Artificial popular Sweetener can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke in the brain

Not all artificial sweeteners are created equal.

A new study by Sweden reports that one of the most popular sugar substitutes-found in diet drinks, chewing gum and low-sugar yogurt-rag of insulin in animals, potentially raising their risk of heart attacks and hit over time.

“One of my students was drinking this drink without sugar, and I said,” Why don’t you see it? “” High author of the study Yihai Cao recalled, who studies chronic diseases regarding vascular disorders at the Karolinska Institute.

Some research has suggested that long -term use of artificial sweeteners may increase the risk of stroke, heart disease and even premature death. Cao’s team wanted to explore exactly how the sugar substitute can cause damage.

Aspartame, which is about 200 times sweeter than sugar, is sold under the names of Nutrasweet brands, equal and sugar twin.

In 2023, the International Agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) for cancer research (IARC) classified aspartame as “probably carcinogenic for humans”.

For the new study, rats were fed food containing 0.15% aspartame daily for 12 weeks – this is the equivalent of people who drink about three daily cans of soda diet.

Mice fed aspartame developed larger and more fatty plaques in their arteries and experienced higher levels of inflammation, a major contributor to heart disease.

The Cao team blamed the raised level of insulin for the construction of the arterial plaque, also known as atherosclerosis.

Researchers determined that the CX3Cl1 immune signal is particularly active under insulin stimulation.

“Because blood flow to the artery is strong and strong, most chemicals would be washed quickly while heart pumps,” Cao explained. “In addition, not cx3Cl1. Stands adjacent to the surface of the inner lining of the blood vessels. There, it acts like a bait, catching the immune cells as they pass. “

Cao said many of these blocked immune cells are known that promote inflammation of the blood vessels.

When researchers removed CX3Cl1 receptors from one of the immune cells in mice fed aspartame, the accumulation of the plate did not occur.

The findings were published Wednesday in Cell Metabolism magazine.

The CAO team plans to verify these results in humans and further target CX3Cl1 as vascular inflammation can lead to stroke, arthritis and diabetes.

“Artificial sweeteners have penetrated almost all types of food, so we need to know long -term health impact,” Cao said.

Stephanie Schiff, a nutritionist registered at the Northwell Huntington Hospital, recommends cutting artificial sweeteners and sugar from your diet.

If you are diabetic and find out that you have problems avoiding sugary drinks, consider alulose sweeteners, monk fruits and stevia without erytritol, an artificial sweetener used that has been associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke in the brain.

Otherwise, try to sweeten your fruit with fruit – or learn to consume foods and drinks that are less sweet.

“I’ve never seen a single study that concluded that sugar growth or getting artificial sweetener was healthy,” Schiff Post told. “It is worth making changes in your diet to stay healthy.”