Low-Calorie Sweetener Linked to Heart Problems
A new study has linked xylitol, a widely used sugar substitute, to an increased risk of cardiovascular problems like heart attacks and strokes.
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic in the US found that consuming products containing large amounts of the low-calorie sweetener could increase the risk of serious cardiovascular events.
Some fruits and vegetables contain very small amounts of xylitol, and it's also produced by our bodies.
However, it's found in larger quantities in things like sugar-free candy and gum, toothpastes and some baked products.
It looks and tastes like sugar, but it has about 40% fewer calories. But is it any better for us?
Not according to the study, published in the European Heart Journal in June.
The researchers started by looking at how much naturally occurring xylitol more than 3,000 participants had in their bodies.
They found that people who had the highest levels of xylitol in their bodies had about twice the risk of suffering a heart attack, stroke or death over the next three years, compared to people with the lowest amounts of xylitol.
The research team went on to feed xylitol to mice, and gave a drink containing xylitol to 10 human volunteers. The xylitol seemed to activate platelets — small, colorless cell fragments that help with clotting blood — in the bodies of the animals and the humans.
Blood clots are a major cause of cardiovascular events.
Stanley Hazen, who led the research, said the people who are most likely to be consuming xylitol — people with diabetes or obesity — are those who are also at the highest risk of suffering from cardiovascular problems.
However, the researchers also said that while their study found an association between xylitol and cardiovascular events, it did not prove the sweetener causes them.
But in a previous study, done in 2023, the same research team got similar results when experimenting with another sweetener called erythritol.
Experts have called for more research into the long-term health effects of low-calorie sweeteners.
