Popular Sweetener Erythritol, Found in Truvia, Linked to Heart Risk, New Study Says
A new study finds a link between erythritol – a common artificial sweetener also used as a filler in stevia and monk fruit sweeteners and some keto products – and risk of harm to the heart and blood vessels, including clotting, stroke, heart attack and even death. The study suggests erythritol is concerning for the people it’s marketed to, who are already at risk for cardiac problems.
Erythritol is “on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes,” the lead author writes. The peer-reviewed research was published this week in the journal Nature Medicine.
Found naturally in some types of fruits and fermented foods, erythritol is added as an an artificial sweetener to processed foods at levels 1,000 times higher than the amounts than would be otherwise be found in those food, sometimes making up over half of the weight of the item.
