According to a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine, erythritol, a zero calorie sweetener used to sweeten stevia, monk-fruit, and keto reduced-sugar products, has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack, and death.
“Erythritol looks like sugar, it tastes like sugar and you can bake with it,” said Hazen, who also directs the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Microbiome and Human Health.
“The degree of risk was not modest,” said lead author Dr. Stanley Hazen, director of the center for cardiovascular diagnostics and prevention at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.
The study found that individuals with existing risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, were twice as likely to experience a heart attack or stroke if they had higher levels of erythritol in their blood.
“If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25% compared to the bottom 25%, there was about a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke. It’s on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes,” Hazen said.
Additional lab and animal research presented in the paper indicated that erythritol caused blood platelets to clot more readily, leading to the formation of clots that can trigger a heart attack or stroke.
The study showed that additional lab and animal research revealed that erythritol caused blood platelets to clot more easily, which can lead to the formation of clots that can trigger a heart attack or stroke. In response to the study, the Calorie Control Council, an industry association, stated to CNN that decades of scientific research showed that reduced-calorie sweeteners such as erythritol are safe. The council’s executive director, Robert Rankin, added that global regulatory permissions for the use of these sweeteners in foods and beverages support their safety.
The European Association of Polyol Producers declined to comment, saying it had not yet reviewed the study.
Read the full story:: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/27/health/zero-calorie-sweetener-heart-attack-stroke-wellness/index.html
