A new study, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Monday, said that replacing the zero-calorie sweetener in keto diets is the cause of heart attacks and strokes that may lead to death.

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edited by| Christian Megan
science section CJ journalist
28 Feb.2023 - Washington

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Scientists studied the effect of The artificial sweetener called erythritol is often found in diet foods, such as Truvia, as a sugar replacement because it does not affect blood glucose levels and does not have any calories, the study was on a group of eight healthy volunteers drank a beverage with 30 grams of erythritol in it, after a period they found blood clotting risks.

The new study, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Monday, found that higher levels of erythritol are correlated with a higher chance of heart attack, stroke, or death in three years when analyzing blood samples from three different populations.

Researchers first found the correlation between increased erythritol levels and major adverse cardiac events when analyzing chemicals and compounds in 1,157 blood samples of those who were at risk for heart disease that was collected between 2004 and 2011.
After discovering the link between the high levels and increased risk, the researchers confirmed their results by testing a larger sample from 2,100 people in the United States and 833 samples in Europe through 2018.

“Following exposure to dietary erythritol, a prolonged period of potentially heightened thrombotic risk may occur. This is a concern given that the very patients for whom artificial sweeteners are marketed (patients with diabetes, obesity history of [cardiovascular diseases] and impaired kidney function) are those typically at higher risk for future [cardiovascular diseases] events,” the study reads.