what is xylitol

8/3/2019 What is Xylitol

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Jeff D. Wahlen * Yoli Independent Distributor * www.19.goyoli.com * 407.658.6677

WHAT IS XYLITOL?

Xylitol is a natural five carbon sugar that looks and taste like sugar. Xylitol is found in fibrousvegetables and fruit, as well as in corn and various hardwood trees like birch. The body itselfproduces up to 15 grams daily from other foods during normal metabolism.

Pure pharmaceutical-grade Xylitol is a white, crystalline carbohydrate that is classifiedaccording to some chemical encyclopedias, as a sugar.

Xylitol tastes and looks exactly like sugar but that is where the similarities end. Xylitol issugars mirror image, where sugar creates havoc and bacterial growth within the body. Xylitol

heals and repairs. Xylitol is a natural antimicrobial which means, it prevents growth ofbacteria. Xylitol leaves no after taste and can be replaced for sugar 1 to 1.

Xylitol is the only form of sugar that does not promote and feed dangerous bacteria and fungi.

Approved by USFDA and World Health Organization.

NUTRITIONAL FACTS

Though Xylitol looks and taste like sugar, it has 40% less calories then sugar and aremarkable 70% less carbs.

low glycemic index 7little effect on blook sugar and insulin levels

steady release of energylowers serum free fatty acid levelsreduces carbohydrate cravings and binge eatinginhibits yeastimproves dental healthalkaline enhancing

XYLITOL: OUR SWEET SALVATION?(section reprinted from Nexus New TImes, Jan-Feb 2003) by Sherill Sellman 2002 Sherill Sellman

XYLITOL TO THE RESCUE! During World War II, Finland was suffering from an acute sugarshortage. With no domestic supply of sugar, the Finns searched for an alternative. It was thenthat the Finnish scientists rediscovered xylitol, a low-calorie sugar made from birch bark. Ithad, in fact, been known to the world of organic chemistry since it was first manufactured in1891 by a German chemist.


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By 1930, xylitol had been purified, but it wasn't until World War II that the sugar shortagesforced researchers to look at alternative sweeteners. It was only when xylitol was stabilizedthat it became a viable sweetener in foods. It was also during this time that researchersdiscovered xylitol's insulin-independent nature. (metabolization without using insulin.)

By the 1960s, xylitol was being used in Germany, Switzerland, the Soviet Union, and Japan as

a preferred sweetener in diabetic diets and as an energy source for infusion therapy inpatients with impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Since then, many othercountries, including Italy and China, have been producing xylitol for use in their domesticmarkets-and with remarkable health benefits. It has been relatively unknown in the U.S.A.and Australia, primarily because cheap supplies of cane sugar made the more expensivexylitol less economically viable.

Xylitol is a natural substance found in fibrous vegetables and fruit, as well as in corn cobs andvarious hardwood trees like birch. It is a natural, intermediate product which regularly occursin the glucose metabolism of man and other animals, as well as in the metabolism of severalplants and micro-organisms. Xylitol is produced naturally in our bodies; in fact, we make upto 15 grams daily during normal metabolism.

Although xylitol tastes and looks exactly like sugar, that is where the similarities end. Xylitol isreally sugar's mirror image. While sugar wreaks havoc on the body, xylitol heals and repairs.It also builds immunity, protects against chronic degenerative disease, and has anti-agingbenefits. Xylitol is considered a five-carbon sugar, which means it is an antimicrobial,preventing the growth of bacteria. While sugar is acid-forming, xylitol is alkaline enhancing.All other forms of sugar, including sorbitol, another popular alternative sweetener, are six-carbon sugars, which feed dangerous bacteria and fungi.

Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1963, xylitol has no known toxiclevels. The only discomfort that some sensitive people may notice initially when taking largeamounts is mild diarrhea or slight cramping.

Since the body makes xylitol daily, as well asthe enzymes to break it down, any discomfort

usually disappears within a few days as thebody's enzymatic activity adjusts to a higherintake.

Xylitol has 40% fewer calories and 75% fewercarbohydrates than sugar and is slowlyabsorbed and metabolised, resulting in verynegligible changes in insulin. About one-third othe xylitol that is consumed is absorbed in the

liver. The other two-thirds travels to theintestinal tract, where it is broken down by gutbacteria into short-chain fatty acids.

Xylitol looks, feels, and tastes exactly like sugar, and leaves no unpleasant aftertaste. It isavailable in many forms. In its crystalline form, it can replace sugar in cooking, baking, or asa sweetener for beverages. It is also included as an ingredient in chewing gum, mints, andnasal spray.


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QWhat is Xylitol?A Xylitol is a naturally occurring substance found in fruits like plums; berries, such as raspberries andstrawberries; vegetables, as in lettuce and corncobs; and hard woods, such as birch and beech trees.Additionally, its produced in our own bodies during the normal metabolism of glucose. A five-carbonsugar alcohol or polyol, it is as sweet as sucrose but is noncariogenic. Xylitol is nutritive because itcontains calories, unlike artificial sweeteners, eg, saccharin. (See Table 1).

Xylitol is a white crystalline substance that looks very similar to sugar. It can be purchased in bulkform and used as a sugar replacement at an approximate 1-to-1 ratio. However, Xylitol, like the otherpolyols sorbitol and mannitol, produces a cooling sensation in the mouth, which is why it is oftenassociated with a mint flavor.

TABLE 1.Sweeteners

NutritiveCarbohydrate

(calories/gram)Non-

nutritive(no caloric

value)Cariogenic "Sugar-free"label

(noncariogenic) Sweetness*NATURAL SUGARS

Sucrose 4 Yes No 1Glucose 4 Yes No 0.7Frucose 4 Yes No 1.5Lactose 4 Yes No 0.2

SUGAR SUBSTITUTESSugar Alcohols/Polyols

Xylitol 2.4 No Yes 1


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Sorbitol 2.6 No Yes 0.6Mannitol 1.6 No Yes 0.5Maltitol 2.1 No Yes 0.9

Artificial SweetenersAspartame (NutriSweet,

Equal)** No Yes No Yes 180Saccharin (Sweet 'N Low) No Yes No Yes 300

Sucralose (SPLENDA) No Yes No Yes 600Acesulfame Potassium

(Sunett) No Yes No Yes 200*Sucrose (table sugar) is the standard value of 1 that the other sweeteners are compared with to determine their level sweetness.** Aspartame is technically a nutritive sweetener. Because of its intense sweetness however, it is used in such small amounts that itsnutritive value is negligible.

QHow does Xylitol work in caries prevention?

A Xylitol is noncariogenic because it does not ferment (produce acids in the oral cavity). As a five-carbon sugar alcohol, Xylitol cannot be digested by bacteria, as opposed to natural sugars or othersugar alcohols that are six-carbon molecules and fermentable. Other sugar alcohols ferment veryslowly and, therefore, are considered noncariogenic.

The thinking behind Xylitols inability to ferment is that Xylitol interferes with the metabolism ofStreptococcus mutans when it is transported into the cell, where it probably stays bound to thetransport protein. This bond is unbreakable by the usual enzymes so the transport protein isessentially tied up. The transport protein cant go back out to get more glucose to provide the cell with

energy. The reduced number of functioning transport proteins is the process thought to reduce acidproduction in S. mutans.1

An additional hypothesis about Xylitols mechanism of action is that it helps reduce the number ofS.mutans in plaque and, ultimately, in the oral cavity. The theory is that the bacteria are not as able toproduce the sticky extracellular polysaccharides that bind bacteria together and, as a result, they cantadhere as readily to the tooth surface.1

QDoes Xylitol have other health benefits besides its anti-cariogenic effect?

AXylitol has 40% fewer calories than sucrose and is often used as a sugar substitute in diabetic

diets because of its decreased caloric value. Sucrose has 4 calories per gram and Xylitol has about 2.4calories per gram (Table 1, page 18). Xylitol is digested slowly, slowing the rise of blood glucoselevels. Xylitol has a glycemic index of seven versus glucose, which is 100. Xylitol has 75% fewercarbohydrates than sucrose because only about a quarter of the Xylitol consumed is converted intoglucose.

Xylitol has been shown to help reduce middle ear infections.2 The main culprit in the middle earinfection is a bacterial relative ofS. mutans. Probably the same logic about bacterial adherenceapplies to middle ear infections, however, more research is necessary.


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QIn order to gain the benefits of Xylitol, it must be ingested frequently, correct?

AYes, we recently completed a study to establish the minimal effective dose of Xylitol needed perday, delivered via chewing gum, to reduce S. mutans. No effects were found with 3 g per day butnoticeable changes did occur at 6 g and 10 g per day. There was a statistically significant reduction of

S. mutans in plaque and saliva over 6 months in the groups with these higher levels of Xylitol perday.3 We have also looked at the effect of the frequency of Xylitol gum use per day, holding the doseconstant at the level of 10 g per day. It appears that the effect increases with frequency of intake(these results have not yet been published). For caries prevention, I would recommend 6 g to 10 g of

Xylitol per day via chewing gum, as we know this is an effective delivery vehicle. To achieve themaximum effect, break that dose up into three or four administrations per day. Xylitol gum needs tobe chewed for 5 minutes to get all of the Xylitol out of the gum and into the mouth.

Marilynn Rothen, RDH, BS, is clinical manager of the University of Washingtons Regional Clinical Dental Research Center inSeattle. She oversees the day-to-day coordination of the clinical facility, staff, equipment, and approved research projects. Rothenalso works in the universitys Dental Fears Research Clinic. She has published and lectured on the use of Xylitol.The Magic Sweetener?

Dental researchers have knownsomething most of us dont know that the natural sweetener xylitol can

prevent cavities. It may be about asgood as fluoride. Dr. Peter Milgrom,who teaches, researches andpractices dentistry at the Universityof Washington, has become a big fanof xylitol. Ireported on his lateststudy, showing a benefit to babies.

Birch trees in Finland (Flickr photo by Slider5)

Here are some additional xylitol factsfrom Dr. Milgrom:

The shortcomings of xylitol: It has cool taste, similar to mint, so works best in cold foods ormint flavors. And its a little more expensive than other sweeteners.

Most studies so far have shown you need to get at least two, often three, doses of xylitol perday to get a benefit. And if its in a gum or toothpaste, for example, it needs to be thenumber one ingredient, not diluted with other sweeteners.

But, if you get too much xylitol (admittedly rare), you might get stomach upset and diarrhea.

There were some suggestive studies from Finland, using very small samples, saying xylitolalso might prevent ear infections. Weird, and not verified. Milgrom has applied for funding

to investigate that.

Finland, by the way, is like the World Capitol for xylitol. The Finns have been building up a xylitolindustry, presumably because they can grow big crops of birch trees, which are the main source of thesubstance. Milgroms research is mostly government funded, but he does get free xylitol for his

experiments from a Danish company called Danisco. If youre intrigued, he says Danisco runs acrediblewebsite for basic facts about xylitol.

(What does xylitol do? Basically, it blocks the bacteria that form dental plaques, interfering with theirability to feed and to stick to teeth.)
http://kplu.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/the-magic-sweetener/http://depts.washington.edu/nacrohd/about_us/personnel/milgromhttp://depts.washington.edu/nacrohd/about_us/personnel/milgromhttp://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/6/0/1526522/Science/Xylitol.Prevents.Baby.Tooth.Decay..Study.Shows.http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/6/0/1526522/Science/Xylitol.Prevents.Baby.Tooth.Decay..Study.Shows.http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/6/0/1526522/Science/Xylitol.Prevents.Baby.Tooth.Decay..Study.Shows.http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/6/0/1526522/Science/Xylitol.Prevents.Baby.Tooth.Decay..Study.Shows.http://www.xylitolinfo.com/wps/wcm/connect/xylitol/xylitol/homehttp://www.xylitolinfo.com/wps/wcm/connect/xylitol/xylitol/homehttp://www.xylitolinfo.com/wps/wcm/connect/xylitol/xylitol/homehttp://www.xylitolinfo.com/wps/wcm/connect/xylitol/xylitol/homehttp://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/6/0/1526522/Science/Xylitol.Prevents.Baby.Tooth.Decay..Study.Shows.http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/6/0/1526522/Science/Xylitol.Prevents.Baby.Tooth.Decay..Study.Shows.http://depts.washington.edu/nacrohd/about_us/personnel/milgromhttp://kplu.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/the-magic-sweetener/

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