<
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/aug/28/sweetener-xylitol-used-in-chewing-gum-and-jam-linked-to-strokes-and-heart-attacks-study>
"A common sweetener used in products such as chewing gum, toothpaste, jam,
yoghurts and ice-cream has been linked to an increased risk of strokes, heart
attacks and death.
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol present in some natural foods in very low amounts.
It is also added – often in amounts 1,000 times higher – to artificially
sweeten foods, beverages and oral care products.
Despite its growing use, the long-term health impacts of xylitol have never
been widely studied.
In the largest study of its kind, researchers found high blood levels of
xylitol were associated with an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular
events. The findings were presented in Munich at the European Society of
Cardiology (ESC) annual congress, the world’s largest heart conference.
Researchers looked at 17,710 people and compared the 25% with the highest
levels of xylitol in their blood against the 25% with the lowest.
Those who had the highest amount were 57% more likely to die or suffer a heart
attack or stroke, than those with the least, within six years. Even after 30
years, they were still 18% more likely to have suffered one of these cardiac
events.
Taken with data from the middle quartiles, the results from both cohorts
suggested a dose-dependent relationship: the higher the xylitol blood levels,
the higher the cardiovascular event rate.
Furthermore, the researchers showed that there was consistent increase in
cardiovascular events with xylitol irrespective of baseline characteristics,
such as age and sex.
The researchers also highlighted that the association was independent of
underlying factors such as body mass index, hypertension, diabetes and lipid
levels, which might predispose people to low-calorie products."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
