What is Xylitol?
Pure xylitol is a white crystalline substance that looks and tastes like sugar. It’s not an artificial sweetener, but an all-natural sugar alcohol found in many fruits and vegetables and produced in small amounts by the human body. Xylitol has been researched for over 40 years, resulting in thousands of studies confirming its effectiveness and safety. Xylitol is absorbed slowly and only partially utilized by the body, which means fewer calories: 2.4 calories per gram (40% less than other carbohydrates). It also has a low glycemic index (7, compared to sugar’s 83) and has little effect on blood sugar levels. Since the body does not require insulin to metabolize xylitol, it has become a widely used sweetener for diabetic diets in some countries. In the U.S., xylitol is approved as a food additive in unlimited quantity for foods with special dietary purposes.
Improving Oral Health
Xylitol is one of the newest, easiest and tastiest ways that people can improve oral health. Research done in widely different conditions confirms that xylitol use may reduce tooth decay rates both in high-risk groups (those naturally prone to dental carries, as well as those with poor nutrition and poor oral hygiene) and in low-risk groups (those less prone to dental carries, who apply all current prevention recommendations). Sugar-free chewing gums and candies manufactured with xylitol as the primary sweetener have already received official endorsements from six national dental associations.
Improving Sinus & Nasal Care
The addition of xylitol to saline nasal sprays, neti pots, and positive pressure bottles has been shown to make them more effective at improving and maintaining upper respiratory health. Xylitol helps prevent the causes of sinus issues and upper respiratory discomfort by stimulating the body’s natural cleansing process to clear away contaminants and irritants in the nasal passages. If they can’t stick to the tissue, they can’t cause problems. Unlike many saline solutions, our unique, non-medicating xylitol nasal spray can prevent the dried-out feeling that comes from overuse of sinus medications or basic saline solutions.
Xylitol Sources
Xylitol is found widely in nature; most of the fruits and vegetables that we eat on a daily basis have small amounts of xylitol. For commercial purposes xylitol comes from two sources: corn fibers or trees. Even though the end product is the same, the process to extract it from these two sources is not.
Corn fibers are our preferred source for xylitol, because it is much more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Xylitol is extracted from the stalks or other byproducts of the plants, and comes from corn grown naturally by non-industrial, family farmers. These products, which are non-GMO, are a renewable resource, which would be otherwise wasted at the end of a harvest season. Our extraction process uses no corn grains, and ensures that no allergens from corn occur in the final products. Using corn fibers that take 5 months to grow is a much more sustainable and replenishable source for xylitol than using trees that require 20 years or more to grow.
Recommended By
Xylitol is recommended by dentists, medical doctors, periodontists, pediatricians, and many health organizations and health professionals worldwide as a sweetener for anyone concerned with dental health, upper respiratory health, and sugar consumption in general.
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