A recent study published in the journal ‘nature medicine‘ links the consumption of erythritol, the so-called fashionable sweetener, with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, specifically of myocardial infarction and stroke. However, the scientific community agrees question the methodology and results of this work, although it does suggest the need for more long-term research.
It’s about a observational study based on collecting information from 1,157 people who were already being monitored by cardiovascular problems. In the work, led by the researcher at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio (USA) by stanley hazencollected data obtained over three years, noting that erythritol consumption could be related to an increased risk of heart disease.
A similar link was observed with subjects, also with cardiac problems, from other studies both in the American country and in Europe, and increased plasma concentrations were observed in healthy subjects, but in a very limited study of only eight volunteers.
As collected by the Science Media Center Spainthe international scientific community has reacted to this study asking for caution and launching a reassurance message to the population.
“Correlation does not imply causation”
gunter kuhnleProfessor of Nutrition at the University of Reading (United Kingdom), regrets the lack of details such as the concentration of erythritol in the subjects studied, or external factors (habits, overall diet…) that can affect the conclusions in a confusing way, well remember that correlation does not imply causationas also remarked Oliver JonesProfessor of Chemistry at RMIT University (Australia).
In Spain, Rafael Urialde de Andresfrom the Spanish Nutrition Society and professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and San Pablo-CEU, considers that the small sample of the study is not enough to draw conclusions, but he does consider that it serves as starting point to go deeper “particularly with clinical trials of a sufficiently large size and with use below the Acceptable Daily Intake”, that is, specific and long-term studies.
agree on it Dolores del Castilloa researcher at the CSIC’s Food Sciences Research Institute, according to The country. The expert considers that the results of the study do not justify doubting the safety of erythritol, as stated in current European legislation. In addition, he points out that the amounts of this sweetener used are much higher than those that can be consumed per day.
Erythritol (E-968) is a sweetener from the group of polyalcohols or polyols, such as xylitol, and has the approval of European Union legislation according to Regulation 1333/2008, although they cannot be used in commercial beverages. In addition, it has health claims approved and authorized by the EFSA, as it is a calorie-free sweetener that is very well tolerated for digestive purposes, does not alter insulin levels or raise blood glucose.
Thus, as the authors of the study also conclude, the observed findings only suggest the need to perform more research to study in depth the effects on general health of habitual consumption of erythritol in the long term, focusing more on this possible link with cardiometabolic diseases.
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Photos | Marco Verch
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