Zero-calorie sweetener linked to heart attacks, strokes and blood clots, study finds
Artificial sweeteners are becoming more common in the US — but the effects they have on our health may not be so sweet, according to new research.
In a peer-reviewed article published in the scientific journal naturopathy On Monday, experts from universities in the US, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic noted that little is known about the long-term effects of common artificial sweeteners on cardiovascular health.
The research team studied the effects of erythritol, a commonly used sugar substitute, on people’s health.
Their results indicated that consuming large amounts of the sweetener could have serious consequences – even endangering people’s lives.
In the preliminary phase of the study, the team analyzed blood samples from more than 1,100 people drawn between 2004 and 2011. They found that high levels of erythritol in the blood were linked to a heart attack, stroke, or death within the next 3 years.
The scientists tested blood samples from 2,149 people in the US and 833 people in Europe and confirmed the link between higher levels of erythritol and an increased risk of heart attack, stroke or death.
In a third round of testing, the research team found that taking high levels of erythritol increased the likelihood of developing blood clots — which can be life-threatening if left untreated.
“Our results indicate the need for further safety studies examining the long-term effects of artificial sweeteners in general and erythritol in particular on the risk of heart attack and stroke, particularly in patients at higher risk of [cardiovascular disease]’ it said in the newspaper.
However, they noted that their study had a number of limitations. These included the fact that many of their participants had underlying health problems, meaning the relevance of their findings to the general population had yet to be determined.
“However, in our sensitivity analyses, it should be noted that the clinical prognostic value of erythritol has been widely observed, including numerous lower-risk subgroups,” they added.
What is erythritol?
Erythritol is a food additive and sugar substitute that, unlike sugar itself, contains no calories.
The substance is one of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners in foods and has gained traction thanks to its presence in processed and keto reduced-sugar foods.
Erythritol is not a new or man-made substance that occurs naturally in small amounts in fruits and vegetables. However, when used to sweeten processed foods, it is often added at concentrations 1,000 times higher than the concentrations at which it occurs naturally.
In the US, however, the FDA does not require disclosure of erythritol in food or beverages — which made it difficult to track its levels in food as an additive, according to the researchers working on the study.
They also noted that although the FDA and EU have classified the sweetener as safe, most of the existing studies on the substance have examined its short-term effects on human health.
Although artificial sweeteners have historically been linked to type 2 diabetes, cancer and obesity, they have become increasingly common in the last few decades, being used in yogurt, candy, breakfast cereals and a range of other foods and beverages.
A previous study found that consumption of low-calorie sweeteners among US children increased by 200% between 1999 and 2012, while a study published in 2020 showed that Americans were consuming less sugar but many more artificial sweeteners.
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