Students that gained weight and fat mass over the course of a year had 15-fold higher levels of erythritol in their blood.

Students that gained weight and fat mass over the course of a year had 15-fold higher levels of erythritol in their blood compared to those that did not gain weight or lost weight.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol and is used as a sugar substitute low-calorie sweetener. This study also found that it was metabolized through a metabolic pathway (pentose phosphate pathway) important for the production of NADPH which is used to produce fatty acids and subsequent triglycerides and the energy can be efficiently stored in the form of fat.