Study Warns That Zero-Calorie Sweetener Erythritol Linked To Death, Heart Issues
A study originating from the Cleveland ClinicLerner Research Institute has linked the popular zero-calorie sugar substitute erythritol to blood clotting, heart attack, stroke and death.
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Revealing that the risk the substance poses to users is “not modest,” director of the research institute’s Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention, Dr. Stanley Hazen, who led the study, advised people at risk for blood clotting, stoke and heart attack to avoid consuming erythritol “until more studies are done.”
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol with a similar taste and looks to sugar. However, each gram does not contain up to 1/4 of a calorie, and it does not cause blood sugar or insulin spikes. Fruits and vegetables like grapes and mushrooms contain a natural amount of erythritol, but it is also produced through fermentation and incorporated into processed foods.
Due to its reputation as a sweetener with a very low calorie content, it is added to products used for low-carb diets like keto and low-sugar products for diabetes in place of sugar. It can even be used for baking. But the new study warns that the sugar substitute might be harmful.
According to the authors of the study, “erythritol is both associated with incident MACE risk and fosters enhanced thrombosis.”
MACE, which means major adverse cardiovascular events, includes stroke or death, while thrombosis refers to the blocking of veins or arteries by blood clots.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, revealed that people with existing cardiac risk factors like diabetes are twice as likely to experience a stroke or heart attack if their blood contains a high level of erythritol.
“If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25% compared to the bottom 25%, there was about a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke. It’s on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes,” Hazen said.
Hazen added that the discovery of the risks attached to erythritol was not even in the plan for the research. According to her, the goal was to find unknown compounds in the blood that might predict a person’s risk for a stroke, heart attack and death in the next three years. The team analyzed blood samples of people at risk for heart disease. When the samples collected between 2004 and 2011 were tested, they found a substance that turned out to be erythritol.
It is unknown if the results of the study are applicable to the broader population as it involves people already at risk of cardiovascular diseases.