Yesterday I had my regular three month appointment with the dental hygienist. In advance, I had printed for her a copy of a short paper (maybe it was just the abstract) in Hebrew about the beneficial effects of erythritol in the mouth, primarily the reduction of dental plaque and caries. We talked a little about this sugar alcohol before she got down to work. Her first remark was that there was a definite improvement in the state of my teeth since my last appointment. As I have not changed my daily routine regarding teeth cleaning (except for substituting a toothpaste sweetened with erythritol as opposed to one sweetened with sorbitol), I can only conclude that this improvement is due to two weeks' usage of erythritol! I didn't expect it to have such an immediate effect; I was thinking of using yesterday's visit as a control, to see how much improvement there is in the next three months. Normally I have to use chlorhexidine mouth washes for a week after each treatment (this provides a continued inhibitory effect on plaque formation for up to 14 hours. The effectiveness of chlorhexidine is documented in many controlled clinical trials showing a 50% to 60% decrease in plaque, a 30% to 45% reduction in gingivitis, and a reduction in the number of oral bacteria), but the hygienist said that there was no need this time. Way to go, erythritol.
Until recently, I have always been hungry - yes, I know, I live in a pampered Western society where almost no one suffers from malnutrion, so 'hungry' here does not mean real hunger - and as a result, my hourly cups of tea (during work hours) are always accompanied by a biscuit, a slice of bread or a piece of chocolate. I realised a few days ago that I ... am ... not ... hungry! I have ceased eating between meals, without any conscious effort. I attribute this to the erythritol; as I quoted in my second blog on the topic, [erythritol] induces gut hormone secretions that modulate satiety to promote weight loss. Indeed: it might well be that my appetite has decreased due to the action of erythritol on the gut hormone controlling satiety (leptin). Not only am I not snacking, my weight has also decreased by 1 kg in two weeks!
It would thus seem then that erythritol is having a very beneficial effect on my body. On the other hand, I have been having problems sleeping in the past week; I haven't found any paper linking erythritol with sleep problems so this may be for other reasons. I normally wake up twice in the night, go to the toilet, come back to bed then fall asleep almost immediately. In the past week, I haven't been able to resume sleeping after the second visit. I noticed that the restless leg syndrome had come back to haunt me, making it very difficult to find a suitable position for my legs. I also noticed that the skin on my legs was very dry, causing me to scratch a great deal. These problems were dealt with easily, by taking a certain type of magnesium additive that includes both vitamin B6 and vitamin E; whilst I have been taking magnesium supplements, they were without these two extra ingredients that contribute much to reducing the RLS. Skin cream took care of the dry skin. I've also started taking vitamin E capsules; these are supposed to improve the state of my skin. Not being able to fall asleep has caused me to become very tired over the past few days: it's just as well that I don't have to operate any machinery.
I have just seen my GP, who whilst impressed with the various improvements, is willing to consider that there might be a link between erythritol and sleep: I had looked at a paper that showed a link between glucose levels and sleep problems. It might be that the increase in satiety is causing lower blood glucose levels that the brain's feedback mechanism is used to and so glucose may be released, in spite of everything else, and this glucose may be causing the sleep problem.
I remember discussing once with our previous GP the topic of artificial sweeteners (aspartame) and how they can have an effect on glucose levels, even though theoretically there should be no effect. He told me not to drink tea sweetened with aspartame before blood glucose tests for this reason. So my current GP wants to check the hypothesis that there is a causal link between erythritol and sleep problems: I am to stop using erythritol for a few days and to have comprehensive blood tests. She also prescribed a few sleeping tablets for those nights when I can't sleep - only a few and only for specific use. We both know the dangers in using such tablets for longer periods. This is evidence based medicine.
That said, there's a problem with the 'experiment design': if I stop using erythritol but do take the sleeping pills (because I want to sleep properly and feel normal during the day), then what is to say what the cause is. It should only be when I stop with the sleeping pills that I should also stop with the erythritol.
I was so tired that I forgot to publish this blog after having written it.
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