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. A Feb. 27 study published in the journal Nature Medicine now seems to have dealt such a blow to the sweetener erythritol, with data that suggest a connection between the ingredient and cardiovascular events such as clotting, stroke, and heart attacks. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] But before you clear your shelves of all erythritol-containing products, bear in mind that no single study—including this one—should be taken as the final word on whether a product is healthy or not. The research is still evolving. The researchers recruited multiple groups of people with preexisting cardiac risk factors across the U.S. and Europe, and tracked their health over time after taking blood samples to measure the amount of various compounds in the body. Stanley Hazen, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, says that his team had no real intention to study erythritol, and instead stumbled across their new findings. “Our original intent was to see if we could find compounds in blood whose levels predict the future development of heart attack, stroke or death,” he says. &ldquo...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Diet & Nutrition healthscienceclimate Source Type: news