A low-calorie sweetener could be linked to nearly twice the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people who consume high levels of it, CNN reported June 6.
The sweetener called xylitol is often used in consumer products like gum and toothpaste.
The study, published in European Heart JournalEuropean Heart Journal, analyzed 1,157 blood samples from 2,100 people who were undergoing assessment for heart disease between 2004 and 2011. Researchers found xylitol was associated with incidents of major adverse cardiovascular events over a three-year period. Xylitol also enhances platelet reactivity and thrombosis potential in vivo.
Healthy volunteers who had a typical drink with xylitol had 1,000-fold increases in blood sugar, senior author Stanley Hazen, PhD, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, told CNN.
This is now the second sweetener that has come under scrutiny for increasing risk of heart attack and stroke. In February 2023, Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic researchers found erythritol, a popular artificial sweetener, is associated with increased risk of heart attack, stroke and clotting. Researchers found those with higher blood erythritol levels had increased risk of major adverse cardiac events such as heart attack, stroke and death. The pre-clinical study also found erythritol heightened blood clot formation.