Posted on 02/28/2023 11:11:11 AM PST by Red Badger
The suspected health harms of artificial sweeteners are piling up – and now a new study has linked one kind of sugar substitute to higher risks of heart health problems.
Physician-scientist Stanley Hazen and colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute wanted to see if they could find any signs that could warn people they were at greater risk of heart attack and stroke.
They found it in blood levels of organic compounds used as sweeteners, specifically erythritol; a sweetener commonly used in low sugar, sugar-free, and no-carb foods.
Among a group of 1,157 patients undergoing tests at a cardiovascular clinic, those with the highest levels of these compounds in their blood had twice the risk of dying from or experiencing a major cardiovascular event in the three years that followed.
"Our findings suggest the need for further safety studies examining the long-term effects of artificial sweeteners in general, and erythritol specifically, on risks for heart attack and stroke, particularly in patients at higher risk for CVD," the researchers write in their published paper.
Artificial sweeteners are thought to be chemically inert, but scientists are finding these low-calorie compounds are not necessarily free from health consequences.
While naturally present in very small amounts in fruit and vegetables, levels of sweeteners like erythritol can be 1,000-fold higher in processed foods.
Research shows artificial sweeteners can muck with the microbes in our gut in a way that leads to weight gain and diabetes, and may increase the risk of developing cancer.
Part of the problem is that while artificial sweeteners have fewer calories than the sugars they are replacing – and that may help some people cut down their intake – they taste sweeter and encourage our bodies to want even more of the sugary taste.
"There is an ongoing discussion of the safety of sweeteners – partly because some studies show an increased risk for chronic diseases among those who consume sweeteners, especially in soft drinks," explains Gunter Kuhnle, a professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading in the UK.
This new study found a link between levels of erythritol in the blood and future risk of heart attack or stroke – an association that also appeared in two other cohorts of nearly 3,000 people, combined, from the US and Denmark.
This led Hazen and colleagues to investigate potential mechanisms by which erythritol might increase risk, with lab studies using blood samples from a small group of eight healthy volunteers.
Blood erythritol levels peaked and remained high for two to three days after volunteers downed an erythritol-sweetened drink, before returning to normal. Adding erythritol to whole blood samples also increased blood stickiness and other measures linked to blood clotting, with similar effects seen in animal studies.
It goes some way to showing how consuming high levels of artificial sweeteners could possibly trigger a cascade of changes in the blood that may lead to a cardiovascular event.
"[T]his paper effectively shows multiple pieces of a jigsaw exploring the effects of erythritol," says Aston University dietitian Duane Mellor.
But he says the study does not rule out other sources of erythritol in the blood, which can also be made from other sugars inside our bodies, particularly if we eat lots and move little.
The amount of added erythritol that volunteers consumed was also significantly higher than quantities permitted in store-bought drinks in the UK. But the study authors argue their chosen amount reflects the daily intake of some Americans.
Regulatory agencies are alert to the potential health risks of artificial sweeteners; their job is to figure out what levels of food additives are safe to consume based on the available evidence.
Just last year, a study involving more than 100,000 volunteers from France flagged an increased risk of heart disease with greater dietary intake of artificial sweeteners, which participants recorded daily.
Observational studies such as this better reflect people's usual diets, but aren't without their shortcomings. The challenge is sifting through the many other lifestyle factors that also affect heart health in big ways, such as physical activity, and trying to isolate the possible effects of one particular food or food additive from entire diets.
Nutritional epidemiologist Nita Forouhi of the University of Cambridge says the latest study extends previous research on the potential health harms of artificial sweeteners and its findings warrant further investigation.
However, because people in the study already had a lot of cardiovascular risk factors, it's hard to generalize the study findings to healthy populations. Three-quarters of the study participants had high blood pressure or coronary artery disease, and one-fifth had diabetes.
Until we know more about the long-term health effects of erythritol and other artificial sweeteners, it's probably best to stick to what we know is good for our general health: reducing our sugar intake by cutting down on sweetened drinks and highly processed foods of all varieties.
"Individual artificial sweeteners are not currently reported upon which makes their tracking difficult as well as limit the ability to readily research their health impacts," says Forouhi.
The research has been published in Nature Medicine.
Thank you, I read the article and did not see the brand name.
“ They found it in blood levels of organic compounds used as sweeteners, specifically erythritol; a sweetener commonly used in low sugar, sugar-free, and no-carb foods.”
Not convinced to stop using it.
A little goes a long way…especially when your cravings become less for sugar anyway when you eat a low carb diet.
I use very little.
I’ll stick with natural cane sugar.
Just don’t use too much of it.
Moderation in all things.
and those with the highest level of it are likely overweight and diabetic both independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease
YMMV, as a type 2 myself, I can tell you that erythritol, sucralose (NOT splenda), and monk fruit all work for me and my sugars stay rock steady. Check sweetener ingredients. Many add either dextrose or maltodextrin. Both of these trigger insulin and play havoc with my sugars. My advice is get a CGM and use it. It will tell you what works.
P.S. Flavored nuts use maltodextrin to help the flavor adhere to the surface. Interesting way to make a low carb nut behave like a sugar cube.
Sure.
yep I go with Smokey Mountain liquid and Sweet and Low .. both saccharin
sugar alcohols = find a toilet
I like my carcinogenics sweet and low.
Fear porn.
When they use words like “can be” you know it is BS.
When they don’t tell you the amount they gave to volunteers, you know it is BS.
When they say that adding some straight to a sample of blood made the blood “sticky” so it “may” cause clotting in the body...well that is yellow journalism fear porn at it’s finest.
Tried Truvia and decided it was as wretched as aspartame. Agave sugar is a better choice, as is sparing usage of organic cane sugar. Fortunately I do not have much of a sweet tooth other than two teaspoons of Natural Bliss in my one big allotted cup of coffee every morning, and tiramisu once a week, if that often.
It’s not the “carbon nanoparticles” it’s the “sugar substitute”. Yeah OK.
That time travelling vaccine strikes again!
You post people died of the vax on a thread about suicides and drug overdoses now on a study about artificial sweeteners.
Do you have any shame at all?
Truvia is of the “stevia” variety. I’ve seen that listed as the sweetener used in those sugar-free Russell Stover candies.
Sounds like a bogus study.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTUWGr9RZ5o
Virtually everyone they looked at had serious health issues from SUGAR, which was why they were trying this substitute. Seems to be form the same people who tell us eating meat causes cancer.
I tried it once. Didn’t like it. Just didn’t taste right to me. But I doubt this study shows anything other than the bias of the people doing it.
All the cool kids I know use monk fruit
Asks the guy who pushes the poison clot shots.....
FOTFLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you hadnt noticed, the government allows producers of alternative sweeteners to flat out lie on the package, especially the ones that say they are monk fruit on the front.
When you read the ingredients youll see that the “monk fruit” sweetener has very little monk fruit in it, its mostly a bag of some other chemical.
I prefer stevia but some of those companies that produce the powdered stevia sweetener are pulling the same thing so watch out.
You dont necessarily need to buy it. It grows here quite well in the US, theres a good size farm all the way up here. Ive gotten to the point that I just put the crumbled dry leaves right on things. The whole leaf does sweeten things but it also adds a hint of flavor reminiscent of black tea. Thats OK by me. Ive heard some people complain about “bitter “ but Ive only found any of that if its gotten heated.
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