Popular artificial sweetener linked to potentially dangerous heart risk

Key Points:

• A new study presented at the ESC Cardiology Congress suggests that higher blood levels of xylitol, a common artificial sweetener, are linked to an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) such as heart attack and stroke.
• The research analyzed data from over 17,700 participants in Canadian and British cohorts, finding that those with the highest xylitol levels had a 57% higher risk of cardiovascular death or events in Canada and an 18% higher risk in the UK.
• These associations persisted even after adjusting for factors like age, gender, BMI, hypertension, diabetes, and lipid levels, indicating a dose-dependent relationship between xylitol concentration and cardiovascular risk.
• The study is observational and does not prove causation; researchers also noted that blood xylitol levels may not directly reflect dietary intake since the body can produce xylitol naturally through glucose metabolism.
• Cardiologists emphasize caution with artificial sweeteners, advising patients to reduce or eliminate processed sugars and sweeteners to lower cardiovascular risk, while calling for further research to better understand xylitol's safety.