Study Shows a Common Sweetener Linked to Heart Attack, but Don’t Worry Too Much: Experts

Cleveland Clinic has released new researchpdf) finds erythritol, a common artificial sweetener, was associated with a significantly increased risk of heart attack and stroke—but experts said the findings aren’t as worrying as they sound.

Erythritol is naturally produced in our bodies

Erythritol has a calming effect. widely used artificial sweetener In many processes and products, it is becoming more common “low-carb” foods. Artificial sweeteners, such as erythritol, are available. generally recognized as safe (GRAS) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

It is a sugar alcohol type, similar to mannitol and xylitol. This compound has been manufactured for many decades and is naturally found in fruits like grapes, watermelon, and mushrooms.

It is also produced in our bodies.

Erythritol, one among many low-nutritive sweetenersIt’s made with a yeast type to ferment glucose from wheat starch or corn starch.

Because our bodies lack the enzymes necessary to degrade erythritol in their body, we excrete it in its original state after drinking.

mouse study found The erythritol lowered blood sugar levels and insulin. It is a great substitute for people with metabolic syndrome or diabetes.

Researchers Discovered that Erythritol is Associated With Cardiac Events

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic studied more than 4,000 individuals in Europe and the United States to determine if those who had higher levels of blood erythritol were at greater risk for major adverse cardiac events, such as heart attacks, strokes, or even death.

This study was divided into multiple parts.

To find out if the high risk patients were at higher risk, they first examined a sample of cardiac risk assessments. levels of polyolsParticularly erythritol was linked to an increase in the risk of major adverse cardio events (MACE) over three years. MACE is nonfatal myocardial damage (heart attack), stroke and cardiovascular death.

This was followed by the association of MACE and erythritol in large U.S. groups as well as European patients who underwent elective cardiac evaluation.

The next step was to examine the effects of adding Erythritol or Isolated Platelets to whole blood (cell fragments which gather together to prevent bleeding and create blood clots). The researchers found that erythritol helped platelets activate more easily and create clots.

“Increased platelet adhesion can be one of the mechanisms leading to cardiovascular events such as strokes and heart attacks,” Dr. Michael Goyfman is the chief of cardiology at Long Island Jewis and director of echocardiography.