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Hi
I have been following the McDougall way of eating now for six months and love it. Recently I switched to a stevia/erithritol sugar substitute and have noticed that my blood pressure has increased considerably (170/110). I am on BP pills from my doctor which I was hoping I would be able to drop but this has not happened. I have googled erithritol and I did find that erithritol can cause high BP in some folk but this information was very well hidden. Has anyone else discovered this? I have now stopped using this for two days and already my BP has dropped today to 130/85. The only other culprit I can think of is Soy Milk which I have been drinking a lot of and have also cut back on this so that I am only having it on my oatmeal. Any comments anyone please?

I don't know about BP but please check the label on the stevia closely. I had a container of it that I bought several months ago and never used it. Well I got it out yesterday and was horrified to see that it contained lactose (milk)! I immediately threw it out.

I've been using Truvia and have not had any BP issues. It's Stevia and I buy the individual packets. One packet will last me 3 uses as I don't like my tea very sweet. Sometimes I will sprinkle a tad over berries or cereal.

I saw an advertisement that says they Domino sugar now has a sugar/ stevia blend. I plan on trying that when my local store gets it.

What has helped my bp more than even diet is exercise, specifically walking. I currently aim for 3-5+ miles each day. A few days this week I even managed 8 miles. My bp has never been better. If I slack off the walking, I see the BP rise.

I also watch my sodium very closely. I'm a big label reader. I am for the 1200 range.

Though supplements are not recommended here, I do take CQ10 and grape seed.

The combo of all this has worked for me. Good luck to you and I hope you find what best works for you.

Truvia is stevia plus erythitol mixed together. The little bit of lactose in a stevia product is very, VERY unlikely to cause high BP.

I would love link to the erythritol BP connection info!

edit: Just found it. Erythritol in and of itself does not cause high blood pressure. Some small number of people are allergic to sugar alcohols in general (erythritol is one of those) and any allergic reaction can cause temporary high blood pressure.