Pick up any "sugar-free" mithai box this season and flip it over. One word you'll keep meeting is erythritol. Another, newer one is allulose. They sound like cousins. They're not.
Allulose is a rare sugar the body barely uses for energy; adding it to a meal has lowered the post-meal glucose rise in trials. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol with a strong safety record on laxative effects, but observational studies have linked high blood levels to heart events. Allulose has less long-term data.
Last updated: November 2026
The problem
Indian shelves now carry "keto", "sugar-free" and "low GI" sweeteners side by side. Most look the same: white granules in a pouch. The real difference sits in the ingredient list, which rarely explains itself.
Why it happens
Allulose: a rare sugar that skips the usual route
Allulose is a rare simple sugar. Your body absorbs it but doesn't burn it the way it burns table sugar. That's why the US FDA lets brands count it at 0.4 calories per gram and leave it out of "total sugars" and "added sugars" on labels (US FDA, 2020).
A 2026 meta-analysis of human trials found that taking allulose with a meal lowered the post-meal glucose rise, with moderate certainty of evidence (Osborn et al., 2026). It isn't the sugar. It's the speed, and allulose doesn't add much speed.
In India, allulose is sold under product-specific FSSAI approvals (FSSAI, 2026).
Erythritol: a sugar alcohol with a question mark
Erythritol is a polyol (sugar alcohol), listed on labels as INS 968 (FSANZ Schedule 8). Europe's food safety authority set a safe daily intake of 0.5 g per kg of body weight, based on its laxative effect (EFSA, 2023).
The bigger debate is the heart. In a 2023 study of over 4,000 adults in the US and Europe, people with the highest blood erythritol had about 1.8–2.2 times the risk of heart attack or stroke over three years. In lab and animal tests, erythritol made platelets clot more readily (Witkowski et al., 2023). This is an association, not proof of cause; the authors called for long-term safety studies.
What to do
| Allulose | Erythritol | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Rare sugar | Sugar alcohol (INS 968) |
| Calories | 0.4 kcal/g (FDA) | Very low |
| Post-meal glucose | Lowered the rise in trials | Not the main concern |
| Gut comfort | Mild, short-lived symptoms in some people at 24–36 g a day | Laxative above about 0.5 g/kg a day |
| Open questions | Limited long-term human data | Heart-event association needs testing |
- Read the back, not the front. "Sugar-free" tells you nothing about which sweetener is inside.
- Start small with any new sweetener. In a 30-day trial, about half the people on 24–36 g of allulose a day had mild gut symptoms, mostly in the first three days (Qi et al., 2026).
- Look for blends. If you'd rather skip erythritol, check for it by name or INS 968. Trulo's sweetener, for example, blends allulose with monk fruit and stevia and has "No Sugar Alcohol (e.g. Erythritol)". Fair caveat: long-term human research on allulose is still limited.
Did you know? In the 2023 erythritol study, a single erythritol drink kept blood levels raised for more than two days in healthy volunteers (Witkowski et al., 2023).
FAQ
Is allulose better than erythritol?
For glucose, trials favour allulose, and no heart-risk signal has appeared so far. But its long-term human data are thinner than erythritol's. Neither is a free pass.
Is allulose approved in India?
Yes, through product-specific FSSAI approvals. Several suppliers' allulose products were on FSSAI's approved list by January 2026.
Does erythritol cause heart attacks?
That hasn't been shown. Studies found an association with higher blood levels, plus lab clotting effects. Trials are needed to test cause.
Curious how labels hide sweeteners? Read our guide to sweetener INS codes, compare monk fruit vs stevia, or see the science behind Trulo.
Where to buy
This article is for information, not medical advice. If you have diabetes or take medication, talk to your doctor before changing your diet.
Research & References
- Osborn L, et al. Glycemic and cardiometabolic effects of rare sugars allulose and tagatose: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2026. — Supports: allulose with a meal lowered post-meal glucose.
- US Food and Drug Administration. FDA seeks input on nutrition labeling of certain sugars and issues final guidance on allulose. FDA, 2020. — Supports: 0.4 kcal/g; excluded from total and added sugars.
- Witkowski M, et al. The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk. Nature Medicine, 2023. — Supports: association with heart events; platelet findings; levels raised over two days.
- EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings. Re-evaluation of erythritol (E 968) as a food additive. EFSA Journal, 2023. — Supports: 0.5 g/kg/day based on laxative effect.
- Qi L, et al. D-Allulose as a low-calorie sweetener: a 30-day randomized, double-blind study on gastrointestinal tolerance. Food Science & Nutrition, 2026. — Supports: mild, transient gut symptoms at 24–36 g/day.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. List of product/ingredient applications approved (status as on 15.01.2026). FSSAI, 2026. — Supports: allulose product approvals in India.
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Schedule 8: Food additive names and code numbers. 2024. — Supports: erythritol code 968.
