Stevia linked to heart attack and stroke

cnn.com

12 pointsnilsbunger4 comments

Title is incorrect. It's erythritol, not stevia. First paragraph of the article:

A sugar replacement called erythritol — used to add bulk or sweeten stevia, monk-fruit, and keto reduced-sugar products — has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a new study.

About one-third of the way in the article: "Erythritol is also the largest ingredient by weight in many “natural” stevia and monk-fruit products, Hazen said. Because stevia and monkfruit are about 200 to 400 times sweeter than sugar, just a small amount is needed in any product. The bulk of the product is erythritol, which adds the sugar-like crystalline appearance and texture consumers expect."

That's still not stevia, it's stevia products -- because stevia is so potent it's usually mixed with other things to increase the volume and mass -- otherwise people would be either adding way too much or feel like the package was "empty"

Real headline "Zero calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds"

Additive erythritol is E968.

Unrelated to stevia. Some stevia products are not pure stevia. They have artificial sweeteners and a little bit of stevia.

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