Xylitol is truly the darling of sugar substitutes today. The American Dietetic Association touts its use, with this sugar alcohol sold alone and as a sweetener in a variety of processed foods. Health benefits include a reduced glycemic response compared with sucrose, increased absorption of B vitamins and calcium, and even a reduction in dental caries risk.
Consequently, people with blood sugar issues are flocking to processed foods containing this alternative sweetener as a way to satisfy that sweet tooth without the downside of exacerbating the risk factors for Metabolic Syndrome. This condition is known for the markedly increased likelihood of developing heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Even the healthfood community almost universally considers this sugar alcohol to be a healthy substitute for sugar. A primary reason is that it doesn’t directly contribute toward the growth of intestinal yeasts aka Candida.
Have you noticed that the check out aisles at health food stores are typically loaded with chocolates and other sweets containing at least some xylitol? The truth is that I have yet to talk with any health-conscious person who suggests to me any downside other than the potential for intestinal cramps if you get too much.
Xylitol is Naturally Found in Nature
Xylitol is, after all, a naturally occurring substance. Manufacturers of xylitol market it as derived from xylan. The fibers of many plants contain it, including berries, oats, beets, sugar cane and birch. Sounds pretty harmless at first glance.
The FDA has even granted xylitol GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status. You can’t get any safer than that, right?
Manufacturing Process
It is true that xylitol is a naturally occurring substance. However, manufactured xylitol is another matter entirely. Food manufacturers produce it using the industrialized process of sugar hydrogenation. In order to hydrogenate anything, a catalyst is needed. In this case, Raney nickel is used which is a powdered nickel-aluminum alloy. (1, 2)
This poses the risk of heavy metal residue and contamination. Nickel, by the way, is a recognized carcinogen and aluminum is associated with the development of dementia. Heavy metals in the body are notoriously difficult to eliminate with frequent use of infrared sauna probably a good idea.
This alternative sweetener doesn’t seem quite so warm and fuzzy anymore, does it?
There is currently no literature on any detrimental health effects of consuming hydrogenated sugar. However, food manufacturers widely used hydrogenated fats for decades before the very damaging effects of cardiovascular health became widely known!
Given the violent industrialized process that is required to produce a hydrogenated sugar like xylitol, it would seem wise to avoid it based on the very poor track record of hydrogenated foods in general.
Most Xylitol Sourced from GMO Corn
While it is true that xylitol can be derived from the xylan of birch trees, xylan is also found in corn cobs. It is much cheaper to use corn instead of birch bark to derive xylitol and so what do you think manufacturers prefer? Corn, of course.
Therefore, unless the label of a xylitol-containing product specifically notes that it is from birch or another nonGMO source, xylitol is very likely from genetically modified corn or possibly GMO sugar beets.
This is the same problem as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and white sugar from beets. Food manufacturers rely heavily on these sweeteners in the production of sodas and sports drinks.
You get a dose of GMOs with every sip! More on GMO dangers including sterility and stomach holes at the provided link.
Usage Contributes to Gut Imbalance
The digestive process does not break down sugar alcohols like food. Rather, xylitol arrives intact into the intestines.
At that point, a process called “passive diffusion” takes place. This means that the xylitol draws water into the bowels. Only a partial breakdown is the end result. The unmetabolized portion ferments providing the perfect environment for undesirable bacteria to thrive and grow.
It is true that xylitol itself does not feed candida directly as sugar does. As a result, this artificial sweetener is even promoted as a useful part of the Candida Diet. Unfortunately, the fermentation of undigested xylitol in the gut most definitely can exacerbate yeast problems. Don’t be fooled by this argument!
This is exactly why consuming xylitol can make some folks so gassy and even trigger cramping and diarrhea. Gut pathogens having a heyday in your intestines give off a lot of smelly toxins!
Other Little Known Problems
Xylitol can contribute to acid reflux problems. As a result, those who have issues in this area should avoid it for that reason alone. Chronic acid reflux is a serious problem that can lead to cancer of the esophagus and larynx.
In addition, those who suffer from seizures of any kind should stay away from this alternative sweetener as it can increase the frequency of epileptic attacks.
Two Pieces of Xylitol Gum Can Kill a Rat?
According to unpublished lab tests, approximately 1.65 grams of xylitol kills a 100-gram rat half the time.
Two little pieces of xylitol gum contain about .7 – 1 gram. This is probably enough to meet the definition of rat poison.
Cavity Prevention
Many people are chewing xylitol gum due to compelling scientific evidence for cavity prevention. What about children, however?
Rami Nagel, author of Cure Tooth Decay, doesn’t even recommend xylitol gum for this purpose. His research for any long term safety data turned up the following:
- Epidemiology: No information found
- Teratogenicity: No information found
- Reproductive Effects: No information found
- Mutagenicity: No information found
- Neurotoxicity: No information found
In summary, using this modern substance officially renders you a guinea pig, my friend! It seems that any benefits of cavity prevention are outweighed by the fact that there is no actual safety data backing up its use.
Safe Uses of Xylitol
Given all the problems that consumption of xylitol can trigger, it seems best to bypass the use of this sugar substitute on a regular basis.
Can it ever be helpful? Does it have any benefits whatsoever?
Potentially so. The only time I personally would ever consider using xylitol is to help resolve a childhood ear or sinus infection in order to prevent the use of drug-based antibiotics.
There is evidence that this popular sugar alcohol can indeed help encourage a healthy balance of beneficial bacteria found in the ear canal and sinus cavities. Products like this incorporate xylitol for this purpose.
A therapeutic dose can help resolve infection in these areas quickly with no medication required.
Thus, if you choose to use it, make sure it is sparingly and therapeutically (not as food). Also, make sure it does not come from a GMO source like corn!
References
(1) Xylitol production via catalytic hydrogenation of sugarcane
(2) Catalytic hydrogenation of xylose to xylitol using ruthenium catalyst on NiO modified TiO2 support
(3) Cure Tooth Decay by Rami Nagel
(4) Sugar-Free Blues: Everything You Wanted to Know about Artificial Sweeteners
More Information
Yacon: Healthy Syrup or Healthfood Hype?
Jaggery: India’s Sweet Gift
any suggestions for a healthy peppermint gum to chew when needed. I tend to chew peppermint gum if my stomach is a little queasy and it helps. Years ago I gave up aspartime and sugar and thought the gum with xylotal (Peelu brand) was a healthy alternative. Would love to hear of an alternative to this as I was unaware of the risks of consuming.
thanks
Have you tried using peppermint essential oil? doTERRA sells some that is encapsulated in little beadlets! Awesome! You can totally avoid the nasty gum base chemicals.
TOOTHPASTE –
Please please, remember homeopathic medicines, a direct bloodline in the mouth , DIRECT, to the blood stream, faster than the gut, and directly to the brain, the nervous system xylitol seems to target.
I leave sweeteners out of my toothpaste, and they are fine, fresh….put essential oil of mint in there…even baking soda alone. Perhaps if you need sweet toothpaste, you have an addiction to sweets. Isn’t it counter-intuitive to brush with sugar???? Brush with just coconut oil….anti microbial, whitens teeth….or now, there is a stick off a certain tree, inexpensive, no plastics, and people report that it is better for mouth health all around. It is on amazon. How cheap and easy to pack for overnights and air travel! I understand they last a real long time, and I am anxious to try it.
Sugar in toothpaste = oxymoron, to me anyway.
Xylitol is a natural sugar. One of the major bacteria in your are S. Mucans, this is the main bacteria that causes dental caries in the oral cavity. This bacteria cannot ingest xylitol, which therefore just ends up being another bacteria in your mouth. When you ingest any other type of sugar, this bacteria will ingest it and produce an acid attack on your teeth that can last up to 20 minutes each attack, more true in high sugary drinks. The dental community places this substance in high regards, due to the lack of its carcinogenic effect. There is no other sugar that does this and based on scientific evidence and research which I have personally read up on, this is a great product for patients with Xerostomia, which is increasing due to medications and systemic conditions on the rise or children/adults with a high risk for caries. The reason we get caries is because of the pH in our saliva, if the pH drops below 4 in the mouth (which is the level where the enamel will start to deminerlize) the the caries process begins. As for xylitol, I have not seen any damaging effects from the numerous studies I have read except that is it dangerous to pets, especially to dogs. Besides name calling isn’t necessary.
this is exactly right…the xylitol is mainly meant, and effective, for tooth exposure, NOT swallowing. Does nothing for cavities if swallowed but helps reverse tooth decay when applied to teeth directly (best through gum, brushing, and rinsing). Being someone who has spent WHOLE life battling cavities and dental disease and someone who researched out the wazoo and tried the Weston Price way, ONLY xylitol has helped with my problems!
I bought a bag of xylitol a few years ago. Baked with it and when I ate the treat my mouth went numb! I returned the bag and never used it again. Yuck!
how do you use treat ear and sinus issues?
I’d love to know too! I’ve been using tea tree oil and olive oil for my kids ear infections, but I’d be very interested to know if Xylitol worked too. Could you make a syrup out of it and drop small amounts in the ear so bypassing the digestive system? Or is that weird?
There is a saline based nasal spray product called Xlear with xylitol in it. It has helped me with my chronic sinus problems like nothing else, and also helps with regular allergies. I use it daily and have even warded off colds, I believe, with increased use when I feel something is off. From what I have read by the Dr who developed it, the sugar alcohol looks like food to bacteria, but they can’t digest it and get removed as it drains from your sinuses. So you would indeed be ingesting small amounts. It’s the same method for why xylitol prevents cavities via bacteria in your mouth. There was a Finnish study that found the correlation of xylitol gum helping to prevent ear infections in children – but they needed to chew about 5 pieces a day, so pretty frequently.
Liz,
I enjoyed reading your explananation, as it is WHY it works, and why it is also dangerous at the same time.
Thank you!
I’m glad you appreciated my comment, though I’m not sure I really said anything about it being dangerous. Some people are indeed sensitive to xylitol as you mentioned, so any application of it, not just eating, may cause a reaction. And it is true xylitol is very dangerous to dogs (as is chocolate, other common human foods, and drugs like ibuprofen.) This nasal spray has literally been a godsend for me and I consider it *far safer* than any antihistamine or other OTC drug most people are more than willing to use, often daily and for the longterm. But I personally think the safest sweetener to use is… to break your sweet tooth addiction.
Oh, sorry Liz,
My point being, that if this is how it acts, it explains how it may be useful on a zone and sparsely used, such as the ear or the throat, although, I would use other means that work if at all possible, as it seems it is like a pesticide or herbicide–it wipes out what is there – which is why if you consume it, or take it every day, or often, or ingest it – it is going to kill the beneficials as well as the ones causing trouble. Your explanation of how it works makes this entirely plausible. May help boost a weak system……that is if that is how our bodies work. I have heard recently a new theory on germs and blood and defenses that is very interesting indeed. Of course, way off the theories we have been “operating” under since they were proposed, on the germ theory – that the little dots in our blood are morphing cells that do their jobs, they can first become bacteria, then virus, then fungus, and if need be morph to decomposers, all doing their jobs in our body, trying to heal it, restore it…..and not the villians, not the ones in our blood anyway. If we breath at all we get all the germs there are in the environment.
So, rinsing with a neti pot gives the body a break, a physical break from the air microbes, as X would also. But I wouldn’t use Roundup, glyphosate, or 2, 4 D (etc -the agent orange compound) either, not when nature has clean good options.
I see how X works though, and why it can seem to be helpful to some applications, and very nasty too.
Sugar – ferments kill that craving for me – and the desire for wheat binging. When I make my yogurt or milk kefir, I strain them, and have plenty of whey liquid in the fridge to cure the craves. Sauerkraut fresh ferment as well, kombucha, kefir water – ferments.
I do not mean to be rude, Liz, just processing the contributions. I can see with your description why it works in the ear, on the throat, but also why it causes so much damage and is not a long term, or repeat performance chemical for me, nor my kids.
It doesn’t know when to stop killing microbes either, it is rather indiscriminate.
I would never use it, nor any other -itol
Here we use raw local honey and maple syrup.
To heal the teeth, I agree the X factor would be my first go-to, not a refined chemical.
Wow. I can vouch for several truths in your article from my personal experience. For 6 years, I drank a sport/energy drink sweetened with Xylitol on a daily basis. As the years progressed, the effect on my bowels became extreme – like immediate flushing! Also, a hair analysis showed a build up of heavy metals, especially lead (though not sure where that is coming from yet). All the effects you describe fit my experience to a T. Thank you for looking into this product!
If it comes from the birch “xyla,” then why is it hydrogenated sugar? Is the xyla from birch *not* considered hydrogenated sugar? I also thought that with corn they got it from the cobs, therefore not from the actual sugar, found in the kernels (though yes, I would not want anything from corn, especially GMO). I had seen on the WAPF website that xylitol was frowned upon for the way they process it, but I’ve also read they’ve been using it in Northern Europe since WWII and it was naturally extracted from birch trees. What’s the truth?
And what about other “sugar alcohols” like erythritol, sorbitol, malitol, etc?
What do you use for sweetener? I have coconut sugar and may just start using that… I just like a little in my cuppa coffee every morning, and of course sometimes need something for baked goods.
Thank you for doing the research on this, Sarah. I’ve been giving my kids non-GMO xylitol gum every day for several years now, in addition to using xylitol toothpaste. I stopped using xylitol for baking two years ago, due to it’s diuretic properties, which made me suspicious. I now use coconut sugar. What do you think of that?
Coconut sugar is not sustainable. Here is a great article on it:
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/coconut_palm_sugar.htm
We use xylitol toothpaste, so were not swallowing it, what do you think about that? Is it still bad that we use it 3 times a day? If so, would you recommend a different tooth paste?
THE best, best toothpaste out there…BAR NONE…made by a company in Australia called miessence…no chemicals used in any of their products what-so-ever…not even in the processing of any of the ingredients. Their toothpastes (some) are sweetened slightly with stevia. Many of their products are certified food grade organic. You will not find better quality products anywhere in the world if you are concerned about keeping toxic chemicals out of you and your kids. See my website…
cleanandsimple.mionegroup.com
Oh ,I just notice the name of the toothpaste from australia,thanks , I will check it up your website,
Hi Kim, I use weleda sea salt toothpaste,which is your brand I would like to try it,thanks maggie
What if it is in toothpaste and we aren’t ingesting it? Is it still that bad?
I make homemade toothpaste. Xylitol combats the bitterness of essential oils and baking soda used. So its no safe fir toothpaste either?
Instead of using the xylitol or any other sweetener for toothpaste for it’s antibacterial properties, try adding a few drops of tea tree oil to your homemade toothpaste. It has the same antibacterial properties with no side effects.
Hi Enny how do yu do the homemade toothpaste
oops ,means How do you…