Popular sugar substitutes may harm heart health
Image credit: Pawel Kacperek/Shutterstock
The low-calorie sweetener erythritol makes the blood more likely to clot. This may explain why previous studies have linked it to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol found in low concentrations in fruits and vegetables and is about 70% as sweet as sugar. Our bodies also produce this compound in small amounts. It contains virtually no calories and is a popular sugar substitute, especially in the United States and Europe. Stanley Hazen at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. For decades, erythritol has been added to products such as chewing gum, beverages and baked goods.
Although regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority have long classified erythritol as a safe substance, there is growing evidence that erythritol may harm heart health. A previous study by Hasson and his colleagues showed that people with high blood erythritol concentrations have twice the risk of heart disease or stroke as those with low blood erythritol concentrations. Animal experiments have also found that erythritol can promote blood clotting.
To investigate whether the same thing holds true in humans, Hasson and his colleagues took blood samples from 10 participants before and 30 minutes after they drank water containing 30 grams of erythritol—about what the average American consumes each day. They repeated the process in another group of 10 people, substituting 30 grams of sugar for the erythritol. These participants had no underlying health conditions.
The researchers used two different doses of a compound that triggers blood clotting. This helped them compare clotting sensitivity before and after consuming sugar and erythritol.
They found that in all tests, people who consumed erythritol had blood that formed clots more easily after consuming the sweetener than before. Blood samples from people who drank erythritol also had higher levels of molecules released by blood cells during the clotting process. Meanwhile, sugar had no significant effect on blood clotting.
Hasen said the findings suggest that erythritol increases the likelihood of blood clots, while sugar does not. That’s concerning, he said, because medical guidelines generally recommend that people replace sugar with low-calorie sweeteners like erythritol. “I think it’s safer for patients who are at risk for blood clots and heart attack or stroke to drink a beverage sweetened with (sugar) than one sweetened with erythritol,” Hasen said.
However, Alice H. Lichtenstein Researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts said more research is needed to assess the risks and benefits of low-calorie sweeteners compared with sugar, which can contribute to other health problems such as obesity and tooth decay.
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