Trying to switch to low calorie and carbohydrate drinks and food to avoid sugar? These are often loaded with an artificial sweetener called erythritol and may increase your risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event, such as heart attack, stroke or death, a study warns.
Erythritol is about 70 percent as sweet as sugar and is produced through the fermentation of corn and is often added to sweeten stevia, monk fruit, or added bulk to low-calorie products. The artificial sweetener is also used as a common replacement for table sugar and is often recommended for people who have obesity, diabetes or metabolic syndrome to help manage their sugar or calorie intake. Looking for alternatives.
After ingestion, erythritol is poorly metabolized by the body. Instead, it moves into the bloodstream and leaves the body primarily through urine. The human body naturally makes small amounts of erythritol, so any excess consumption may be accumulated. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic in the US also found that erythritol, when added to whole blood or isolated platelets, made it easier for platelets to activate and clot.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, are based on a study of more than 4,000 people in the US and Europe. “Our study shows that when participants consumed a drink artificially sweetened with the amount of erythritol found in many processed foods, markedly elevated levels in the blood were observed for days – a risk factor for clotting. above the level observed to increase the risk,” Stanley Hazen said. From the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. It is important that further safety studies be conducted to investigate the long-term effects of artificial sweeteners in general, and erythritol in particular, on the risk of heart attack and stroke, especially in those at high risk for heart disease. Let’s go