Artificial sweeteners have been a hotly debated topic in the science world in recent years. Studies in the past have found possible health drawbacks to certain sweeteners, and last year the World Health Organization even moved to classify aspartame as a possible carcinogen.
A new study published in the European Heart Journal highlights a possible connection between another widely used artificial sweetener and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. The research found that xylitol, used in many reduced-sugar food products and other consumer products like chewing gum and toothpaste, was associated with a possibly detrimental effect on health.
Related: Calorie-Free Sweeteners Could be Causing You to Pack on the Pounds
The team looked at more than 1,100 blood samples from people who were being evaluated for heart disease, as well as other blood samples from more than 2,100 people who may have also had high risk for heart disease. They found a number of alcohol sugars, including xylitol, appeared to have a negative impact on cardiovascular function—so much so that the highest levels of xylitol consumption were linked with a nearly double risk of heart attack, stroke, and death.
The scientists then opted to conduct some testing of their own. "We gave healthy volunteers a typical drink with xylitol to see how high the levels would get and they went up 1,000-fold," study author Stanley Hazen said, per CNN.
"When you eat sugar, your glucose level may go up 10 percent or 20 percent but it doesn’t go up 1,000-fold," he noted. "Humankind has not experienced levels of xylitol this high except within the last couple of decades when we began ingesting completely contrived and sugar-substituted processed foods."
Related: Sugar-free Sweeteners Just Got a Lot Scarier—For Men
Xylitol is found naturally in foods like strawberries, raspberries, lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, eggplant, and mushrooms. But the amount of the compound found naturally in these foods is negligible.
“If you actually do the calculation, it literally takes a tonnage of fruit to be equivalent to one diabetic cookie that can have like nine grams of xylitol, which is a typical label amount,” Hazen explained. "It would be like eating salt at the level of a salt lick."
The findings are in line with past studies that outline the health risks that artificial sweeteners can present. A study published by the same scientists last year, for example, found a potential link between erythritol, used in products like stevia and monkfruit, and higher risk of heart attack and stroke. A 2021 study also suggested some drawbacks to aspartame, often used in diet sodas and even products like cereal and yogurt.
As with anything you consume, it's important to consider your own health and the possible impacts of everything you take in.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/6PM1Iys
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