Xylitol responsible for strokes and heart attacks

A common sweetener used in products such as chewing gum, toothpaste, jams, yogurts and ice cream has been linked to an increased risk of stroke, heart attack and death. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is found in some natural foods in very small amounts. It is also added – often in amounts 1.000 times higher – to artificial sweeteners in foods, drinks and oral care products. Despite its increasing use, the long-term health effects of xylitol have never been widely studied.

In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that high levels of xylitol in the blood were associated with an increased risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events. The findings were presented in Munich at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the world's largest heart congress.

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Researchers looked at 17.710 people and compared the 25% with the highest levels of xylitol in their blood with the 25% with the lowest. Those with the highest levels were 57% more likely to die or have a heart attack or stroke within six years than those with the lowest levels. Even after 30 years, they were still 18% more likely to have had one of these heart attacks.

Combined with data from the middle quartiles, the results from both groups show a dose-dependent relationship: the higher the blood xylitol levels, the higher the rate of cardiovascular events.

Additionally, the researchers showed that there was a consistent increase in cardiovascular events with xylitol regardless of other characteristics, such as age and gender. The researchers also emphasized that the association was independent of underlying factors such as body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, and lipid levels, which could predispose people to low-calorie products.

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