Artificial sweeteners

         New research # 20

Artificial sweeteners are being used  as the substitute of natural sugar ,  by people living with diabetes.    I am drinking tea without any sugar since last 30 years, and i enjoy drinking tea without any sugar.  Such  sweeteners have many side effects. There is a new research about an artificial sweetener called  ” Xylitol ” , which is being used in some items like peanut butter, chewing gum and some baked goods.

Contents:

• What are artificial sweeteners ?
• Side effects of artificial sweeteners.
• New research.

What are artificial sweeteners ?

Such sweetening agents are chemicals that sweeten food. However, unlike natural sweeteners, they do not add calories to our body.

Side effects

The side effects of such sweeteners are as under;

• People who use such sweeteners may have a false sense of security about their daily sugar intake and indulge in fattening foods such as pastries and chocolate.
• These sweeteners are more intense in taste than sugar, meaning frequent consumption could overstimulate your sugar receptors and decrease your desire for healthier foods like vegetables.
• Research suggests that people who use them  habitually tend to gain more weight, due to the fact that they develop more cravings for sweets and end up choosing unhealthy foods as a result.
• A new study have suggested that these  sweeteners may be addictive. So when you start, you may not be able to give up  as easily as you think.

New research

A new artificial sweetener called ” Xylitol ” is available in the market. It is often marked as a healthier alternative to natural sugar. A  new report published on June 6 , 2024  in the European Heart Journal  pointing that ;

• Xylitol might damage or weaken the body’s clotting abilities.
• May increase certain heart conditions.

Xylitol , the zero calorie sugar substitute which is being used in processed foods like gum, baked foods, candies and  peanut butter, is linked to a greater risk of stroke and heart attack .To know more about heart attack pl. read our article ” Early signs of heart attack“.

• Although, the Xylitol has received a stamp of approval – — the Generally Recognized as safe status from the Food and Drug Administration, which indicates a substance is thought to be harmless. Senior study author Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, Chief of  Cardiovascular and Metabolic Science at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research institute and co – section Head of Preventive cardiology in the Heart Vascular & Thoracic Institute told the Healthline , in his own words ;
  ” I hope this serves as a calling for new regulatory guidelines to improve labeling mandates and remove sugar substances like Xylitol from  GRAS status “.
• The researchers analyzed blood samples of more than 3,000 people . These people were under assessment for heart disease.
• The researchers came to know, that after a period of 3 years,  the people having the highest levels of xylitol in their blood had double chance of heart attack risk, stroke and death compared  to those with lowest xylitol levels.
• The researchers also carried out in vivo international,  and  rodent experiments to know how xylitol affect cardiovascular function. Their finding is really astonishing. They came to know that the xylitol affects on platelet function.
• Hazel explained that current evidence explain a link between xylitol and cardiovascular events. There could be a causal relationship at play.
• He said, there could be a receptor on our platelets , that response and interacts with sugar alcohols like xylitol.
• Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at Memorial Care Saddleback Memorial Center in Laguna Hills, CA  explained that ” Platelets , a type of blood cell , play an important role in  clotting. . These cells clump together to form plugs that seal wounds and prevent excessive bleeding.”
• As per new researches, xylitol might increase the stickiness of platelet in the blood, and increase the risk of clotting in the brain and heart . That trigger cardiovascular events like a stroke or heart attack.
• As the  new researches are published , it show that artificial sweeteners including sugar alcohol sweetener called erythritol are link to worse cardiovascular outcomes.
• Dr. Rigwed  Tadwalker, MD, a board certified consultative cardiologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA said in his own words :

” Xylitol was not previously proven to have this association, but this new study suggests that it may have similar effects on the body . It is important to remember that this is an observational study, so it does not definitively prove xylitol directly causes cardiovascular problems”.

To  better understand the affects  of xylitol consumption, more studies are needed  its impact on cardiovascular function,  specially in case of varying doses .

Dr. Chen’s advice  = ” Limit how much xylitol you use. People should consider avoiding consuming large amount of xylitol until more is understood about its adverse effects “.

Well, that is a medical  doctor’s advise. And we must follow Doctor’s  advise.

source : healthline.com