “normals” are high.

A value of a HgB1c of 4.5% should be given an “extra great” rating.

On medication you might be able get this reading or with an insulin producing tumor.

With your history of excellent health and your other lab values the lower reading is easy to explain.

John McDougall, MD

I did post about that earlier: How Low and HbA1c is Too Low?

Anyway, what’s new is that I showed all the results to my hospital doctor last week and he is just amazed. His opinion is (1) I can change from biannual testing to annual testing and (2) he frankly thinks I don’t need to come to the hospital anymore except once a year for testing! When I visit again in June they are going to do major checks (CT scan, ultrasound, blood tests, X-ray, electrocardiogram) and write up the results with instructions for my local clinic, just a few minutes walk from my house, and I can just go to him from now on. I’ve been seeing him for over 15 years anyway, and his specialty is heart disease, so it fits well.

Basically, I have graduated from the hospital.

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