Study Links High Xylitol Levels to Increased Heart Attack and Stroke Risk

A large international study has found that individuals with the highest blood levels of the common sugar substitute xylitol face a significantly elevated risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death. The research, which tracked nearly 18,000 participants over periods of up to 30 years, was presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2026 in Munich. The analysis, led by Dr. Marco Witkowski of Charité University Hospital in Berlin, examined data from two major long-term population studies: the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging and the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer-Norfolk cohort in the United Kingdom. Researchers measured participants' blood plasma levels of xylitol and followed their health outcomes over time. The results showed a clear dose-dependent association. In the Canadian cohort, those in the highest quartile of blood xylitol had a 57 percent higher risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event-defined as death, heart attack, or stroke-over approximately six years compared to those in the lowest quartile. In the British cohort, the risk was 18 percent higher over a 30-year follow-up period.