Health
Heart attack risk could rise with artificial sweetener consumption, study finds
A common artificial sweetener has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to a new study from Cleveland Clinic.
Erythritol, a sugar alcohol that is used to sweeten many low-sugar, reduced-calorie drinks and foods — particularly in low-carb or “keto” diets — was found to cause a spike in blood platelets and blood clot formation, researchers say.
The findings were published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
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The team’s previous study, which appeared in Nature Medicine, found that heart patients with high levels of erythritol in their system had double the risk of experiencing a major cardiac event within three years.
“In this study, we directly compared drinking a sweetened drink with either 30 grams of glucose, which is sugar, or 30 grams of erythritol,” senior author Stanley Hazen, M.D., PhD, co-section head of preventive cardiology at Cleveland Clinic, said in a video provided to Fox News Digital.
A common artificial sweetener has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to a new study from Cleveland Clinic. (iStock)
The small study consisted of 20 healthy volunteers, averaging 30 years of age, whose blood was drawn after an overnight fast.
The participants drank water mixed with either 30 grams of erythritol (comparable to the dose in an artificially sweetened soda or baked good) or 30 grams of glucose.
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After 30 minutes, another blood draw assessed the participants’ plasma levels of erythritol as well as platelet function.
Those who consumed the artificial sweetener were found to have more than 1,000 times the erythritol level of those who consumed sugar.
Erythritol, a sugar alcohol that is used to sweeten many low-sugar, reduced-calorie drinks and foods, was found to cause a spike in blood platelets and blood clot formation. (iStock)
“There is every reason to believe that after drinking the erythritol, there is a heightened risk of clotting, or thrombosis” — which could heighten the chances of heart attack or stroke, Hazen said.
That effect was not seen with the patients who drank glucose.
“It looks like it’s safer to drink a glucose-sweetened drink rather than an erythritol-sweetened drink.”
“Based on the current data, it looks like it’s safer to drink a glucose-sweetened drink rather than an erythritol-sweetened drink,” Hazen said.
“I recommend my patients avoid the artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes, to try to eat whole foods, to stay away from processed foods and to shop the produce section.”
Approximately 65% of adults in the United States consume sugar-sweetened beverages daily, statistics show. (iStock)
For those who do want to sweeten a food or drink, Hazen would recommend — based on the data — using honey or fruit instead of artificial sweetener.
This same effect has been observed with other sugar alcohols, the doctor noted.
Erythritol is classified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority as GRAS (“generally recognized as safe”).
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Other than the “bare minimum,” there is no mandate in place for this to be tested for safety, Hazen said.
“I would like to see regulatory bodies reevaluate the safety of the use of sugar alcohols.”
Further clinical studies are needed to measure the long-term cardiovascular safety of erythritol, according to the researchers.
“I recommend my patients avoid the artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes, to try to eat whole foods, to stay away from processed foods and to shop the produce section,” the lead researcher said. (iStock)
Dr. Bradley Serwer, a cardiologist and chief medical officer at VitalSolution, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based company that offers cardiovascular and anesthesiology services to hospitals, was not involved in the study but said that it raises “significant concerns.”
“Many artificial sweeteners have been studied and historically have been sold as healthy alternatives to sugar, but they have often been found to have significant side effects,” he told Fox News Digital.
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“There have been other studies showing that erythritol increases platelet activity, which leads to abnormal blood clot formation.”
Several other sugar substitutes, such as xylitol, have also been linked to adverse health consequences, according to Serwer.
“In addition to increasing the risk of cardiovascular events, these artificial sugars often trick the body into producing more insulin,” he noted.
Several other sugar substitutes, such as xylitol, have also shown adverse health consequences, according to a cardiologist. (iStock)
“Insulin increases sweet cravings, so people crave more sugar after eating artificial sweeteners, thus causing a negative impact that can lead to metabolic syndrome.”
In his cardiology practice, Serwer said his patients often seek healthier alternatives to high-calorie, sugary foods.
“It is important to inform them that it may be better to avoid these sugar alcohols altogether,” the cardiologist said.
He said he hoped “this data will cause the FDA to reevaluate the safety of erythritol.”
Industry group urges ‘extreme caution’
The Calorie Control Council (CCC), an international association that represents the low- and reduced-calorie food and beverage industry, advised consumers to interpret Cleveland Clinic’s study with “extreme caution.”
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“The limited number of participants were given an excessive amount of erythritol, nearly double to triple the maximum amount approved in any single beverage in the United States based on a standard 8-16 oz serving,” Carla Saunders, president of the Washington, D.C.-based CCC, said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
“For 30 years, science has shown that erythritol is a proven safe and effective choice for sugar and calorie reduction,” stated the Calorie Control Council. (iStock)
Erythritol levels were only measured once after consumption, she pointed out.
“The pilot lacked control over lifestyle factors that may affect the outcome, which could introduce confounding variables and impact the reliability of the findings,” Saunders added.
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“Further, as erythritol levels were only measured at baseline and 30 minutes after consumption, there is no way to demonstrate any lasting effect of excessive consumption on any health outcome,” she also said.
“For 30 years, science has shown that erythritol is a proven safe and effective choice for sugar and calorie reduction.”
Fox News Digital contacted Cleveland Clinic for comment on the CCC’s position.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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