Swapping Sugar for Erythritol Doesn't Change Your Gut's Fullness Hormones
Replacing sugar with erythritol in meals did not alter GLP-1 or PYY satiety hormone levels, food intake, or sweet preference in either lean or obese people.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Replacing sucrose with the low-calorie bulk sweetener erythritol in test meals did not change post-meal GLP-1 or PYY gut hormone levels, and did not affect how much food people ate afterward or their preference for sweet foods. Both lean and obese participants showed similar gut hormone responses regardless of whether the meal contained sucrose or erythritol.
The one notable difference: when lean participants ate a larger-volume isocaloric erythritol meal, they reported less hunger than after the sucrose control meal (p=0.003) — likely a volume effect rather than a sweetener effect. This volume-related hunger reduction was not seen in obese participants.
Key Numbers
n=20 · 10 lean + 10 obese · 3-way crossover · No GLP-1/PYY difference vs sucrose · p=0.003 hunger reduction in lean (isocaloric meal only)
How They Did This
Randomized three-way crossover study. Twenty volunteers (10 lean, 10 obese) each consumed three different test meals on separate days: a sucrose control meal, a same-volume meal with partial erythritol substitution, and a same-calorie meal with more erythritol (larger volume). Researchers measured blood levels of GLP-1, PYY, glucose, and insulin after each meal, along with hunger/satiety ratings and how much food participants ate at a subsequent ad libitum meal.
Why This Research Matters
GLP-1 and PYY are key gut hormones that signal fullness after eating. If artificial or low-calorie sweeteners disrupted these hormones, it could explain why some people overeat despite using sugar substitutes. This study shows erythritol does not interfere with these satiety signals — a reassuring finding for those using erythritol as a sugar replacement for weight management.
The Bigger Picture
A major concern with artificial sweeteners is that they might trick the gut into releasing less of the hormones that make you feel full, leading to overeating. This study provides evidence that erythritol, at least, does not disrupt GLP-1 or PYY signaling. For the growing number of people using GLP-1-based drugs for weight loss, understanding how dietary sweeteners interact with these same hormonal pathways is increasingly relevant.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Very small sample size (only 10 per group) limits statistical power and generalizability. The study measured acute, single-meal effects — long-term impacts of erythritol on appetite hormones and eating behavior remain unknown. The crossover design helps control for individual variation but the study was not blinded for meal volume differences.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would chronic daily erythritol use over weeks or months eventually alter GLP-1 or PYY responses differently than acute exposure?
- ?Why did obese participants not show the same volume-related hunger reduction as lean participants — is this related to impaired satiety signaling in obesity?
- ?How do other non-nutritive sweeteners like stevia or sucralose compare to erythritol in their effects on gut hormone release?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- No difference GLP-1 and PYY levels were the same after erythritol meals as after sucrose meals in both lean and obese volunteers
- Evidence Grade:
- This is a randomized crossover trial in humans, which is a strong design for comparing within-person responses, but the very small sample size (n=20) limits the strength of conclusions.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2016. The findings on erythritol and gut hormones remain relevant, though the field's understanding of GLP-1 has expanded significantly since then due to the rise of GLP-1 agonist drugs.
- Original Title:
- Failure of sucrose replacement with the non-nutritive sweetener erythritol to alter GLP-1 or PYY release or test meal size in lean or obese people.
- Published In:
- Appetite, 107, 596-603 (2016)
- Authors:
- Overduin, Joost, Collet, Tinh-Hai, Medic, Nenad, Henning, Elana, Keogh, Julia M, Forsyth, Faye, Stephenson, Cheryl, Kanning, Marja W, Ruijschop, Rianne M A J, Farooqi, I Sadaf, van der Klaauw, Agatha A
- Database ID:
- RPEP-03078
Evidence Hierarchy
Frequently Asked Questions
Does erythritol affect the hormones that make you feel full?
No. This study found that GLP-1 and PYY — two key satiety hormones — were released at the same levels whether the meal contained sugar or erythritol. Your gut's fullness signals appear unaffected by the swap.
Did people eat more after erythritol meals compared to sugar meals?
No. Subsequent food intake and sweet preference were the same regardless of whether the meal contained sucrose or erythritol, suggesting erythritol doesn't trigger compensatory overeating.
Read More on RethinkPeptides
Cite This Study
https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/RPEP-03078APA
Overduin, Joost; Collet, Tinh-Hai; Medic, Nenad; Henning, Elana; Keogh, Julia M; Forsyth, Faye; Stephenson, Cheryl; Kanning, Marja W; Ruijschop, Rianne M A J; Farooqi, I Sadaf; van der Klaauw, Agatha A. (2016). Failure of sucrose replacement with the non-nutritive sweetener erythritol to alter GLP-1 or PYY release or test meal size in lean or obese people.. Appetite, 107, 596-603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.09.009
MLA
Overduin, Joost, et al. "Failure of sucrose replacement with the non-nutritive sweetener erythritol to alter GLP-1 or PYY release or test meal size in lean or obese people.." Appetite, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.09.009
RethinkPeptides
RethinkPeptides Research Database. "Failure of sucrose replacement with the non-nutritive sweete..." RPEP-03078. Retrieved from https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/overduin-2016-failure-of-sucrose-replacement
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkPeptides research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.