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Xylitol (glycemic index 7)

Specific Recommendations:

• Xylitol at Amazon.com
• Xylitol gum at Amazon.com

News & Research:

• How Sugar Substitutes Stack Up - National Graphics, 7/17/13 - "Xylitol is five percent less sweet than sugar, but it has 40 percent fewer calories (9 calories versus sugar's 16) and a low glycemic index" - Note: Sounds like a no-brainer. Add 5% more if you want the same sweetness. I snack on pumpkin pie. For the sugar part, I replace it with a third inulin, a third trehalose and a third xylitol. See inulin at Amazon.com, trehalose at Amazon.com and xylitol at Amazon.com.
• How to Prevent or Get Rid of Gum Disease Naturally - Erskine Family Dentistry - "Xylitol is anti-bacterial and will help to make the harmful bacteria disappear and over time the pockets that you've developed in your gum line will heal and recede back to their normal condition"
• Chewing Xylitol Gum May Modestly Reduce Preterm Birth - Medscape, 2/4/22 - "Aagaard's team decided to test the effectiveness of xylitol – a natural prebiotic found in fruits, vegetables, and bran – because harmful oral bacteria cannot metabolize the substance, and regular use of xylitol reduces the number of harmful mouth bacteria while increasing the number of good microbes in the mouth. In addition, a study in 2006 found that children up to 4 years old had fewer cavities and ear infections when their mothers chewed gum containing xylitol and other compounds. Aagaard noted that gums without xylitol do not appear to produce the same improvements in oral health ... Of the 4,349 women who chewed xylitol gum, 12.6% gave birth before 37 weeks, compared with 16.5% preterm births among the 5,321 women in the control group – a 24% reduction"
• Effect of natural sweetener xylitol in preventing tooth decay still unproven - Science Daily, 3/26/15 - "they found low quality evidence that levels of tooth decay were 13% lower in those who used a fluoride toothpaste containing xylitol for three years, compared to those who used a fluoride-only toothpaste. For other xylitol-containing products, such as xylitol syrup, lozenges and tablets, there was little or no evidence of any benefit"
• Top 4 Ways to Beat Bad Breath - ABC News, 4/30/14 - "the bacteria species that dominate the tongues of those with healthy mouths are different than the species that inhabit the tongues of those with bad breath. One of the prime bacteria offenders is strain of streptococcus, but recent research has shown that consumption of probiotics reduces streptococci counts significantly ... While eating yogurt is a good way to get probiotics in your diet, you might consider a simple supplement to boost your probiotic counts. Both Flora Udo’s Choice and Garden of Life offer a good basic probiotic supplement ... chewing xylitol gum actually decreases the amount of those same stinky streptococci bacteria" - See probiotic products at Amazon.com and xylitol gum at Amazon.com.
• Big Xylitol Trial Finds Scant Benefits in Adult Caries - Medscape, 1/16/13 - "In the X-ACT trial, 691 participants aged 21 through 80 years consumed five 1-g xylitol or placebo lozenges a day for 33 months. Researchers counted the decayed and filled surfaces of their teeth, where decay penetrated the enamel (D<2FS), at baseline and at 12, 24, and 33 months ... the crude annualized D<2FS increment in the xylitol group was 2.69 compared with 2.98 in the placebo group, a 10% lower increment. However, this difference did not reach statistical significance ... other research has led him to believe a larger dose (6 - 10 g/day, in 2 - 3 applications) is more efficacious, at least in children ... Xylitol is not a magic bullet, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work at all ... In addition, xylitol chewing gum may have a mechanical effect of scrubbing plaque from teeth or might stimulate saliva flow more that lozenges ... One reason the researchers chose lozenges in their adult population is that chewing gum is less socially acceptable among adults ... A few patients seem to get caries no matter what you do ... You have to throw everything you have at them" - Note:  I've always felt that people were wasting their time with the lozenges because it's not getting the xylitol to where it needs to be in an effective way.  The study should have been done with the gum.  I'll bet that 85% of the xylitol from lozenges goes down your throat without even touching most of the teeth.  If you're going to pay the bucks for the study, do it right.

• My dentist recommended xylitol gum to prevent cavities.  Basically the bacteria eat it thinking it's sugar but end up starving from lack of calories.  The same theory supports using it to prevent halitosis.  Here's some research on:

  • 8 Ways to Get Rid of Bad Breath - WebMD - "While anything that makes you salivate will improve your breath, a gum that is sweetened with xylitol is your best option. Xylitol is a sugar substitute that not only increases salvation but also works to prevent bacteria from replicating in the mouth"
  • The science of xylitol: How it negatively impacts the bacteria that cause tooth decay.
  • Xlear Spry Peppermint Gum, 600-Count (Made with 100% xylitol) at Amazon.com
• Sweetener May Cut Cavities in Kids - WebMD. 7/9/08
• Popular sweetener is toxic for dogs - USA Today, 3/18/07
• Sugar Substitute Xylitol Reduces Risk Of Cavities - Science Daily, 2/16/07
• Simple Sugar May Prevent Lung Infections in CF Patients - Medscape, 10/12/00

Abstracts:

• Effect of the Natural Sweetener Xylitol on Gut Hormone Secretion and Gastric Emptying in Humans: A Pilot Dose-Ranging Study - Nutrients 2021 Jan 8 - "Sugar consumption is associated with a whole range of negative health effects and should be reduced and the natural sweetener xylitol might be helpful in achieving this goal ... Twelve healthy, lean volunteers received intragastric solutions with 7, 17 or 35 g xylitol or tap water on four separate days ... low doses of xylitol stimulate the secretion of gut hormones and induce a deceleration in gastric emptying rates. There is no effect on blood lipids and only little effect on plasma glucose and insulin. This combination of properties (low-glycemic sweetener which stimulates satiation hormone release) makes xylitol an attractive candidate for sugar replacement" - See xylitol at Amazon.com.
• Effects of Xylitol on Blood Glucose, Glucose Tolerance, Serum Insulin and Lipid Profile in a Type 2 Diabetes Model of Rats - Ann Nutr Metab. 2012 Jul 20;61(1):57-64 - "The data of this study suggest that xylitol can be used not only as a sugar substitute but also as a supplement to antidiabetic food and other food products"
• Effects of xylitol on metabolic parameters and visceral fat accumulation J Clin Biochem Nutr. 2011 Jul - "After the 8-week feeding period, visceral fat mass and plasma insulin and lipid concentrations were significantly lower in xylitol-fed rats ... In conclusion, intake of xylitol may be beneficial in preventing the development of obesity and metabolic abnormalities in rats with diet-induced obesity"