Tejal Somvanshi
A new follow-up on xylitol has moved the story from a short-term warning to a long-term cardiovascular-risk file. A study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2026 analysed 17,710 adults and linked higher blood xylitol levels with more major adverse cardiovascular events.
The research was led by Dr Marco Witkowski of Charité University Hospital in Berlin. After six years of follow-up, people with the highest xylitol levels had a 57% higher risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death than those with the lowest levels. After 30 years, the higher-risk association was 18%.
The analysis controlled for age, sex, smoking status, lipid levels, diabetes and hypertension. The Sydney Morning Herald reported Witkowski’s explanation that earlier work suggested xylitol may promote blood clot formation in some settings.
Xylitol is used in sugar-free chewing gum, toothpaste, processed foods and drinks. Witkowski said artificial sweeteners are consumed by people who believe they are healthier than sugar and are generally regarded as safe by regulators. He said the long-term findings show “how little we know about the cardiovascular safety of xylitol” and that further studies are warranted.
Karmactive previously published a xylitol heart-risk explainer and a separate report on cardiovascular-event prevention. This update narrows the focus to the newer long-term framing: a larger time window, a 17,710-adult dataset and the difference between a product being widely used and its long-term cardiovascular profile being fully settled.
