Money Today Reporter Lee Young-min | 2023.03.02 10:23
Erythritol, an artificial sweetener used instead of sugar in ‘zero sugar’ (sugar-free) foods, increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke, a study has found.
On the 27th (local time), Dr. Stanley Hazen of the Cleveland Clinic’s Runner Institute, published in the international journal Nature Medicine, found that the risk of heart attack or stroke doubled when the blood erythritol level was high in people with risk factors for heart disease. .
Erythritol is a type of sugar alcohol, a natural carbohydrate found in fruits and vegetables. It is not broken down in the body like sugar, but is excreted through the blood and urine. It is widely used in low-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet foods.
The research team additionally analyzed the blood of more than 2,100 Americans and 833 people collected in Europe by 2018, and confirmed that high blood erythritol levels in all groups were associated with a risk of heart attack, stroke, and death within three years.
Dr. Hazen said, “People with the top 25 percent of blood erythritol levels had a heart attack or stroke risk twice as high as those in the bottom 25 percent.”
The research team also found that erythritol increases thrombosis or induces blood clotting in animal experiments.
They assumed that erythritol causes platelets to coagulate, making blood clots easier. The research team explained that if the clot breaks off and travels to the heart through the blood vessels, it can cause a heart attack, and if it flows to the brain, it can cause a stroke.
Meanwhile, Robert Rankin, director of the Calorie Control Council (CCC), an international association representing the low-calorie food industry, refuted this study, saying, “It contradicts decades of research that low-calorie sweeteners such as erythritol are safe.”
“Sweeteners such as erythritol are safe, as demonstrated by international regulatory approvals for use in food and beverages. be,” he claimed.
[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
