Is Your Collagen Safe? - An URGENT HEALTH WARNING
An artificial sweetener used in many packaged foods, including some Australian collagen brands, has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a new study.
The sugar alcohol, Erythritol, is used as a low-calorie sweetener in many processed foods including by some Australian hydrolysed collagen brands.
The recent study, published in February 2023 in the Nature Medicine Journal, highlights the growing concern of ‘additives’ in our foods and the devastating impact they can have on our health. You can find a links to the study below.
CollagenX users can rest easy. We DO NOT and NEVER WILL use erythritol (or any other chemical/artificial additives) in any of our products.
The so-called sugar alcohols, which the body cannot readily metabolize, are the alternative the food industry identified, and now advertises, as the "safer" options for artificial sweetening of food and drinks.
One of the main reasons for the food industry claiming that the sugar alcohols are harmless is the fact that they are very poorly absorbed from the GI tract. Since there is very low absorption, the food industry decided that this was sufficient evidence for lack of harm.
However, the sugar alcohols are readily metabolized by the bacteria in our intestines, which usually results in increased levels of endotoxin. Since endotoxin is now a recognized major factor in cardiovascular disease, the findings about erythritol make perfect sense, and may possibly apply to all other sugar alcohols used as sweeteners, with the possible exception of xylitol. The latter has a strong antibacterial effect and this is why it is used in chewing gums and dental hygiene products - i.e. to kill the oral bacteria known to cause cavities and gum disease.
The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk - Nature Medicine
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/27/health/zero-calorie-sweetener-heart-attack-stroke-wellness/index.html
"...A sugar replacement called erythritol – used to add bulk or sweeten stevia, monkfruit and keto reduced-sugar products – has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a new study. “The degree of risk was not modest,” said lead study author Dr. Stanley Hazen, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. People with existing risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, were twice as likely to experience a heart attack or stroke if they had the highest levels of erythritol in their blood, according to the study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine."
What Action to Take
If you know someone taking a hydrolysed collagen product (other than CollagenX) then please alert them by sharing this article with them, or have them check the ingredients list on the product packet.
If Erythritol is found in the food products you consume then write to the manufacturer and complain, and of course, stop buying them.
The scientific rigor applied by CollagenX in quality control sets us apart, giving consumers confidence that they are choosing a product that meets the highest industry standards.
It's not just about collagen; it's about the purity and safety of what you put into your body.