Ingredient Spotlight
Monk Fruit vs. Stevia: Which Zero-Calorie Sweetener Is Actually Better?
Both are natural, both are zero-calorie — but they behave very differently in food and in your body.
What Is Erythritol? The Complete Zero-Calorie Guide
How this zero-calorie sugar alcohol works, why it's different from other sweeteners, and the products worth trying.
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Erythritol sits at the center of almost every keto-friendly product on the market. It’s in your zero-calorie soda, your monk fruit sweetener blend, and your protein bars. But most people don’t actually know what it is or why it behaves so differently from aspartame or sucralose.
What Is Erythritol?
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol — a class of carbohydrates that occur naturally in some fruits and fermented foods. Unlike regular sugar (sucrose), it has four carbon atoms in a straight chain, which means the human digestive system can’t fully metabolize it.
It registers about 70% as sweet as sucrose but delivers essentially zero calories (technically 0.24 kcal/g, rounded to zero on food labels). It also has a zero glycemic index, making it the gold standard for diabetic-friendly and ketogenic products.
How Does It Work in the Body?
Unlike sorbitol or maltitol, erythritol is mostly absorbed in the small intestine before it can reach the colon. Roughly 90% of it passes into the bloodstream and is then excreted unchanged in urine. This is why it causes far fewer digestive issues than other sugar alcohols — the colon bacteria that cause bloating and GI distress never get to ferment it.
Is Erythritol Safe?
For most people, yes. The FDA classifies erythritol as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe). At very high doses (50g+), some people experience nausea or loose stools, but typical product amounts are far below that threshold.
A 2023 study published in Nature Medicine raised questions about erythritol and cardiovascular events, though subsequent reviews noted the study measured existing blood levels rather than dietary intake, and that the body produces erythritol endogenously. The science is not settled, but current evidence suggests normal dietary consumption is safe.
Erythritol vs. Other Sweeteners
| Sweetener | Calories | GI | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erythritol | ~0 | 0 | Fermented corn | Best tolerated sugar alcohol |
| Stevia | 0 | 0 | Plant extract | Bitter aftertaste at high doses |
| Monk fruit | 0 | 0 | Plant extract | Expensive; often blended with erythritol |
| Sucralose | 0 | 0 | Synthetic | Heat-stable, very sweet |
| Aspartame | 4 | 0 | Synthetic | Phenylalanine warning; not heat-stable |
Products That Use It Well
Lakanto’s products are the gold standard for erythritol-forward sweeteners. Their monk fruit + erythritol blends hit sweetness and texture that rivals sugar with zero glycemic impact.
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