A low-calorie sweetener called xylitol used in many reduced-sugar foods and consumer products such as gum and toothpaste may be linked to nearly twice the risk of heart attacks, stroke and death in people who consume the highest levels of the sweetener, a new study found.

一项新研究发现，木糖醇摄入量最大的人群心脏病发作、中风和死亡的风险比其他人群高出近两倍，而木糖醇可能就是幕后元凶。木糖醇是一种被用于口香糖和牙膏等许多低糖食品和消费品中的低热量甜味剂。

Lab and animal research revealed low-calorie sweeteners such as erythritol and xylitol may cause blood platelets to clot more readily. Clots can break off and travel to the heart, triggering a heart attack, or to the brain, triggering a stroke.

实验室和动物研究显示，像赤藓糖醇和木糖醇这样的低热量甜味剂可能会导致血小板更容易凝结成血块。凝结的血块（血栓）可能会脱落并沿着血流进入心脏，引发心脏病发作，或者进入大脑，引发中风。

As sweet as sugar with less than half the calories, xylitol is often used in sugarless gum, breath mints, toothpaste, mouthwash, cough syrup and chewable vitamins. It is frequently added in larger quantities to candy, baked goods, cake mixes, barbecue sauces, ketchup, peanut butter, puddings, pancake syrup and more.

木糖醇和糖一样甜，但热量不到糖的一半，常被用于无糖口香糖、薄荷糖、牙膏、漱口水、咳嗽糖浆和维生素咀嚼片。木糖醇经常以更大的剂量被添加到糖果、烘焙食品、蛋糕混合粉、烧烤酱、番茄酱、花生酱、布丁、煎饼糖浆等产品中。



Xylitol is a sugar alcohol, a carbohydrate found naturally in foods such as cauliflower, eggplant, lettuce, mushrooms, spinach, plums, raspberries and strawberries. However, the amount of xylitol found in such natural sources is tiny, Hazen said.

木糖醇是一种糖醇，是一种在花椰菜、茄子、生菜、蘑菇、菠菜、李子、覆盆子和草莓等食物中天然存在的碳水化合物。然而，哈森指出，这些天然来源的木糖醇含量极低。

"If you actually do the calculation, it literally takes a tonnage of fruit to be equivalent to one diabetic cookie that can have like nine grams of xylitol, which is a typical label amount," he said.

他说：“如果你真的去算一算，实际上需要成吨的水果才能提取出一块糖尿病患者专用饼干中所含的木糖醇，一般标注为9克。”

For commercial use, however, xylitol is made from corncobs, birch trees or genetically engineered bacteria.

然而，用于商业化生产的木糖醇是从玉米芯、桦树或基因工程菌中提取的。

Many professional associations also recommend xylitol as a sugar substitute for patients with obesity, diabetes or prediabetes to improve glycemic control, he added. "Yet people at risk for diabetes are among the most vulnerable for clotting events," he said. "We're targeting the wrong people."

哈森补充道，许多专业协会还推荐木糖醇作为肥胖、糖尿病或糖尿病前期患者的糖替代品，以更好地控制血糖。哈森说：“然而，有糖尿病风险的人是最容易发生血栓的。我们将木糖醇推荐给了错误的人群。”

"Xylitol is cheaper to make than cane sugar and so more and more keeps getting incorporated as a sugar substitute into food," he said. Research has shown some artificial sweeteners may create a backlash in the metabolic system, triggering the body to expect more calories, thus making weight loss more difficult.

他说：“木糖醇比蔗糖便宜，因此越来越多的木糖醇被作为糖替代品添加进食品中。” 研究表明，一些人造甜味剂可能会在代谢系统中产生反作用，让身体渴望摄入更多的卡路里，从而使减肥更加困难。