Zero-calorie sweeteners used in keto diets linked to strokes and heart attacks: Study

A new study published in Nature Medicine on Monday found that a sugar replacement in artificial sweeteners, used in popular weight-loss diets, is linked to a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Erythritol, commonly found in keto diets to sweeten stevia or monk fruit products, is used as a sugar replacement because it does not cause a spike in blood sugar and contains zero calories. But the study found that diabetics and other people with an increased risk of heart disease were twice as likely to experience a heart attack or stroke if they had the highest levels of erythritol in their system.

“The degree of risk was not modest,” Dr. Stanley Hazen, the lead author of the study, told CNN. “If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25% compared to the bottom 25%, there was about a twofold higher risk for heart attack and stroke. It’s on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes."