I just read that Americans eat up to ½ cup of sugar per person, per day. Another interesting factoid is that each person eats on the average of 150 pounds of sugar per year. That’s a lot of sugar! Having had severe hypoglycemia as a young adult, I had to learn to do without most sugary treats. I couldn’t stand the taste of any of the artificial sweeteners and was concerned about their health impacts. So I stopped drinking sodas and learned to drink my caffeine black. I learned to discern the sweetness of foods where I could: in the cinnamon, sans sugar, on my cinnamon toast, or the sweetness in the berries gleaned – the wild cherries, mulberries, blackberries, or the spices in curry.
I wasn’t as nutritionally aware of all of the alternatives in those days, despite having a bachelors’ degree in nutrition with a rebel attitude toward the wonders of soft white “Wonder Bread”. There was no internet to surf on to learn the latest, cutting edge research and information. Unless you lived in a big city with a good library and knowledgeable research librarian, or working in that field, you were unlikely to know the “latest.” Boy do I love the convenience of technology (once I learn how to use it.)
I had been growing and using Stevia for a while, but the leaf and the commercial forms available ten years ago were bitter-sweet and altered the taste of the food. Not good enough even though Stevia is good for us. [More on this in another blog. There is newer products and techniques.]
Xylitol has no known toxicity to humans…
Xylitol is not safe for dogs and may not be safe for other small animals.
Enter xylitol. When my friend Julie, who gave me my first bag of xylitol to create a sugar-free, diabetic friendly truffle, I was intrigued. What is xylitol, I wondered? My husband who manages to keep up with many of the cutting edge nutritional research, had purchased some XlearTM nasal spray with xylitol because it was supposed to inhibit the attachment of infection-causing bacteria and help wash away bacteria, pollens, dander, molds, allergens and other irritants that cause nasal congestion.
So I investigated xylitol on-line and found some pleasantly surprising research that made me double my efforts to create a sugar-free truffle that rivaled the taste and texture of normal regular truffles.
So, what is xylitol, where does it come from and how did we find it?
Xylitol is a naturally occurring sweetener found in and extracted from the fibers of many fruits and vegetables, including various berries, corn husks, birch trees, oats, and mushrooms. It is a natural, intermediate product of glucose metabolism in man, some animals, several plants and micro-organisms. Our bodies can extract and use up to 15 grams of xylitol per day from the foods we eat and our normal carbohydrate metabolism. Of course, the amount depends on the foods we eat.
Xylitol is considered a sugar alcohol or polyol. It is slowly absorbed into the blood stream. It is not digested and processed in the body as a carbohydrate, and so doesn’t directly impact blood sugar. It has a low glycemic index of 7, compared to sucrose also know as white sugar or table sugar, which has a glycemic index ranging from 60 – 80. This means it doesn’t cause a sugar high and subsequent energy slump.
Xylitol metabolism doesn’t require insulin. This may be an advantage for the increasing number of people with diabetes. Xylitol doesn’t contribute to high blood sugar levels or the resulting hyperglycemia caused by an insufficient insulin response.
The downside of xylitol is that it can have a mild laxative effect. Tolerances (i.e. how much xylitol which can be eaten before experiencing the laxative effect) vary, ranging from as low as 3 grams to as high as 60 grams per day.
Xylitol has 40% less calories, only 2.4 calories per gram as compared to 4 calories per gram for other sugars such as cane sugar or honey.
The truffle recipes containing xylitol in The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles have approximately 3 – 5 grams of xylitol per ½ ounce truffle, weighed prior to finishing.
Emil Fischer, a German chemist discovered xylitol could be made from wood sugars in 1891. During the 1930’s organic chemists worked out the process for extracting the Xylitol from the birch sugar concentrated in xylan-rich fibers of birch branches.
The Finns rediscovered xylitol during World War II. Finland had no domestic source of table sugar, and because of the war, they were unable to import any. Finland was searching for an alternative source of sugar. Birch trees are indigenous to Finland and so they began to make and use xylitol instead of sugar to sweeten their foods.
In 1963, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved xylitol use as a “special dietary and nutritional additive.”
Finnish scientists conducted studies to determine the effects of xylitol, sucrose and fructose (a fruit sugar commonly found in corn and other fruits) on dental caries. They also researched the physiology of xylitol in the body and discovered that xylitol did not require insulin for independent nature was also
A Finnish company began putting xylitol in their gum in 1975. It took another 15 years for the Americans to add small amounts of Xylitol to our gums. [Please note that the most popular brands of gum that contain xylitol, also contain sorbitol and manitol, other sugar alcohols which have almost no dental benefits. ALL contain aspartame on their ingredient list! I was shocked to discover this while reading the ingredient lists on the various xylitol gums while waiting my turn to check out at the store.
Buyer beware! If you don’t choose to have aspartame in your gum, buy The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles and get your healthy xylitol in healthy chocolate!
Dentistry became interested in xylitol in the 1970s when those studies showed a drastic reduction in dental caries (cavities) when xylitol was used instead of sucrose. Fructose also reduced caries but not as substantially. Additional Research on Xylitol shows dramatic reductions in new tooth decay and plaque formation:
Oral bacteria, including the cavity-promoting streptococci mutans and lactobacilli can’t digest or use xylitol as a food source. That doesn’t stop the bacteria from eating it – and so it starves them. Xylitol does not effectively ferment. The bacteria can’t convert the xylitol into acid or plaque. This helps the pH level in the mouth remain neutral – a friendlier environment for healthy teeth. Xylitol can also have the added benefit of reversing the unsafe fall of pH levels in the mouth. When a person chews xylitol-sweetened gum, for instance, the oral pH is raised to a safer level and saliva flow is stimulated, helping to neutralize any acids that may have formed.
Another tremendous benefit is that saliva contains the minerals calcium and phosphate which aid the re-mineralization of early cavities in the neutral pH environment. Xylitol dramatically helps reduce tooth decay, helps inhibit plaque buildup, and helps retard loss of tooth enamel. Xylitol can also used to reduce infections in the nose and throat.
Marilynn Rothen, RDH, BS, of the University of Washington has a wonderfully informative series of articles on the history and dental benefits of xylitol on Dimensions of Dental Hygiene’s On-line Journal at http://www.dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com/ddhright.aspx?id=765, if you would like more detailed information than I have shared here.
Where to get Xylitol
Your local health food store is sure to have it, or to have it delivered to you door,
http://www.xlear.com/xylosweet/articles/sweetener.aspx
http://www.EmeraldForestXylitol.com
Coming Soon to this Website!
The Splendid Indulgence of Chocolate Truffles
Decadent Truffles You Can Make at Home
Using Low Glycemic Natural Sweeteners or Sugar
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