A study in the European Heart Journal found the non-nutritive sweetener xylitol was associated with a higher risk of heart disease.
An analysis of 3,306 patients in the U.S. and Europe found one-third of them with the highest amount of xylitol circulating in their plasma were more likely to experience a cardiovascular event within three years.
“In initial untargeted metabolomics studies (discovery cohort), circulating levels of a polyol tentatively assigned as xylitol were associated with incident (3-year) major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) risk,” said the report, published June 6. “Subsequent stable isotope dilution LC-MS/MS analyses (validation cohort) specific for xylitol (and not its structural isomers) confirmed its association with incident MACE risk.”
The study concluded, “Xylitol is associated with incident MACE risk. Moreover, xylitol both enhanced platelet reactivity and thrombosis potential in vivo. Further studies examining the cardiovascular safety of xylitol are warranted.”
The research team was led by Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Microbiome and Human Health. There were 10 authors in all.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.