A Sugar Replacement May Be Linked to Heart Attacks and Strokes. Don't Throw Out Your Stash Yet

Sugar replacements are everywhere in foods and beverages. But despite their ubiquity, the scientific verdict on whether or not they pose health risks ping pongs back and forth. Every so often, though, a study is published with a conclusion so shocking that it forces people to reassess their pantries.

 Common artificial sweetener, erythritol, associated with higher rates of heart attack, stroke

Look at the ingredients list in processed foods like protein bars, low-calorie soft drinks and low-carb baking mix and you might find a common theme – ingredients ending in “-ol.” These artificial sweeteners, known as sugar alcohols, are common replacements for table sugar in low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, “zero sugar” and “keto” products. And their use is on the rise.

 Not everything is sweet: The alarming link between artificial sweeteners and stroke

A new study in the United States found alarming findings in the connection between the sweetener erythritol and blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death. According to the study, people at risk of heart disease and diabetes are twice as likely to experience a heart attack or stroke if they have a high amount of erythritol in their blood.

 One type of artificial sweetener may increase heart attack risk, preliminary study says

The sweetener erythritol, which is becoming increasingly popular in snack bars and low-sugar ice cream substitutes, may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to a paper published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.

 Popular artificial sweetener associated with risk of heart attack and stroke

Patients with high levels of erythritol in their blood were twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke.

 Sweetener erythritol linked to higher rates of heart attack and stroke

Another slam against the use of alternative sugar sweeteners comes from a study by New Cleveland Clinic just published in Nature Medicine who discovered how theerythritol (commonly indicated on the label with the abbreviation E968) is connected to higher rates of stroke from stroke.

 These Sweeteners Don't Contain Erythritol, to Keep Your Food Sweet and Safe

“Erythritol looks like sugar, it tastes like sugar, and you can bake with it,” Hazen continued. “It’s become the sweetheart of the food industry, an extremely popular additive to keto and other low-carb products and foods marketed to people with diabetes... Some of the diabetes-labeled foods we looked at had more erythritol than any other item by weight.” That said, here are sweeteners that don't contain erythritol.

Erythritol: Is This ‘Healthy’ Sweetener the Real Deal?

Is erythritol safe? While the FDA considers it to be generally safe, there are some potential erythritol side effects to consider. Even if it’s not GMO, it may cause possible gastrointestinal distress and allergic reactions in certain individuals who may be sensitive to its effects.

Erythritol Buying Guide

Erythritol is found naturally in some foods (fruits, mushrooms, fermented foods). However, due to being available in minuscule amounts, store-bought erythritol doesn't come from any of the natural sources. Instead, it's synthetically produced from corn via fermentation or an electrochemical process. When made from non-GMO corn, it's imported from China.

Erythritol vs Sugar Alcohols - The good, the bad and the ugly

Erythritol is naturally found in fruits like grapes, peaches, pears and watermelons... and mushrooms! (the non magic kind) This compound is a byproduct of naturally fermenting sugars, basically when the good bacteria eats the natural sugars found in that old bag of grapes in your fridge - it spews out Erythritol.

Erythritol: Is This Artificial Sweetener a Healthy Alternative to Sugar?

Now that sugar has become the devil behind many chronic health issues, health conscious people are turning to natural sugar alternatives. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol gaining popularity as a sugar alternative because it doesn’t have the after taste of stevia or the gastrointestinal side effects of xylitol.

Erythritol: Is This Artificial Sweetener a Healthy Alternative to Sugar?

Now that sugar has become the devil behind many chronic health issues, health conscious people are turning to natural sugar alternatives. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol gaining popularity as a sugar alternative because it doesn’t have the after taste of stevia or the gastrointestinal side effects of xylitol.

Erythritol: Is This ‘Healthy’ Sweetener the Real Deal?

The reason why it doesn’t provide calories or sugar to its consumer is because the body actually can’t break it down! That’s right — studies show that even though erythritol travels through your body, it doesn’t get metabolized. Another issue is that it’s often made from GMO cornstarch. Erythritol is not as sweet as sugar on its own, so it’s often combined in foods and beverages with other questionable sweeteners, usually ones that are artificial.

Scientists discover that popular calorie-free sweetener also kills fruit flies

But before you start throwing all your stevia away, consider this: the ingredient that kills flies isn't the stevia extract itself, but erythritol — Truvia's main component, and a sugar alcohol that's harmless to humans. So this newly-discovered property is a good thing, because it means that the world might have a novel, human-safe insecticide on its hands.

Sugar Alcohols Are in Many Sugar-Free Foods. What Are They?

Despite what the name might imply, sugar alcohols are neither sugars nor alcohols, said Imashi Fernando, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Seattle. They are a type of carbohydrate that can be added to foods and drinks to make them sweeter without adding the same amounts of calories and carbs as regular sugar. They are not technically artificial sweeteners, Ms. Fernando said.

Sweetener could contribute to heart attack and stroke

According to laboratory tests, the sweetener increases the accumulation (aggregation) of blood platelets and the tendency for blood to clot. This increases the risk of occlusion of a blood vessel (thrombosis) and thus of circulatory disorders in the heart or in the brain. After consuming a typical erythritol-containing drink, the erythritol levels in the blood plasma of eight healthy subjects increased approximately 1000-fold for several hours and remained significantly elevated for a period of two days.

The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk

Artificial sweeteners are widely used sugar substitutes, but little is known about their long-term effects on cardiometabolic disease risks. Here we examined the commonly used sugar substitute erythritol and atherothrombotic disease risk.