At Curly Girlz Candy we make your health and safety a top priority. Our blend, Sweet Success™ is a mix of Allulose, Erythritol, and Stevia, with Allulose making up the main sweetening agent. By now you’ve undoubtably seen the headline that erythritol is causing clots, heart attacks and strokes. The main stream media has taken a very small study and ran with the headline that consuming erythritol is unhealthy. But is this actually the case?

What is erythritol? Erythritol occurs naturally in some foods. It's also made when things like wine, beer, and cheese ferment. It is produced naturally in our bodies, as well. It is considered a sugar alcohol (like xylitol, maltitol, sorbitol) but does not have the bloating effect that other sugar alcohols have. It is also zero calorie and doesn’t raise glucose levels in humans.

The Study. An alarm was raised when in a recent study, The Cleveland Clinic studied around 4,000 people in the United States and Europe to find those with higher blood erythritol levels had an elevated risk for a major adverse cardiac event, including heart attack, stroke, or death. The study deduced that elevated levels of polyols (sugar alcohols) were associated with an increased three-year risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, defined as nonfatal myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, or cardiovascular death.

All of this information sounds frightening and makes you wonder if anything with erythritol is safe. However, according to Dr. Jayne Morgan, cardiologist and clinical director of the COVID Task Force at the Piedmont Hospital/Healthcare in Atlanta, noted that although the study did draw a correlation between erythritol levels and poor cardiovascular outcomes, this is “not the same thing as a cause and effect. It’s important to note that this was a clinical observation study that could not establish causation.” Oliver Jones, a professor of chemistry at RMIT University in Victoria, Australia, explained “As the authors themselves note, they found an association between erythritol and clotting risk, not definitive proof such a link exists,” Jones, continued saying, “Any possible (and, as yet unproven) risks of excess erythritol would also need to be balanced against the very real health risks of excess glucose consumption,” Jones said.

Another thing noted were the volunteers being tested. Participants were far from healthy. According to the study, they were on average between 63 and 75 years of age, overweight, had high blood pressure, over 20% had diabetes, over 13% smoked, and over 70% had existing cardiovascular problems. Every one of these factors carries a significant and increased risk for of major adverse cardiovascular event, above and beyond any erythritol connection.

Others have said an argument could be made that people who ingest many highly processed foods tend to have overall unhealthy lifestyles, including poor diet and lack of exercise, which may be linked to the increase in adverse outcomes. The Mayo Clinic even states health agencies have clarified that sugar substitutes do not cause serious health problems. Some research on long-term, daily use of artificial sweeteners suggests a link to a higher risk of stroke, heart disease and death overall. But that is mostly influences by the other things people do, or rather, do not do, that may be the cause of the higher risk.

Erythritol is generally considered safe (GRAS) for human consumption by both the FDA and European Union. It is found to be better and with fewer concerns than sorbitol, maltitol, and xylitol, especially within the digestive track. Until there is further concrete evidence that erythritol is causing these issues, we will continue to use it, in small amounts, in our candies.

An interesting note in this small study is that the test subjects were given 30g of straight erythritol (sugar alcohol) as a serving. At Curly Girlz Candy, we have between 1g and 3g of erythritol (sugar alcohol) per serving which is considerably less than most other brands and sugar-free items on the market, making our candies safe to enjoy by a wide range of consumers.

So its been a little over 60 days since I decided to cut sugar and follow a more ketogenic diet. I was super strict the first 30 days and lost an amazing 23lbs. The second 30 days I took quite a few more liberties - especially with celebrations and events. Needless to say tequila isn’t the best option to keep on track. It was very tasty going down, but then I want chips, salsa, and queso dip…definitely not keto-friendly on the chip.

I wasn’t totally terrible and off the wagon, so to speak. I did a 60 hour fast (not sure I want to do that again working around candy!). I know I was light on fat and heavy on healthy carbs. All things said and done, I did still lose weight - 6 lbs to be exact. It could have been more, but at least it’s heading in the right direction - down! A weight loss of 29lbs in 2 months is hardly worth sneezing at.

The next 30 days will be stressful as we ship some large orders and try to keep up and make more candy for Christmas, but I am committed to making dinners in the crock pot and having healthy snacks at the store to munch on. My 90 days in should show another larger drop.

I know this is a journey and not a race. Life is meant for living and if I deny myself a little treat now and then, I’ll fall off the wagon hard. Luckily, I have a whole selection of healthy keto candy to choose from. My current favorite is the Hemp Brittle with it’s buttery, cinnamon flavor. But I’ll always love the almond toffee and pecan clusters.

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I sell candy. Why, because I LOVE candy. Always have. Some people crave salty and crunchy treat, but not me. If given the choice between chips or chocolate, I’ll pick chocolate every time. My favorite chocolates are filled with creamy caramel and crunchy nuts. Yummy! So what does any of this have to do with losing weight? Well, I’m here to tell you that you can enjoy chocolate and still lose weight.

After the Steele County Fair, I decided it was time to get serious about my health. I owed it to my family, my employees, but most importantly I owed it to myself. So after our county fair ended on August 19th, and I was no longer tempted by smells of deep fried cheese curds (my favorite) and cotton candy, I embarked on my journey. Since August 20th I’ve been following a pretty strict Keto diet. I’ve focused on no sugar, no grains, and lots of veggies, proteins, and healthy fats – and of course two to three pieces of sugar free candy every day!

In the last 30 days I’ve lost 23lbs and feel much better. My energy level is higher, I am sleeping better, my feet don’t hurt as bad after making chocolate for 8 hours and clothes are looking better. So over the next year, my focus will be on my health and your health, while continuing to enjoy my daily dose of candy (sugar free, of course)!

At Curly Girlz Candy we have set ourselves apart with our sugar free line of candies that are always maltitol free, preservative free, amazingly delicious, and handcrafted each week. As I write this I’m munching on a couple dark chocolate pecan clusters (remember I love chocolate, caramel, and nuts). Why not try some for yourself? To celebrate my weight loss the first 25 customers who spend $50 or more in-store or online will receive a FREE 2 ounce bag of our NEW Sugar Free Hemp Brittle! That’s right, you can get it free before you can buy it. But hurry, this offer is limited to the first 25 customers.

What is keto? What is ketosis? What has any of this to do with candy?

All right, readers. We shall take a step back from hearing hilarious stories about my first bouts of candy-making, and turn our attention to Curly Girlz’ Keto-Friendly Candies (aka the Sugar Free line). This will be a series of posts, so stay tuned until the very end! This first section will talk about what a keto diet is, and where it gets its name from.

It seems almost everyone is talking about “keto” these days. The first time I heard the word, I thought it was some sort of exercise stretch, falling somewhere between yoga and jogging. Needless to say, that’s not correct. So, let’s start this series at the beginning—a very good place to start—by asking, just what is a ketogenic diet?

For those of you who don’t already know, the ketogenic diet (affectionately known as “keto”) is a protein restricted, very low-carb diet specifically designed to result in ketosis. 

But what is ketosis? you may inquire.

Well, ketosis is when the human liver produces ketones which are then used as the body’s fuel. The idea behind the ketogenic diet is that your body switches from using glucose as its fuel and starts using ketones instead. When you go on this “keto” diet, or this “Low Carb High Fat” diet, your insulin levels become very low and fat burning dramatically increases. In other words, your keto diet helps your body become its own fat burning machine! Not only that, but with our Sugar Free line, you can STILL have CANDY during a DIET. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?

Stay tuned for more information in our second post, where we’ll talk more about the ketogenic diet and how it can help heal your body!

To learn more about keto, check out the Diet Doctor’s website at dietdoctor.com