Xylitol latest sugar alcohol to be linked to heart attacks and strokes
By 
Julia Robinson2024-06-26T13:30:00
Questions remain on whether low-calorie sweetener also made in the body is a cause or marker of future cardiovascular problems
The low-calorie sweetener xylitol, a five-carbon sugar alcohol, has been linked with a risk of major adverse cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. The researchers, who are based at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, US, say that further studies examining the cardiovascular safety of xylitol are ‘warranted’.
Xylitol is produced at low levels in the body as a side product of glucose metabolism. However, in recent years it has been increasingly used as a replacement for sucrose in patients with diabetes and can be found in sweets, chewing gum and oral care products.
The scientists at the Cleveland Clinic had previously linked another sugar alcohol, erythritol, to heart problems in February 2023. This, and other links between sweeteners and heart problems, led them to wonder whether the structurally similar sugar alcohol xylitol could cause similar cardiovascular issues.