Was Shown ON NWS 9 News 2:59pm Feb 28, 2023
A common sugar replacement called erythritol, which is used to add bulk or sweeten stevia, monkfruit and keto-reduced sugar products, has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a new study from the US.
"The degree of risk was not modest," said lead study author Dr Stanley Hazen, director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Prevention at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.
People with existing risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, were twice as likely to experience a heart attack or stroke if they had the highest levels of erythritol in their blood, according to the study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.
"If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25 per cent compared to the bottom 25 per cent, there was about a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke. It's on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes," Hazen said.
Additional lab and animal research presented in the paper revealed that erythritol appeared to be causing blood platelets to clot more readily.…


