Alternative Sweeteners used Instead of Sugar are Subject to increase the Heart Attack Risk
Xylitol, a low-calorie sweetener used in low-sugar foods and products like chewing gum, toothpaste, and others, was shown to increase the rate of heart attack, stroke, and death in users, especially those who use high doses of the sweetener.
“We provided a standard beverage with xylitol to healthy subjects then measured how high the levels went, and they rose 1000 fold, “conveyed Dr. Stanley Hazen, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute’s Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics director and the study’s senior author. He pointed out that it is extraordinary when comparing such rises with other tendencies, including the consequences of using regular sugar.
In the same year, 2023, the same risks were found with another low-calorie sweetener known as erythritol, commonly used in products such as stevia and monk fruit. Studies on rabbits, animals, and test tubes revealed that erythritol and xylitol could increase the ability of blood platelets to clot. Blood clumps can cause heart attacks or strokes if they move to the heart or head.
A cardiologist at Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, Dr. Matthew Tomey, added that discrepancies in platelet behavior were observable with the consumption of a mere measure of xylitol content. Although he agreed with the work’s conclusions, he reaffirmed the necessity of conducting more extensive trials to establish causality between the identified platelet alterations and events such as myocardial infarctions and strokes.
This is, therefore, underlined by the American Heart Association’s predictions, which state that 61% of adult Americans will suffer from cardiovascular disease in 2050. Specialists, especially cardiologists such as Dr. Andrew Freeman, emphasize that clotting activity must be reduced, and agents used to this end include aspirin and Plavix. The capacity of sugar alcohols to increase the activity of platelets is, therefore, especially worrisome.
Still, most of the industry representatives are skeptical, although the growing number of fatality cases is suggestive of increased risk.
Carla Saunders, president of the Calorie Control Council, said the study findings contradict the reports for the last forty years that low-calorie sweeteners, including xylitol, are safe. She asserted that such findings were most likely to give a wrong impression to those who consume alternative sweeteners for health purposes.
Xylitol has a taste similar to sugar; however, it contains reduced calories, about 40% less than sugar. You can commonly find it in sugarless gum, breath mints, toothpaste, and several other products. It is commercialized from sources like corncobs and birch trees. But again, it is worth mentioning that in natural foods, the quantities are considerably smaller than in processed foods.
Hazen also said that the American public is currently consuming much more xylitol than even a few decades ago because the US Food and Drug Administration has declared it ‘generally recognized as safe.’ This has made it a popular sugar replacement in many consumable products today.
The study, published in the European Heart Journal, initially examined body chemistry by testing blood samples to detect other substances or elements that could help identify probable cardiovascular incidents. Dr. Hazen said that our bodies appear to be able to tell that these molecules are present in smoked food.
The body’s platelets become more reactive and are more likely to start clotting even if the state of the people’s tongue indicates the smoked food tastes just like ordinary sugar. This rise has led the World Health Organization to demand further studies dealing with the consequences of low—and no-calorie sweeteners.
