There is new bad news for people who avoid sugar consumption some sugar substitutes for them can cause heart problems.
A new study has revealed that the stevia plant, one of the most popular natural alternatives to sugar, can cause serious health problems in people, the most important of which is heart attack.
According to the American TV "CNN", this study proved that there is a connection between the "erythritol" found in the stevia plant and blood clotting, heart attack, and stroke.
The aim of the study was to find chemicals or compounds in a person's blood that could predict a person's risk of heart attack, stroke, or death.
The team began by analyzing 1,157 blood samples from people at risk of heart disease collected between 2004 and 2011. He felt that "Erythritol" plays an important role in this regard.
The researchers evaluated an additional batch of blood samples from over 2,100 persons in the US and an additional 833 samples that were gathered by colleagues in Europe in 2018. around three-quarters of the patients had high blood pressure or coronary artery disease, and around a fifth had diabetes.
Stroke or a heart attack:
The researchers found that high levels of erythritol were linked to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, or death within three years.
According to a study published in the journal Nature, the risk of heart attack and stroke doubles with every 25% increase in blood erythritol.
High levels of erythritol in the blood, he noted, increase the risk of heart attack or stroke in people with risk factors for heart disease such as diabetes.
The amount of risk was not negligible, according to Dr. Stanley Hazen, the study's principal author and the head of the Center for Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Prevention at the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in the US.
