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Study links artificial sweeteners to risk of heart disease

Sep 12, 2022

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A new study out of France has experts worried that artificial sweeteners are not the healthiest alternative to sugar. French researchers have found what they are calling a link between the use of these sugar substitutes and increased risk of heart disease.

The study of 103,000 French adults led by researchers from the Sorbonne Paris Nord University was published in the British Medical Journal, the Guardian reported last week. According to the paper, experts looked at the consumption of artificial sweeteners from all sources, from food and drinks to dairy products and tabletop sweeteners, and compared it to the subjects’ risk of either heart or circulatory diseases.

According to the researchers’ report in the BMJ, the “results indicate that these food additives, consumed daily by millions of people and present in thousands of foods and beverages, should not be considered a healthy and safe alternative to sugar, in line with the current position of several health agencies.”

The BMJ report said that sweetener consumption was linked to a 9% higher risk of cardiovascular disease and an 18% greater risk of cerebrovascular disease, which impacts the blood flow to the brain.

This study was observational and therefore cannot establish a causal link, and it is just one of many on the issue of artificial sweeteners, which have come under fire in recent years. But the various studies have offered conflicting data on the potential harm of these sweeteners.

Aspartame, which is one of the more popular sweeteners used in diet soft drinks, was said to be associated with a 17% increase in the risk of cerebrovascular problems. Other sweeteners, like Sucralose, were associated with a heightened risk of coronary heart disease. However both Aspartame and Sucralose have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration because they have virtually zero calories and can help control sugar-related chronic conditions such as obesity and type two diabetes.

A NEW STUDY IS ADDING TO SOME RECENT EVIDENCE THAT ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS MAY NOT BE THE HEALTHIEST ALTERNATIVE TO SUGAR

RESEARCH CARRIED OUT ON 103 THOUSAND ADULTS OVER A PERIOD OF ABOUT 10 YEARS – FOUND A LINK BETWEEN SWEETENERS LIKE ASPARTAME AND SUCRALOSE AND A 9% INCREASED RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

ASPARTAME IS FOUND IN MANY DIET OR ZERO SUGAR BEVERAGES WHILE SUCRALOSE IS THE POPULAR SWEETENER BEHIND SPLENDA AND SOME COFFEE CREAMERS

BUT THIS STUDY IS JUST ONE OF MANY AND WHILE SWEETENERS HAVE COME UNDER SEVERE SCRUTINY IN RECENT YEARS – THERE IS CONFLICTING DATA:

EXPERTS SAY AMERICANS ARE EATING AND DRINKING TOO MUCH SUGAR *WE’RE TALKING TWICE THE RECOMMENDED AMOUNT ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION* MEDICAL EXPERTS ATTRIBUTE ALL SORTS OF HEALTH PROBLEMS TO HIGH SUGAR INTAKE, INCLUDING OBESITY, AND TYPE TWO DIABETES

*ASPARTAME AND SUCRALOSE ARE VIEWED AS ALTERNATIVES* AND THEY’RE FDA APPROVED. ACCORDING TO THE MAYO CLINIC BECAUSE THEY HAVE VIRTUALLY ZERO CALORIES – THEY MAY HELP CONTROL SOME OF THESE CHRONIC CONDITIONS

BUT IT’S A TRADE OFF – AND WHILE THIS RECENT STUDY PROVIDES A LITTLE MORE DATA INTO THE POTENTIAL RISKS – THE RESEARCHERS BEHIND IT SAY MORE STUDIES ARE NEEDED