Deuterium Content of Sweeteners: The Measured Figures | Yavelle

Yavelle Journal · Diet & Lifestyle · 5 min read

Deuterium is a naturally occurring heavy isotope of hydrogen, and its concentration in food is measured in parts per million (ppm), the same unit used for deuterium-depleted water. Ordinary ocean water sits at the international reference standard of about 155.76 ppm. In the study of dietary deuterium, sometimes called deutenomics, foods are compared against that natural baseline.

The Measured Values

Reported deuterium content of common sweeteners, ordered from lowest to highest.

Source: Lech & Boros, Deutenomics of Food (see references). Figures describe the specific samples tested.

What the Numbers Show

The first thing to notice is that the spread is fairly narrow. From stevia at 132 ppm to raw cane sugar at 160 ppm is a range of 28 ppm, and most of the category clusters in the 145 to 160 band, at or slightly above the natural ocean-water baseline.

The second is that the ordering does not follow the categories people expect. Stevia sits lowest, but erythritol and sucralose, both of which are often grouped with it as sugar alternatives, measured higher than white refined sugar. Monk fruit measured close to sucralose. Whatever else these products have in common commercially, their deuterium content does not track it.

Keto-Friendly Is Not the Same as Low-Deuterium

This is the point the table makes most clearly, and it is worth stating on its own. Across a low-deuterium diet, "lower in carbohydrate" and "lower in deuterium" are often described as travelling together, which is why the approach overlaps so heavily with keto. That description is a generalisation about whole foods, and sweeteners are exactly where it breaks down. Erythritol and sucralose are staples of low-carbohydrate eating and both measured above white sugar. A product being low in caloric carbohydrate tells you about its carbohydrate content. It does not, on its own, tell you anything about its deuterium content.

The Sweetness Factor: You Use Less

There is a second reason not to lean too hard on a raw ppm figure, which is that you do not use every sweetener in the same quantity. Stevia and monk fruit are dramatically sweeter than sugar, often by a factor of hundreds, so you use a tiny amount to reach the same sweetness. However a sweetener measures per gram, using a fraction of a teaspoon means the amount it contributes to your day is very small. Quantity matters as much as the headline number, arguably more.

How to Read These Figures

A few things are worth keeping in mind, and we would rather set them out than leave them implied.

These are measurements of specific samples, not category averages. Deuterium values vary with growing region, season, processing and batch, so a figure describes the sample that was tested rather than every bag on the shelf.

The dataset is a research compilation published by its authors rather than a peer-reviewed paper. It names the scientist who performed the measurements and the institution where they were performed, which is more than most circulating figures offer, but it does not report replicate counts or measurement uncertainty for most entries. Treat the numbers as indicative rather than exact.

And deuterium is only one measure. There are many other reasons to choose or avoid a given sweetener, from blood-sugar impact to digestive tolerance to taste, and none of them are settled by an isotope figure.

Where to Go Next

For the bigger dietary picture, our low deuterium food list covers which whole foods are reported higher and lower in deuterium. And for the underlying science, our article on deuterium and the mitochondrial nanomotor covers the proposed mechanism.

References

1. Lech, J. C., & Boros, L. G. Deutenomics of Food: Food Deutenomics Data, Universal Nanomotor User Guide. Samples prepared by S. Dorfsman and P. Davelaar; measurements performed by J. C. Lech, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Physics of Living Systems, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Published by the authors at laszlogboros.com. Not peer reviewed.
2. Répás, Győri, Buzás-Bereczki, & Boros (2025). The biological effects of deuterium present in food. Discover Food, 5, 57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00327-4 — peer-reviewed work on deuterium in staple whole foods. It does not cover sweeteners.

This article reports measured deuterium values for sweeteners. Deuterium values vary by source, batch and testing method and should be treated as approximate. It is a discussion of deuterium content only, not a complete assessment of any product.

Yavelle 25ppm Deuterium-Depleted Water is a packaged food. It is not a therapeutic good and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information on this page is general and is not medical advice. If you have a health condition or are undergoing treatment, speak with a qualified health practitioner.

• The low deuterium food list
• Deuterium content of fats and oils
• Deuterium content of eggs