The sweetener erythritol, found in pastries, drinks, gum and sweets, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.This was confirmed this week by a new study published in the journal Atherosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology And it adds new evidence that erythritol is not as safe as food regulatory agencies currently classify it, which is why he says it should be re-evaluated. Let’s remember that over the past year, alarm bells have been sounded with other sweeteners like xylitol and aspartame.
Research has shown that erythritol makes platelets (a type of blood cell) more active, leading to increased platelet activity. May increase the risk of blood clots – Sugar (glucose) No. “Many professional societies and physicians routinely recommend that people at risk for cardiovascular disease (obesity, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome) consume foods containing sugar substitutes instead of sugar,” warns study leader Stanley Hazen, professor of cardiovascular and metabolic sciences at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic (Ohio, USA). That’s why it’s important to conduct long-term clinical studies that help “evaluate the cardiovascular safety of erythritol and other sugar substitutes,” he warns.
There are no restrictions on food products.
Erythritol is obtained from the fermentation of corn sugar, is about 70% sweeter than sugar, and is used as a substitute for sugar or saccharin because it provides no calories or carbohydrates. However, once digested, it is not well metabolized in the body: it passes into the bloodstream and is eliminated in the urine. Because the human body produces low amounts of erythritol naturally, Any additional consumption can be accumulated..
Despite this knowledge, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) classify erythritol as a “generally recognized as safe” ingredient. Allowed for unrestricted use in food products. Why? Because it is a sugar alcohol that occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables, as well as being a by-product of glucose metabolism in human tissues (albeit in small amounts). But we have already seen how recent studies have found evidence that this sweetener, in the amounts commonly consumed, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Results of studies on desalination
Hazen’s team has already published a study in Natural medicine Last year I revealed how heart patients with high levels of erythritol were suffering. less likely to have a serious heart attack In the next three years, compared to those with low levels. Similarly, it was also discovered that adding this sweetener to patients’ blood or platelets increased clot formation. The results were confirmed by preclinical studies.
Now, the new study was designed to look more directly at the effects on platelets after consuming erythritol at a dose typically found in “sugar-free” soda or cookies. In 20 healthy volunteers, the team found that Average postprandial erythritol levels increased more than a thousandfold. In the group that consumed erythritol compared to their baseline levels.
Concern about the effects of erythritol
The results also revealed that participants showed a significant increase in blood clot formation after consuming erythritol, but no change was observed after consuming glucose. “This research raises some concerns that a standard serving of food or drink sweetened with erythritol It can acutely stimulate the direct coagulation effect.“The study co-author W.H. Wilson Tang of the Cleveland Clinic says,
Therefore, the authors suggest that further clinical studies are needed to evaluate the long-term cardiovascular safety of this sweetener. “Cardiovascular disease accumulates over time, and heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. We need to make sure that the food we eat does not contribute to this in a subtle way.“Hazen concludes.
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