The sweetener erythritol is linked to the greatest risk of heart attack, stroke

They are dried in this sugar substitute.

Eating foods containing erythritol, a popular artificial sweetener and common ingredient in keto diet products, increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, warns a new Cleveland Clinic study.

Erythritol makes blood platelets more active, which can lead to blood clotting, researchers explained Thursday in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

“This research raises some concerns that a standard serving of an erythritol-sweetened food or beverage may acutely stimulate a direct clotting effect,” said study co-author Dr. WH Wilson Tang, director of heart failure research and heart transplant medicine at. Cleveland Clinic.

The US Food and Drug Administration classifies erythritol as a GRAS (“generally recognized as safe”) ingredient and allows its use without restrictions.

Synthesized from corn, found naturally in some fruits, and produced by the body in very small amounts, erythritol is low in calories and about 70% as sweet as sugar.

It adds bulk to monk fruit and stevia sweeteners, lends a crunchy texture to baked goods, and leaves a refreshing aftertaste.

Unfortunately, erythritol is poorly metabolized by the body and can accumulate.

Past research from the Cleveland Clinic found that people at higher risk for heart disease were twice as likely to experience a major cardiac event in three years if they had high levels of erythritol compared to low levels.

“Many professional societies and physicians routinely recommend that people at high cardiovascular risk—those with obesity, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome—consume foods that contain sugar substitutes instead of sugar,” said senior and corresponding author Dr. Stanley Hazen.

“These findings underscore the importance of further long-term clinical studies to evaluate the cardiovascular safety of erythritol and other sugar substitutes,” added Hazen, chair of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute and chief of the section of Preventive Cardiology.

This new study focused on healthy adults.

Those who consumed a dose of erythritol that would be in a muffin or sugar-free soda showed a significant increase in blood clot formation, while those who ate sugar did not.

“Cardiovascular disease builds up over time and heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. We have to make sure that the foods we eat are not hidden contributors,” Hazen said.

But in a statement released Thursday to The Post, the head of an organization representing the low-calorie and reduced-calorie food and beverage industry took issue with the study’s “extremely small sample size” and lack of consideration for food choices. lifestyle of the participants.

“For more than 30 years, global authorities have repeatedly confirmed the safety and efficacy of erythritol and other low- and no-calorie sweeteners,” said Carla Saunders, president of the Calorie Control Council.

Hazen’s team also recently determined that high amounts of xylitol—an erythritol-like sugar alcohol found in sugar-free candy, gum, baked goods, and toothpaste—increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

“I think choosing sugary sweets occasionally and in small amounts would be preferable to consuming drinks and foods sweetened with these sugar alcohols, especially for people at high risk of thrombosis, such as those with heart disease. , diabetes or metabolic syndrome,” Hazen. advised.