New health warning

Health Care & Carte Vitale
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If you, like I did, think that xylitol sweetner is a harmless alternative to sugar, or are consuming it hidden in something without your realising, this German study proves otherwise

Sweetener used in chewing gum may raise heart and stroke risk

I know the SF policy is not to reprint articles but I am attributing not plagiarising, and I do feel it’s important news for all

“Sweetener used in chewing gum may raise heart and stroke risk

Poppy Koronka

The Times Health Correspondent

28 August 2026

A 30-year study of people in Norfolk suggested a link between cardiovascular problems and blood levels of xylitol, which is also commonly found in toothpaste.

Xylitol, a sweetener used in sugar-free foods, toothpaste and chewing gum, has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular problems over time. Those with higher levels of xylitol in their blood were the most likely to experience heart attacks and strokes.

Researchers from Charité University Hospital in Berlin, examined 17,710 participants who gave their data to the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Ageing and the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk.

Over 30 years, participants from the EPIC-Norfolk study who had the highest levels of xylitol were found to have an 18 per cent higher risk of a cardiovascular problem compared with those with less in their system.

The results suggested a dose-dependent relationship, so the risk of cardiovascular problems increased as xylitol quantities rose, researchers said.

Dell Stanford, senior dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Risks to our hearts build up over time, and we need to ensure that what is being added to our food does not contribute.

Artificial sweeteners such as xylitol are found in many foods and drinks, and people may assume they are the healthier choice, so consume more than they realise. This study adds to growing evidence that artificial sweeteners could have an impact on our health.

“It is important to note that this was an observational study, meaning it can only show an association between higher xylitol levels and cardiovascular events, rather than proving that xylitol directly caused them, and further research is needed. But it not a green light to have more sugar instead, as we still need to reduce our free sugar intake,

“This study is a reminder that we all need to reduce our intake of processed foods and drinks that are often high in sugar, salt or sweeteners, and focus on a balanced diet to help protect our hearts.”

:grimacing:

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The Graun covered this as well, Karen. I hope this link will work.

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Heavy print is mine.

A possibly 18% marginal ncrease of an approx 20% Statements, Facts and Figures risk of premature death by CardioVascular Disease, is in my own opinion, nowt special.
The amount of toothpaste I swallow is not going to have me bothering to look at the ingredients list. In jams etc? Probably still better to have sweetener rather than the full sugar version if you consume a lot.
Nothing wrong with being aware of the side effects of everything we consume.
Personnally I make a general attempt to avoid too many ultra processed foods, and to consume nothing to excess.

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Can’t beat having a lorry driver dismissing a German clinical study :joy:

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Then some good news for those taking statins

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A lorry driver… who is capabe of reading all of the link provided. :laughing:

Edit, and nowhere did I argue with any of the observational study.

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There in lies the rub. At what point is excess? With some things, such as mercury (in deep water fish) we need to keep an eye on how much we are consuming.

The addictive Xylitol is now a sweetener in many drinks, sweeties and even desserts. I have been happily enjoying several different things daily that I blithely thought were fine because they contain Xylitol. Not just toothpaste. Adds up. My husband read the article and mentioned it because I have a high risk even without Xylitol. :face_with_bags_under_eyes:

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Is that a typo? Additive?

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Perhaps you didn’t mean it this way but this sounds incredibly dismissive and insulting.

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I know !
And all my tattoos are spelt wright too!:grinning_face:

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It was just teasing, hence the emoji.

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I read and looked at several PhD’ clinicians discussing that report and several others with other artificial sweeteners. The idea of an artificial sweetener is not to raise the insulin level, this is pretty much down to the individual and how their body responds. Some people wearing continuous glucose monitors noted a higher spike than actual sugar, some less than sugar but still a spike. Then these laboratory sugars are less well tolerated but the gut bacteria and gut lining. I used erythritol as a replacement in some biscuits and brownies and although it may have a low carbohydrate angle it did create a nasty bloated gut response so has never been used again, actually threw it out last week when making some space in a kitchen cupboard. Sugar maybe bad but often better than its replacement if you cannot ween yourself off sugar. Then we havevthe various emulsifiying agents that are also in most UPF’s so I avoid them. Real food is exactly that, factory food, list of ingredients you wont find in your kitchen, avoid.

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Xylitol has another side effect as my old boss discovered when he scoffed a whole bag of sugar free Gummy Bears (they contain Xylitol instead) on a work trip to the States and spent 24 hours being within a 10 second dash to the nearest toilet.

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Ah…an excellent safety feature: impossible to overdose on it! :laughing:

And it makes you run

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A very sensible answer. Everything in moderation if possible. I’ve been chewing Wrigley’s etc. since I was a kid, and I’m 82 now, still cycling every day. It sometimes depends on your genes I think. Chewing gum with natural sugar is hard to find these days.

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There’s a famous curry centre in Blackpool,
That’s noted for hot vindaloos,
Where they’ve buckets of water on t’ tables,
And steel straining bars in the loos.

Now young Albert had been constipated,
For three weeks, his tum had been funny,
'Till someone told him a curry,
Would give you a good run for your money.

So Albert determined to try one,
And not knowing which one to choose,
Shut his eyes, stabbed his fork in the menu,
It came down in the hot vindaloos.

It was number eight Albert had chosen,
To relieve him of all constipation,
With extra hot sauce to disguise the fact,
It was off the bone Alsatian.

They had a good laugh in the kitchen,
When somebody picked number 8,
And they brought it in quick ‘cos it soon dissolves,
The enamel from off of t’ plate.

Albert said a prayer and picked up his fork,
Then thought he had better make certain,
He’d have the time to cross the floor,
To the gents past the plastic curtain.

From table to toilet took twelve seconds flat,
Provided he didn’t slip,
And the coin operated lock on the door,
Said tuppence per person per trip.

So Albert went back and ate his vindaloo,
'Till his eyes filled up with tears,
And the hairs on his legs turned round and round,
And steam came out of his ears.

But that infamous number 8 curry,
Had no more effect on his gusts,
Than a pint of Watney’s red barrel,
And a packet of planter’s nuts.

He waited for twenty minutes,
With no results, and then,
The customers gave a round of applause,
As he asked for the same again

He re-timed his run to the toilet,
Ten seconds a nip, to the door
Marked gents and the sign that said,
Tuppence per person per trip.

But after another plateful,
He didn’t feel too grand,
As he clenched his teeth and sat there,
On his arse with his fork in his hand.

The waiters waited and waited,
For the curry to do its worst,
But that second Alsatian vindaloo,
Had no more effect than the first.

Another twenty minutes passed,
He couldn’t speak a word,
He just had to point to the menu,
In order to order his third.

A hush fell over the restaurant,
They were all too impressed to laugh,
And one of the waiters, two Sikhs and the chef,
Asked him for his autograph.

The manager tried to dissuade him,
But Albert just shook his head,
As he re-timed his run to the toilet,
And make it in eight seconds dead.

And as he began the third one,
His stomach felt just like Stonehenge,
And he’d only forced down four forkfuls,
When the curry began its revenge.

The customers cleared a gangway,
As, feeling the end was certain,
Albert leapt to his feet and in three seconds flat,
Had vanished through the plastic curtain.

As the customers waited and wondered,
About the fate of the boy,
They heard a muffled explosion,
And a cry, half anguish, half joy.

The minutes passed, then Albert emerged,
His face full of venom and hate,
They could tell by the way he walked all bow legged,
That he’d got to the toilet too late.

He looked round the crowded restaurant,
And a moan passed through his lips,
It was lucky for the carpet,
He was wearing his bicycle clips.

At last he spoke to the waiting crowd,
In a voice so plaintive and strange,
With a five-pound note in his hand he gasped,
Has anyone got any change

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It seems to be a paper that is being presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress 2026 - which is still ongoing as it happens, I can’t see a public link to the paper but it is based on data from The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging and the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)

Both appear to be prospective observational studies - which means that they are hypothesis generating rather than hypothesis proving studies.

Good observational studies are certainly worth running but at the moment you can’t prove (I suspect, I haven’t dived down to the actual data) there is a causal link between Xylitol and increased heart disease from this data, only that they seem to be associated.

Also the first question that comes to my mind is - what is the risk compared to consuming the amount of sugar that has been replaced by sweetener. It should also be noted that it is a relative risk - if I have a baseline risk of a heart attack of 1%** per year and it goes up to 1.6% I might not be that worried.

**: For an average 50-69 year old in the “high risk” category the 10 year risk of heart attack is 5-10%

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As has been mentioned briefly by others, this study is only correlational. Those consuming the highest levels of xylitol had this higher risk BUT as was mentioned in passing, when people replace ‘real sugar’ with artificial sweeteners, they probably feel free to consume more of the products containing it. So, more sweets. That could very well be the source of the negative health impact.
That said, I always try to stick to natural foods.

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This really gets my goat, a big headline of a huge change in risk then it turns out to be relative risk and the absolute risk has changed from “next to nothing” to “hardly anything at all”.

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Not really the best choice of emoji for that comment. Actually makes it worse!