A recent study suggests that xylitol, an alternative sweetener used in products like gum and toothpaste, may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
U.S. research team: “Xylitol increases the likelihood of thrombosis”
According to NBC News and other U.S. media on the 6th, the research team led by Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D. from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, claimed in a paper published in the European Heart Journal that xylitol is associated with the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and increase the possibility of thrombosis in the body.
This result was obtained by analyzing blood samples from 1,157 heart disease patients and over 2,100 from high-risk heart disease groups between 2004 and 2011.
Based on the results, the research team confirmed that xylitol can cause platelets to clot more easily, and the clotted thrombus can travel to the heart and cause a heart attack or move to the brain and cause a stroke.
The research team explained that the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death for people with the highest levels of xylitol was nearly twice as high for those with lower levels of xylitol.
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol in foods like cauliflower, eggplant, lettuce, spinach, and strawberries. Only a tiny amount can be obtained naturally, so it is produced through chemical processes or microbial strains.
It tastes as sweet as sugar but has less than half the calories, so it is mainly used in sugar-free gum, cough syrup, and vitamin gummies. It is also added in large quantities to ketchup, barbecue sauce, pudding, and pancake syrup.
Erythritol also increases the risk of heart attack
The research team published similar results on erythritol, another sugar alcohol, in a paper released in February last year.
At that time, the research team revealed that when people’s blood erythritol levels were highest, the risk of heart attack and stroke nearly doubled within three years.
Erythritol, mainly derived from corn, is also a low-calorie alternative sweetener.
The research team emphasized that the World Health Organization (WHO) warned last year to avoid alternative sweeteners for weight loss and called for additional research on the long-term toxicity of low-calorie sweeteners.
On the other hand, Carla Saunders, President of the Calorie Control Council, a low-calorie food and beverage industry association, criticized the study, saying, “The results of this study are contrary to decades of scientific evidence substantiating the safety and efficacy of low-calorie sweeteners.”
