Best to stick with natural foods
According to a new Swedish Study, Aspartame can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke over time. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener commonly used as a natural sugar substitute in foods and beverages. Aspartame can be sold under the trade names NutraSweet and Equal. Because Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than natural sucrose, it seems to trick the body in producing more insulin than is needed.
Aspartame is commonly found in diet drinks, low sugar yogurt, gum and zero-sugar ice cream.
The team of cardiovascular health experts found that aspartame triggers increased insulin levels in animals, which in turn contributes to atherosclerosis—buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries, which can lead to higher levels of inflammation and an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke over time.
The researchers demonstrated that the mice’s elevated insulin levels fueled the growth of fatty plaques in the mice’s arteries. Next, they investigated how exactly elevated insulin levels lead to arterial plaque buildup and identified an immune signal called CX3CL1 that is especially active under insulin stimulation.
“Because blood flow through the artery is strong and robust, most chemicals would be quickly washed away as the heart pumps,” says researcher Yihai Cao. “Surprisingly, not CX3CL1. It stays glued to the surface of the inner lining of blood vessels. There, it acts like a bait, catching immune cells as they pass by.” According to Cao, the “Sweetener aspartame aggravates atherosclerosis through insulin-triggered inflammation.”
Aspartame possibly also a carcinogen
In 2023 the World Health Organization (WHO) declares widely used sweetener Aspartame a possible cancer cause.
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