Stevia and afib

[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

The hospital was giving me stevia instead of sugar and my afib/flutter has been a 13 day marathon. I just googled this after over 12 hours in nsr from last nights er visit. My nsr break is back to flutter after adding some stevia in my herbal tea. Now I know it’s my trigger. Especially since I replied to a thread on this topic two years ago I should had known!

[www.afibbers.org]

I don’t recommend using stevia.

I use it interchangeably with brown sugar and Sugar Twin (sodium cyclamate). I can't say I have noticed anything out of the ordinary.

I use powdered Stevia in my coffee pretty much every day, often a packet each of Stevia and Sugar Twin (I like the way sodium cyclamate tastes.
Way better than Splenda, for example) and I use the liquid form to mix with lucuma powder into my grass-fed yogurt. For me, it's still anxiety, paying too much attention to the thumping and bumping, too much caffeine, too much alcohol, and not warming up slowly when I go out for a walk.

I use either Truvia or Stevia every day with my morning coffee. I have seen ZERO relationship between the sweeteners and afib. However, my afib did return 3 years ago after a 13 year break after my first ablation. When it returned, episodes were mid to late day or evening, not near my morning coffee. Then, afib free again after the second ablation three years ago and drinking my morning cup of coffee with Stevia as I type. Not decaf either!

Every afib episode that has ever happened worldwide could be correlated to something that was occurring at that time. That means that there could be millions of triggers or millions of coincidences. I will take the coincidences.

I have no heart problems using Stevia in things I bake, although I limit the use as well as limit sugar use....but if I do make something that has sugar in the recipe, I use only a small amount of sugar and then mostly Stevia. I don't add artificial sweeteners to my tea or occasional, decaf coffee.

Can't locate the post, but a number of years ago, there was one titled "Sweet Talk" that examined artificial sweeteners and the reasons why some were not healthy to use.

Links on artificial sweeteners:
[www.yourmedicaldetective.com]

[www.proliberty.com]

Jackie

Quote
Ken
Every afib episode that has ever happened worldwide could be correlated to something that was occurring at that time. That means that there could be millions of triggers or millions of coincidences. I will take the coincidences.

Bingo.

I tested many things I thought were triggers, and every single one of them failed to prove itself except two: dehydration and low potassium. And that's really just one thing since the two go hand in hand. A few other things such as a large meal didn't prove to be triggers exactly, but they did seem to increase the odds of an episode. I strongly suggest that people actually test the things they think are triggers before giving them up.

Twice in a row my flutter returned within an hour. Two days apart. I don’t know what to think. I’m finally in nsr until I’m not. I’m curious if my nsr will last since I stopped stevia. The hospital was adding stevia to each meal tray and I had 3.5 days of flutter.

In the past stevia never bothered me. Maybe I am more prone to flutter triggers since long covid. I don’t know.

Susan,

I am not suggesting that you should never consider anything as a trigger, only that the odds of actually proving that something does trigger afib is very, very remote. There is no reason not to test things if you are concerned, but coincidence is going to be the answer 99% of the time.

We all would love to find "the trigger" and remove it, then be on our no afib happy way. Sadly, that's not going to be the answer.

Susan, the study you linked was for artificial sweeteners not stevia. Stevia is a natural sweetner very different than the artificial sweeteners used in the study you referenced.. I use it everyday as a sweetener and it has no effect on any afib activity for me.

Quote
Ken
Susan,

I am not suggesting that you should never consider anything as a trigger, only that the odds of actually proving that something does trigger afib is very, very remote. There is no reason not to test things if you are concerned, but coincidence is going to be the answer 99% of the time.

We all would love to find "the trigger" and remove it, then be on our no afib happy way. Sadly, that's not going to be the answer.

I think you're essentially describing what is known as the 'post hoc fallacy'. In Latin, "Post hoc, ergo propter hoc', translates as, "It's after this, therefor it's because of this.' Unfortunately, we tend to forget all the other things that also took place within an hour or so of the unwanted outcomes in our lives. We forget the pesticide-laced celery, or the chocolate drink, or the statin, or...yeah, the list goes on and on.

The only way to be sure is to adopt a self-sacrificial and methodical approach to trials. Despite one's fears, one should repeat the apparent association and see how often the unwanted outcome follows. You'd have to control for all other possibilities, like that celery or the statin tablet. Good luck with that.

Unfortunately some Stevia that I consumed contained maltodextrin. That ingredient probably is the culprit. It’s very high glycemic and for me not nsr friendly.

[www.sciencedirect.com]
“ Maltodextrin has a high glycemic index value of 185–105.”

Triggers in general:
[a-fib.com]

Obviously “triggers” could be just by chance. If I avoided all the trigger foods suggested in the following link my diet would be very limited.
[www.healthline.com]

Quote
gloaming
The only way to be sure is to adopt a self-sacrificial and methodical approach to trials. Despite one's fears, one should repeat the apparent association and see how often the unwanted outcome follows. You'd have to control for all other possibilities, like that celery or the statin tablet. Good luck with that.

I tried a msg self trial/experiment back in 2004. I consumed food containing msg at 6pm nine times during a two week trial. Each time I got Afib afterwards.

Quote
gloaming
The only way to be sure is to adopt a self-sacrificial and methodical approach to trials. Despite one's fears, one should repeat the apparent association and see how often the unwanted outcome follows.

Quote
susan.d
In the past stevia never bothered me. Maybe I am more prone to flutter triggers since long covid. I don’t know.

In my case, inadvertently increasing calcium intake in 2012 changed what I call my "base state" and during the ~12 months I was consuming the increased calcium, a number of things were triggers (almost every time I would do them) that were never before or after this period (I finally went back to the literature and realized this was a possible issue, removed the offending foods and my state returned to that prior to the increased consumption). These added triggers during this time included consuming ice cold drinks quickly, being prone on my left side, the immediate aftermath of orgasm (I guarantee you, I tried that repeatedly). Subsequent to reducing the calcium, none of these are triggers (nor were they before). During the time of increased calcium, I could also have episodes with no apparent trigger. A consistent trigger since day 1 in 2004 has been a delayed vagal trigger to relatively intense, long duration activity (the trigger being the product of duration times intensity). I can do short duration, high intensity, like Tabatas, without issue. I can do long duration activities at Zone 2 or below. But long duration at higher intensity is a trigger (I also repeated this until I got smart enough to not repeat it). Another consistent trigger is not consuming enough magnesium daily. A family member was diagnosed with a serious condition and I was paying more attention to their condition than making sure I took care of myself first. After a number of times forgetting my daily Mg++ dose, I had a talk with myself and made self care the #1 priority (as my mother used to tell me, a caregiver who doesn't put their own health first may soon have nothing to give). After this, I no longer missed doses, hence no trigger.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2022 10:29AM by GeorgeN.

Quote
susan.d
I tried a msg self trial/experiment back in 2004. I consumed food containing msg at 6pm nine times during a two week trial. Each time I got Afib afterwards.

So it's either food at 6pm or MSG but we don't know which.

"Unfortunately some Stevia that I consumed contained maltodextrin. That ingredient probably is the culprit. It’s very high glycemic and for me not nsr friendly."

Yes, definitely look at all the ingredients. Stevia products are not all the same. Some have other sweeteners like Erythritol or some other sugar alcohol added. It's not all pure Stevia. From my personnel experience I believe some Stevia products labeled as "pure" are not pure, although it could be cross-contamination at the factory with another sweetener product.

Although not the most likely of scenarios, a possibly mechanism would be upset stomach caused by a Stevia product, than the Vagus Nerve/Heart trigger is set in motion.

The problem lies when the individual Stevia packets one gets with their herbal tea doesn’t include the ingredient fact list. Much easier if you buy it and can make sure it’s pure.