Sugar Substitute Xylitol Tied to Higher Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke, and Death, Study Finds

We’ve got some potentially bad news for people seeking sugarless and guilt-free treats: Upcoming research has found a possible link between a common artificial sweetener and cardiovascular disease. Researchers in Germany examined data from over 17,000 people. Those who consumed the highest amounts of xylitol—a sugar alcohol—had significantly higher rates of major adverse cardiovascular events, including heart attack, than people on the lowest amounts, they found. Though not conclusive, the results do suggest more study is needed to figure out whether xylitol can be dangerous to our heart health, the researchers say. “Our long-term findings in the general population highlight how little we know about the cardiovascular safety of xylitol and indicate that further studies are warranted, especially as the amount of xylitol in products continues to increase,” said lead author Marco Witkowski, a cardiologist from the Charité University Hospital in Berlin, in a statement released by the European Society of Cardiology. Low-calorie and non-nutritive sweeteners, which include synthetic sugar substitutes like aspartame and natural replacements like stevia, have long been dogged by claims of b