The Cleveland Clinic, USA has found that the widely used replacement for sugar, erythritol, has alarming cardiovascular effects when compared to typical sugar, raising concerns about its safety.
The study raises some concerns that the usual amount of a food or beverage sweetened with erythritol may temporarily induce a direct clot-forming impact. According to the researchers, erythritol increases the activity of blood platelets, which can result in blood clots.
Erythritol is a low-calorie sweetener that is roughly 70% sweeter than sugar. Manufacturers synthesize erythritol from corn, and various fruits naturally contain it. The body also made it in extremely small levels. It gives baked foods a crunchy texture, gives monk fruit and stevia sweeteners more body, and leaves a refreshing aftertaste. Sadly, the body does not properly process erythritol, and it may accumulate.
Sugar-free and low-calorie meals often contain erythritol as one of their many non-sugar sweeteners. Sugar alcohols with much fewer calories than sugar include xylitol and erythritol, which are frequently combined with stevia, another sweetener. Toothpaste, gum, and mouthwash frequently contain xylitol.
Even though many professional societies and clinicians routinely recommend that people at high cardiovascular risk; those with obesity, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome consume foods that contain sugar substitutes rather than sugar, the Cleveland Clinic found that people at greater risk for heart disease were twice as likely to experience a major cardiac event in three years if they had high erythritol levels compared to low levels.
The lead researcher and corresponding author, Dr. Stanley Hazen, stated that cardiovascular disease builds over time and heart disease is the leading cause of death globally; hence, care needs to be taken in foods eaten.
To label it “natural” would be inaccurate, he argued, as the amount of sugar replacements is thousands of times larger than what is produced by our bodies.
“The best course of action is to stay away from sugar alcohols and other sugar substitutes, as they sharply increase the risk of clotting incidents once consumed.”
Hazen advised choosing sugar-sweetened treats occasionally and in small amounts instead of consuming drinks and foods sweetened with sugar alcohols, especially for those at high risk of thrombosis.
Source: New York Post
