Sugar-free chewing gum sweetener xylitol linked to 57% higher risk of heart attack and stroke, major study finds

People who eat the most xylitol — the sweetener used in products such as Wrigley's Extra gum, Peppersmith mints and sugar-free jams — are 57% more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or death than those in the lowest consumption group, according to the largest study of its kind. Researchers at Charité University Hospital in Berlin analysed 17,710 participants drawn from two long-running cohorts, tracking outcomes over up to 30 years. Dell Stanford, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, cautioned that buyers of 'sugar-free' products may be taking in far more xylitol than they are aware of.

Xylitol is added to products at up to 1,000 times the concentration at which it occurs naturally in food.

Even at the 30-year mark, people in the highest xylitol group still carried an 18% greater cardiovascular risk than those at the lower end of consumption.

Lead researcher Dr Marco Witkowski warned: 'We know very little about the cardiovascular safety of xylitol — and the amount in products continues to increase.'