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#1 snorkels4

snorkels4

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Posted 08 April 2006 - 06:13 PM

:lol: Xylitol: Our Sweet Salvation? :rolleyes:

by Sherill Sellman

From: The SPECTRUM Vol. 4 No. 8; February 2003, p.23 -- www.thespectrumnews.org

Editor's note: Considering the quantity of sugar we all consume in one way or another each day, sometimes not by choice, the following is perhaps the most important health article to come along in quite some time, and should be shared as widely as possible with family and friends of ALL ages.

Many of you readers of this publication are quite familiar with the various business and "health" reasons why the New World Order gang of misfits have long been promoting sugar (and even nastier artificial sweeteners) to help with their sinister control and depopulation agendas. Obviously, on the way to ruining our physical and mental health, a lot of money can be made through "managing" medical problems resulting from these "sweet" poisons. Therefore, when you read the following, you'll easily "connect the dots " and see why Xylitol is not a part of our familiar vocabulary-but should be!

This is reprinted from the January-February 2003 issue of NEXUS magazine (www.nexusmagazine.com; phone: 1-888-909-7474) and we are grateful to them for helping to bring this subject to public attention.

Likewise, it was our News Desk guru (and retired dentist), Dr. Al Overholt, who originally identified this article for the News Desk. When you get to the part of Xylitol's astonishing benefits to the mouth and teeth, you'll see what may have acted as a strong factor in Dr. Overholt's decision to want to share this information with you.

This article was written by Sherrill Sellman of GetWell International, P.O. Box 690416, Tulsa, OK 74169-0416. (See the end of the article for further biographical and contacting information.) Sherrill deserves loud applause for assembling an easy-tounderstand and well-documented dissertation on this important health matter having obvious far-ranging implications. Perhaps copies of this article should be available in the waiting rooms of all dentist's and doctor's offices.


© 2002 Sherill Sellman

Xylitol is not only a safe, natural sweetener without the bad side-effects of sugar and artificial substitutes, it's also good for your teeth, stabilizes insulin and hormone levels, and promotes good health.

Americans have a mighty hankering for sugar. It seems that we just can't get enough of the stuff. On average, a half a cup of sugar is consumed per person every day. It is estimated that the average American eats, drinks, slurps, stirs, and sprinkles about 150 pounds of it annually. Never in modern history has a culture consumed so much sugar.

Sugar truly does deserve its reputation as a "white poison". Thinking of sugar as a food is really a stretch of the imagination, because it is more a chemical that is difficult for our bodies to utilize and digest.

Humans were really not designed to eat large amounts of sugar in whatever form it may take: white and brown, corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, barley malt, honey, rice syrup, and maple syrup. Sugar is also highly seductive, acting like an addictive drug that lures even the most well-intentioned person back into its sweet clutches.

According to Chinese wisdom, sweetness is one of the flavors necessary for maintaining balance in the body.

[Editor's note: The concept of sweetness" referred to here likely means alkalinity, as in the acid-alkaline balance within the body that was a major topic of Edgar Cayce's medical discourses while in trance. In that respect, Cayce's wisdom would agree with the ancient Chinese wisdom-but the advice is actually OPPOSITE the implied conclusion. That is, you want to eat ACIDIC things, like citrus, to produce an alkaline REACTION in the body to keep it slightly on the "sweet" side.

This matter has long been a subject of obvious confusion for Cayce readers,who often "get it backwards" until they understand the actual reactions of body chemistry he was talking about. And that same concept is likely what the ancient Chinese medical wisdom meant by "sweetness" within the body.]

But regularly eating large amounts of sugar will cause serious harm. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia and weight gain, leading to diabetes and obesity in both children and adults. It leaches the body of vital minerals and vitamins. It raises blood pressure, triglycerides, and the bad cholesterol (LDL), increasing the risk of heart disease. It causes tooth decay and periodontal disease, which leads to tooth loss and systemic infections. It makes it difficult for a child's brain to learn, resulting in a lack of concentration. Both children and adults exhibit disruptive behavior, learning disorders, and forgetfulness from sugar consumption. It initiates auto-immune and immune deficiency disorders such as arthritis, allergies, and asthma. It also upsets hormonal balance and supports the growth of cancer cells.

So what are we to do? Will our sugar cravings always hold us hostage, or is there really a way to lick the sugar habit successfully?


Xylitol To The Rescue!

During World War II, Finland was suffering from an acute sugar shortage. With no domestic supply of sugar, the Finns searched for an alternative. It was then that the Finnish scientists rediscovered xylitol, a low-calorie sugar made from birch bark. It had, in fact, been known to the world of organic chemistry since it was first manufactured in 1891 by a German chemist.

By 1930, xylitol had been purified, but it wasn't until World War II that the sugar shortages forced researchers to look at alternative sweeteners. It was only when xylitol was stabilized that it became a viable sweetener in foods. It was also during this time that researchers discovered xylitol's insulin-independent nature. (It metabolizes in the body 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 in patients with impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Since then, many other countries, including Italy and China, have been producing xylitol for use in their domestic markets-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 expensive xylitol less economically. viable.

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

Although xylitol tastes and looks exactly like sugar, that is where the similarities end. Xylitol is really 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-aging benefits. 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 toxic levels. The only discomfort that some sensitive people may notice initially when. taking large amounts is mild diarrhea or slight cramping.

Since the body makes xylitol daily, as well as the enzymes to break it down, any discomfort usually disappears within a few days as the body's enzymatic activity adjusts to a higher intake.

Xylitol has 40% fewer calories and 75% fewer carbohydrates than sugar and is slowly absorbed and metabolised, resulting in very negligible changes in insulin. About one-third of the xylitol that is consumed is absorbed in the liver. The other two-thirds travels to the intestinal tract, where it is broken down by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids.

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


Xylitol And Oral Health

Tooth decay and gum disease are serious problems. According to the American Dental Association, 75% of American adults over the age of 35 suffer from some form of periodontal disease.1 Needless to say, diet plays a major role in dental heath. When there is an excess of sugar in the diet, this weakens the immune system and creates an acidic environment; thus oral health suffers. The mouth is home to over 400 strains of bacteria. Most of these are benign, but when sugar enters the scene, it feeds the destructive strains, allowing them to proliferate.

Periodontal disease is basically caused by bacteria. These deposits permit the growth of bacteria that cause inflammation of the gums. The bacteria also release minute amounts of toxins that break down guru tissue, thereby helping the infection to progress. Plaque is an invisible, sticky film of saliva and food residue that constantly forms on the teeth. Ongoing low-grade bacterial infection also burdens the immune system.

Bacteria help to create plaque and they also thrive within it. Unless removed, plaque formed along the gum-line can lead to gum disease. When left untreated, plaque at or below the gum line hardens into tartar.
Periodontal disease takes two forms: simple gum inflammation, called gingivitis, and a more severe gum infection, called periodontitis, which may lead to tooth loss and receding gums.

Gingivitis results from the build-up of plaque and tartar which irritate the gum or periodontal tissue. The more advanced state of gum disease, periodontitis, occurs when inflammation of the gums is accompanied by bone and ligament destruction. Bleeding gums are usually the first indication that gum disease is developing, but obvious symptoms may not always be present.

Gum infection can also lead to other serious health problems. It doubles the risk of stroke, triples the risk of heart attack, increases the incidence of premature, low-weight babies, and also contributes to bronchitis, pneumonia, and emphysema. In fact, the same bacteria that cause gum disease end up either directly or indirectly infecting your heart and arteries. A study conducted at the University of Minnesota in 1998 found that rabbits injected with tooth plaque developed blood clots which led to heart disease. 2 It seems that the bacteria first attack the bones and gums in the mouth and then enter the bloodstream through small cracks in the gums.

Eating sugar causes tooth decay by creating a highly acidic condition in the mouth. Acidity strips tooth enamel of minerals, causing it to weaken and making it more vulnerable to attack by bacteria, leading to tooth decay or demineralization. Ordinarily, saliva bathes the mouth with an alkaline solution that neutralizes all acidity and actually remineralizes the teeth. Saliva also washes away leftover bits of food and helps the digestion process. But when saliva turns acidic because of too many sweets, bacteria in the mouth have a feeding frenzy. These nasty bacteria, along with carbohydrate waste, stick to the teeth and tongue and hold the acid close to the teeth where it eats away enamel. Virtually whatever food you ingest, the remaining particles become food for plaque-producing bacteria. Using xylitol helps to raise plaque pH, thereby reducing the time that teeth are exposed to damaging acids, as well as starving harmful bacteria of their food source.

Xylitol is a dentist's dream. It reverses all these destructive effects of sugar on oral health. Xylitol is non-fermentable and therefore cannot be converted to acids by oral bacteria, thus it helps to restore a proper alkaline/acid balance in the mouth. This alkaline environment is inhospitable to all the destructive bacteria, especially the worst variety, Streptococcus mutans. It also inhibits plaque formation.

Using xylitol right before bedtime, after brushing and flossing, protects and heals the teeth and gums. Unlike sugar, it can even be left on the teeth overnight. With proper use, xylitol actually stops the fermentation process leading to tooth decay. Long-term use suppresses the most harmful strains of oral bacteria, making a long-lasting change in those bacterial communities. Xylitol even has the ability to enhance the mineralization of the enamel. It is most effective in treating small decay spots. Although larger cavities won't go away, they can harden and become less sensitive.

Consistently using small amounts of xylitol tends to increase protective factors in saliva. Xylitol stimulates saliva flow and helps keep salivary minerals in a useful form. Prolonged xylitol use increases the buffering capacity and protective factors in saliva. Increased saliva production is especially important for people suffering with a dry mouth due to illness, aging, or drug sideeffects.

Since the oral environment becomes less acidic with continued xylitol use, it is advisable to chew xylitol gum or suck a xylitol mint after every meal or after eating sweet snacks. The best news is that studies have shown that xylitol's effect is long-lasting and possibly even permanent.

Xylitol has recently received positive support in the Journal Of The American Dental Association. "Xylitol is an effective preventive agent against dental caries... Consumption of xylitol containing chewing gum has been demonstrated to reduce caries in Finnish teenagers by 30-60%. Studies conducted in Canada, Thailand, Polynesia, and Belize have shown similar results.... " 3 A study conducted at Harvard School of Dental Medicine concluded that: "Xylitol can significantly decrease the incidence of dental caries." 4

Another unexpected benefit came from a Finnish study which showed that children whose teeth are colonised between 19 and 31 months of age by Streptococcus mutans bacteria are more likely to have a large number of cavities. Most children acquire this bacteria from their mother's saliva through food tasting, sharing cups, and kissing. The study showed a dramatic 70% reduction in tooth decay among children whose mothers chewed xylitol gum.5

Xylitol, however, isn't just for the young. In a paper published in the Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society, researchers tested 111 adults, aged 60 and older, over a 12-month period. All were frail but healthy adults. In the study, one group of volunteers chewed no gum, a second chewed gum containing xylitol, and a third group chewed gum containing both xylitol and an antimicrobial. In the two groups receiving gum, the participants chewed two pieces for 15 minutes, two times per day. At the end of the study, the researchers reported that the group who received xylitol gum had substantially lowered their risk of developing thrush, a fungal or yeast infection that can cause mouth soreness. (The group who received xylitol plus the antimicrobial had equal benefits.) It had also reduced their risk of developing angular cheilitis, a condition in which sores develop in the corners of the mouth. The researchers noted that xylitol gum can provide a "real clinical benefit" to frail, elderly people.6


Xylitol And Ear, Nose & Throat Infections

Recurring middle-ear infections pose a great health threat to children. Tubes are often inserted into the eardrum in children with these recurring infections to reduce the fluid that is attempting to wash out the infection from the middle ear. Whil this procedure sometimes helps to reduce the frequency of infections, it is also designed to help with hearing.

Language, a critical part of learning, is built by auditory input during the first two years of life-the same period when ear infections are most common. If this input is dampened by infection or fluid in the middle ear during this important period, it can cause learning problems.

One researcher demonstrated that, even when properly treated, recurrent middle ear infections during the first two years result in significant impairment in reading ability up to the age of nine.7 Another study followed children longer and showed significant learning and social problems extending up to age eighteen.8

One of xylitol's versatile benefits is its ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria that cause middle-ear infections in young children. In two recent studies involving over 1,000 children, xylitolflavored chewing gum was found to reduce the incidence of middle-ear infections by 40%, significantly decreasing ongoing middle-ear complications and the need for antibiotics.

Regularly washing the nose with a spray containing xylitol decreases the number of harmful bacteria and stimulates normal defensive washing of this area. A clean nose reduces problems with allergies and asthma that originate from nasal irritants and pollutants.

Current research shows how bacteria attach to cells in the body, causing infection. Some sugars like xylitol are known to be able to interfere with this binding, blocking the attachment of the major infection-causing bacteria that live in the nose. Dr. Lon Jones, a physician in Plainsview, Texas, reported that the use of a xylitol nasal spray in his practice prevented 93% of ear infections and resulted in comparable reductions in sinus infections, allergies, and asthma.9

Xylitol has been shown to be effective in inhibiting Candida Albicans, a serious systemic yeast problem, and other harmful gut bacteria including H. Pylori, implicated in periodontal disease, bad breath, gastric and duodenal ulcers, and even stomach cancer.


Xylitol And Osteoporosis

Another exciting benefit from xylitol is its role in reversing bone loss. Studies in Finland found that xylitol maintained bone density in rats that had their ovaries removed. Without ovaries, estrogen levels plummeted and so did the bone density in rats that were not given xylitol. However, in the rats that had ovaries removed and were given xylitol, bone density actually increased.10 Another study showed that xylitol was effective in decreasing age-related bone loss in older male rats by 10%. 11

In an unprecedented action, the Finnish researchers made bold recommendations for human application of their studies. They suggested that an effective human dose would be about 40 grams daily. The scientists speculated that xylitol's bone density-enhancing properties are due to its ability to promote intestinal absorption of calcium. Including xylitol in one's diet is certainly an enjoyable way to reap the benefits of greater bone density, along with other health benefits.


Xylitol And Insulin Resistance, Diabetes Hypertension, And Hormonal Imbalances

Consuming sugar and other refined carbohydrates results in the rapid release of glucose, or blood sugar. In response, the pancreas secretes insulin to usher glucose into the cells, where it is burned for energy. Excess glucose stresses the system, and over time the cells become less responsive to insulin. This condition, known as insulin resistance, is a huge health problem and it is estimated to affect half the American population. Insulin resistance is associated with abnormalities in cholesterol and triglyceride levels, hypertension, increased risk of heart disease, and diabetes.

The dramatic rise in type-2 diabetes since the mid-1900s directly coincides with our increased consumption of sugar. One long-term study of more than 65,000 women demonstrated that a high-sugar, low-fibre diet increased the risk of type-2 diabetes by 250%. Another recent study found that excessive intake of sugar was the single most important dietary risk factor for heart disease in women and for men. It has been estimated that sugar intake may account for more than 150,000 premature deaths from heart disease in the United States each year.12

Xylitol has been demonstrated in repeated clinical studies to be very slowly metabolised. In fact, on the glycemic index, which measures how quickly foods enter the bloodstream, sugar is rated at 100 and xylitol at just seven! Xylitol is a natural insulin stabilizer, therefore it causes none of the abrupt rises and falls that occur with sugar. In fact, it actually helps in stopping sugar and carbohydrate cravings. Foods sweetened with xylitol will not raise insulin levels. This makes it a perfect sweetener for people with diabetes as well as those wanting to lose weight. There is a growing consensus amongst anti-aging researchers that maintaining low insulin levels is a key to a successful anti-aging program.

Insulin resistance also plays a significant role in hormonal imbalances, including those that lead to breast cancer. High insulin levels increase the production of estrogens, leading to an estrogen-dominant condition, and also interfere with healthy ovarian function. Insulin resistance is a major cause of a growing hormonal problem called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). PCOS causes the ovaries to become anovulatory, which means that the normal cyclic production of estrogen followed by progesterone either ceases or becomes dysfunctional. Insulin stimulates the ovaries to produce predominantly male hormones, which, in combination with higher insulin and glucose levels, increase weight gain around the waist-a body type that is a risk factor for breast cancer. Signs that the body is being exposed to higher levels of the male hormones include acne, loss of head hair, and an increase in body hair. Lowering insulin levels is crucial for not only treating PCOS but also resolving most other hormonal imbalances, including those leading to breast cancer.13

Dr. John Lee, author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer, explains the connection between insulin resistance and breast cancer:

"Overeating junk food makes you fat. Increased body fat and lack of exercise lead to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance leads to further craving of sugary carbohydrates to generate energy for the body. More insulin is released in response to increased carbohydrate intake, leading to more weight gain. More fat leads to more estrogens, which, in turn, lead to earlier breast development and menstruation. Earlier onset of menstruation leads to more ovulatory cycles and a greater lifetime exposure to estrogens without adequate progesterone. A greater lifetime exposure to estrogens increases breast cancer risk.

"Simultaneously, increased consumption of simple carbohydrates, coupled with insulin resistance, leads to polycystic ovaries and lack of ovulation during menstrual cycles, resulting in excess production of androgens and estrogens, along with inadequate production of progesterone. Excessive estrogen production in the absence of progesterone production leads to estrogen dominance and increased breast cancer risk. Use of contraceptive hormones increases insulin resistance, exacerbating all the above problems."14

Using xylitol instead of sugar, as well as reducing intake of high-glycemic, refined carbohydrate foods, helps to lower the risk not only of PCOS but also of ovarian cysts, fibroids, endometriosis, PMS, hot flashes, weight gain, and depression.


The Safer Sweetener

Increased sugar consumption has bedeviled Western cultures with more and more health problems, many of which are putting an enormous strain on healthcare systems. Finally, there is an answer to our collective prayers for something truly healthy that can also satisfy our sweet tooth. Over 1,500 scientific studies have found that the more you use xylitol, the more you can eliminate sugar cravings, reduce insulin levels, and alkalinize your body. It's a great aid on the way to good health and long life.

Imagine never having to feel those twinges of guilt when you bite into a xylitol-sweetened brownie. Or how about increasing your bone density while enjoying your favorite hot drink with two spoonfuls of xylitol crystals, or knowing that xylitol-sweetened chewing gum is preventing cavities and gum disease?

With xylitol, you can now have your sweet tooth and treat it, too!


References

1. Zeines, Victor, DDS, MS, FAGD. Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body. Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2000, p. 55.

2. ibid., p. 29.

3. Beiswanger, BB, Boneta AE, Mau MS, Katz BP, Proskin HM, Stookey GK. The effect of chewing sugar-free gum after meals on clinical caries incidence. J. Am. Dent. Assoc. 1998;129:1623-6.

4. Hayes, Catherine, DMD; DMSc. The effect of non-cariogenic sweeteners on the prevention of dental caries: A review of evidence. Harvard School Of Dental Medicine. See the http://www.lib.umich...acts/hayes.html Internet website.

5. How Xylitol-containing Products Affect Cariogenic Bacteria. J. Am. Dent. Assoc., April 2000.

6. J. Am. Geriatrics Soc. 2002;50. See the www.globalaging.org/health/world/medgum.htm Internet website.

7. Luotonen M, Uhari M, Aitola, L et a1. Recurrent otitis media during infancy and linguistic skills at the age of nine years. Pediatr Infect. J. 1996;15:854-8.

8. Bennett KE, Haggard MP, Silva PA, Stewart IA. Behavior and development effects of otitis media with effusion into the teens. Arch. this. Child 2601 Aug;85(2):91-5.

9. See www.nasal-xylitol.com Internet website.

10. Svanberg M; Mattila P, Knuttila M. Dietary xylitol retards the ovariectomyinduced increase of bone turnover in rats. Calcif. Tissue Int. 60:462-466.

11. Mattila P, Svanberg, M, Knuttila, M. Increased bone volume and bone mineral content in xylitol-fed aged rats. Gerontology 2001;47:300-305.

12. Carbohydrates: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Dr. James Whittaker Newsletter, vol. 13, no. 4, April 2000.

13. John, Lee MD. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer. Warner Books, 2002, p. 61.

14. ibid, p. 62.


About The Author

Sherrill Sellman is the author of the bestselling book Hormone Heresy. What Women Must Know About Their Hormones. She can be contacted via her website (www.ssellman.com) or by email (golight@earthlink.net). To subscribe to her monthly HormoneWise e-Digest, send an email to the hwise@ssellman.com Internet location.

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#2 snorkels4

snorkels4

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Posted 08 April 2006 - 08:25 PM

Kauko K. Mäkinen Institute of Dentistry, University of Turku, Finland History,Safety, and Dental Properties of Xylitol Introduction The chemical profile of xylitol; terminology Metabolic features of xylitol Oral and metabolic safety of xylitol Some potential future uses of xylitol Xylitol compared with other sweeteners References Introduction Xylitol is a five-carbon sugar alcohol, a natural carbohydrate which occurs freely in certain plant parts (for example, in fruits, and also in products made of them) and in the metabolism of humans (1). Xylitol has been known to organic chemistry at least from the 1890's. German and French researchers were obviously the first ones who made xylitol chemically more than 100 years ago. This reaction was accomplished by means of sodium amalgam reduction of D-xylose (wood sugar). Owing to the obvious impurity of the then raw material, the first xylitol preparation was a syrupy mixture also containg small amounts of sugar alcohols other than xylitol. The definitive characterization and purification of xylitol to polarographic purity was accomplished already in the 1930's. The first successful crystallization of xylitol, after reduction of purified D-xylose, took place during the second world war. This product was not, however, a stable form of xylitol. A stable, crystalline form was obtained slightly thereafter. Although xylitol has a relatively long organic chemical history, the first half of this century was rather eventless from xylitol's point of view; xylitol was regarded as one of the numerous sweet carbohydrates organic chemists isolated at those times. Scientists obviously did not realize the biologic properties of xylitol until researchers started to exploit its insulin-independent nature after the World War II. Frontrunners in these developments were Japan, Germany and the [former] Soviet Union. In Japan, xylitol was used, for instance, in the resuscitation of patients from diabetic coma. Xylitol thus remained mostly as a research chemical until the war-associated sugar shortage in some countries, such as Finland, forced engineers and chemists to search for alternative sweeteners. Such substances were supposed to be present, for example, in hardwood. Researchers and engineers at the former Finnish Sugar Co. Ltd. succeeded to develop an industrial procedure for small-scale xylitol production, but the matter was temporarily put aside in the advent of peace; the sugar shortage subsided. The idea was not totally forgotten, however, and the process was being gradually improved. In 1975 the Finnish company began the first truly large-scale production of xylitol in Kotka, a small town located in South Finland. Simultaneously, a Swiss company (F. Hoffman La-Roche) had shown interest in xylitol. The two companies founded a joint venture (Xyrofin) in 1976. Later, Xyrofin became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Finnish Sugar Co. (currently Cultor). At the same time, other companies located in the [former] Soviet Union, China, Japan, Germany, Italy, etc. had produced xylitol mostly for domestic markets. Before 1970, xylitol was mainly used in these countries as a sweetener in the diabetic diet or in parenteral nutrition (infusion therapy). Use of xylitol for dental purposes commenced in the 1970's: the first xylitol chewing gum was launced in Finland in 1975 and in the USA in the same year but a few months later. Various forest and agricultural materials rich in hemicellulose have been used as a raw material in xylitol manufacturing. Hemicellulose is chemically a xylan, a long polysaccharide molecule consisting of D-xylose units. Xylans (which in turn are examples of so-called pentosans) are typically present in certain hardwoods (such as birch and beech), rice, oat, wheat and cotton seed hulls, various nut shells, straw, corn cobs and stalks, sugar cane bagasse, etc. According to this terminology, pentosans are polysaccharides consisting of five-carbon pentose sugars, such as D-xylose. (Glucans consist of six-carbon D-glucose units, and represent spesific hexosans, important in the growth of dental plaque.) In the manufacturing process of xylitol (2), the xylan molecules are first hydrolyzed into D-xylose. The latter is chemically reduced to xylitol which can be separated by large-scale column chromatography. Xylitol is finally crystallized. The entire process is complicated and demands great engineering skills and experience. The amounts of xylitol present freely in plants are too low for industrial exploitation. Xylitol can, of course, be synthesized by means of organic chemical procedures, but the usage of D-xylose as a starting material is currently more feasible. Xylitol can also be made by means of bacterial fermentations which utilize D-xylose, D-glucose, or other suitable raw materials as substrates. These processes have not been economically feasible. TOP The chemical profile of xylitol; terminology Xylitol is a natural sugar alcohol of the pentitol type, i.e. the xylitol molecule contains five carbon atoms and five hydroxyl groups (Fig. 1). Therefore, xylitol can be called a pentitol. Xylitol belongs to the polyalcohols (polyols) which are not, strictly speaking, "sugars" which traditionally include certain nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners (sucrose, corn sugar, corn syrup, invert sugar, D-fructose, D-glucose, etc.; in some reports the term "sugars" is collectively used to refer to mono- and disaccharides). However, the legitimacy for including polyols in the sugar field results from biochemical relationships; polyols are formed from, and can be converted to, sugars (i.e. aldoses and ketoses). Some chemical encyclopedias define sugars as crystalline, sweet carbohydrates. The sugar alcohols thus fall in this category. To fully understand the dental effects of xylitol, it is important to refer to the structural differences between various dietary polyols (3). Sorbitol is another sugar alcohol, a hexitol type of polyol, owing to its 6-carbon structure. Because of this, sorbitol can support the growth of cariogenic mutans streptococci and other oral bacteria which are not normally able to utilize xylitol for growth. Because of evolutionary expediency, cariogenic organisms prefer 6-carbon ("hexose-based") structures, such as D-glocose, as an energy source. Therefore, it is important to akcnowledge the inevitable biochemical differences between xylitol (a pentitol and pentose-derived) and sorbitol (a hexitol and hexose-derived), and to understand the nomenclature-related definitions described above. In spite of the existence of some differences between the various sugar alcohols, xylitol and most other polyols also display dentally interesting common properties: they can form certain type of complexes with calcium and certain other polyvalent cations. Such Ca-xylitol complexes can be present, for example, in the oral cavity and in the intestines. In the former, such complexes may contribute to the remineralization of demineralized enamel and dentine caries lesions observed in subjects who habitually consume xylitol. In the intestines, those complexes can facilitate the absorption of calcium through the gut wall; this effect has been suggested to play a role in the xylitol-associated prevention of osteoporosis in experimental animals (4). From the dental point of view, the role of xylitol (and certain other polyols) as stabilizers of the salivary calcium and phosphate ions may be important. It is possible that xylitol stabilizes the calcium phosphate system present in saliva in the same manner some salivary peptides (such as statherin) do (5). Xylitol is about twice as sweet as sorbitol. When eaten in solid or crystalline form (such as in chewing gum), xylitol gives a pleasant cool and fresh sensation owing to its high endothermic heat of solution. The caloric content of xylitol is approximately the same as that of "sugar"; in practice, however, xylitol, when eaten as part of a mixed diet, may provide somewhat less calories than sugar. TOP Metabolic features of xylitol For the understanding of the oral safety of xylitol, one has to briefly describe the human metabolism of this carbohydrate. Xylitol is a natural intermediate product which regularly occurs in the glucose metabolism of man and other animals, and also in the metabolism of several plants and microorganisms. As a result of the ease with which it is converted in the metabolism, xylitol has a low steady-state concentration in human blood. In man, the normal blood xylitol level ranges between 0.03 and 0.06 mg per 100 ml. The excretion of xylitol in the urine is approximately 0.3 mg per hour; there is normally no significant difference in this sense between healthy and diabetic subjects. In man, ingested xylitol and sorbitol are absorbed through the gut wall at virtually the same rate, and appreciably more slowly than D-glucose and D-fructose. Both polyols are absorbed passively. In most healthy subjects, an adaptive increase in the activity levels of an enzyme (a non-specific polyol dehydrogenase) greatly increases the rate of xylitol absorption in a few days. This is not the case with sorbitol. In unadapted subjects xylitol doses of about 0.5 g per kg body weight may result in transient soft stools (osmotic diarrhea). Xylitol is slowly absorbed from the digestive tract owing to the absence in the intestinal mucosa of a specific transport system for xylitol. Consequently, about one third of the ingested xylitol (when large single doses are taken in) is absorbed, subsequently entering the hepatic metabolic system. The other two thirds of the ingested xylitol will reach the distal parts of the intestinal tract where xylitol will be broken down by gut bacteria. The end products are mainly short-chain fatty acids, most of which will normally be absorbed and utilized by the body. When very small quantities of xylitol are consumed (as in one piece of chewing gum), it is possible that proportionally larger amounts are directly absorbed. After appropriate adaptation, xylitol has been administered to human subjects in amounts of 200 g and higher per day without diarrhea occurring. In practice, usually not more than 50-70 g daily, spread evenly throughout the day, should be given. Dentally effective quantities may vary between about 1 and 20 g per day, preferably between 6 to 12 g. Owing to the slow absorption of xylitol, it has sometimes been characterized as "glucose with delay", a property that can be advantageous in certain clinical situations. Premature infants possess full capacity to metabolize xylitol. Xylitol supplies large amounts of liver glycogen, or primarily D-glucose. Xylitol is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water by the normal, physiologic pathway of carbohydrate breakdown. About 85% of the xylitol turnover in the body takes place in the liver. About 10 % is metabolized extrahepatically in the kidneys, and the small remainder is used up by blood cells, the adrenal cortex, lung, testes, brain, fat tissue, etc. These figures are similar regardless of the way of administration, i.e. whether oral or by the intravenous route. There is a small difference between endogenous ("natural") xylitol and that which is supplied from outside, for example, when a xylitol-containing diet is consumed. Endogenous xylitol is the physiologic intermediate product from D-xylulose and L-xylulose (these are the keto-sugars corresponding to xylitol). This reaction takes place in the mitochondria catalyzed by enzymes which are specific for xylitol. By contrast, exogenous (ingested) xylitol is slowly absorbed, and eventually enters the portal circulation and the liver where it is dehydrogenated in the cytoplasm of the liver cells by the above mentioned non-specific polyol dehydrogenase enzyme which can also act on sorbitol. This enzyme is a key enzyme in xylitol metabolism and largely determines the metabolic rate of xylitol. When xylitol is given for a few days, an adaptation takes place: the enzyme's levels are increased so that the metabolic capacity of a subject who is accustomed to xylitol, is appreciably augmented. Because xylitol occurs naturally in agricultural and forest products, xylitol also occurs in various foods used by man. The dietary sources containing relatively high quantities of xylitol are plums, raspberries and cauliflower (0.3 to 0.9 g per 100 g dry matter; the quantities vary depending on the season and they also vary between plant varieties). The presence of free xylitol in food indicates that man and certain domestic animals have consumed xylitol during their entire evolution. In humans, relatively large amounts of xylitol (viz. 5 to 15 g/day) are formed as a metabolic intermediate product of carbohydrate metabolism. In conclusion, xylitol, D-fructose and sorbitol are converted into D-glucose and various metabolites of D-glucose in the intermediate metabolism, and thus brought into the main stream of carbohydrate metabolism, and either stored as glycogen, oxidized to carbon dioxide and water, or used as building material for the biosynthesis of substances such as lipids. Because of the slow absorption rate, the metabolic capacity is never exceeded when xylitol is administered by mouth. The usage of xylitol as a sugar substitute has the following physiologic advantages: (a) Xylitol has a pleasant taste and a sweetness which equals that of sucrose. (B) With correct xylitol dosage, carbohydrate tolerance is increased. © Small xylitol doses stabilize the metabolic situation in unstable diabetics. (d) Xylitol has antiketogenic properties. (e) Xylitol is non- and anticariogenic. TOP Oral and metabolic safety of xylitol Studies in humans and rodents have shown that xylitol, when appropriately administered orally with adaptation, is well tolerated and safe to levels of at least 90 g/day, with no subjective or objective adverse findings. Somewhat less insulin is released into the blood during xylitol administration than during glucose administration. The oral and metabolic safety of xylitol has been assessed by various international and national regulatory authorities. For example, in 1983 the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JEFCA) of two United Nations agencies (FAO and WHO) allocated an "Aceptable Daily Intake" (ADI) definition "not specified" for xylitol. This indicates that no special consumption limits were needed for xylitol. In detail, JECFA recommended: (a) An unlimited ADI based on the safety of xylitol. This type of specification reflects the safest category this Committee can place a food additive. The specification is comparable to that of sorbitol. (B) No additional toxicological studies were recommended. Of the numerous positive public health evaluations of xylitol one should mention the FASEB report of the year 1986. FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) reports are based on comprehensive literature reviews and the scientific opinions of knowledgeable investigators engaged in work in relevant areas of biology and medicine. In 1986 FASEB's expert panel completed a report on the health aspects of sugar alcohols and lactose. Based on the comprehensive body of scientific information, the FASEB report concluded that: (a) No significant safety concerns would be expected from use of xylitol in humans, and that (B) Xylitol appears to have the same safety profile as other sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol and D-mannitol. As a further proof of xylitol's metabolic safety, one should mention the traditional use of xylitol as a source of energy in infusion therapy (parenteral nutrition; Table I). Especially German and Japanese physicians have with great success used xylitol, in combination with other carbohydrates and amino acids, for this purpose. This practice is based, among other things, on the non-involvement of insulin in the initial utilization by the human cells of xylitol, and on the ability of xylitol to exploit several metabolic "entrancies" into the liver, compared, for instance, with sorbitol which biochemically speaking has only one "entry point"`into the metabolism. Xylitol has long been used as a sweetener in the diabetic diet; diabetic patients have been found to consume up to 70 g xylitol per day without any adverse reactions. As discussed below, these xylitol levels by far exceed those recommended for dental purposes. The public health evaluation of xylitol has been in greater detail reviewed elsewhere (6 ). As already stated above, it is necessary to make a clear difference between the oral (enteral) and parenteral administration of xylitol. Although metabolic studies indicate that the capacity of the human body to turn over xylitol is substantial, the oral consumption of xylitol will never lead to blood xylitol levels that would be too high. This results from the slow absorption rate of xylitol through the gut wall. This indicates that too high oral doses may cause transient osmotic diarrhea. The laxative effect of large single doses of xylitol is indeed the only adverse effect reported in studies dealing with oral administration of xylitol. Similar effects can be caused by other polyols, and also by D-fructose and lactose (milk sugar). Field experience indicates that humans tolerate xylitol better than sorbitol and D-mannitol. In conclusion, scientific articles and clinical studies have shown, that the gastrointestinal effects of xylitol occur at levels that are much higher than those needed to achieve the dental benefits, such as those used by diabetic patients. Based on the scientific and public health evaluations, xylitol has been approved in virtually all industrialized countries to be used in oral hygiene products and in other products to promote oral health. Typical dentally benefical xylitol products are chewing gums, lozenges, dragées and hard caramels. In reality, the range of xylitol products for consumer and other uses has been much broader (Table I). In view of the above developments, it is important to acknowledge the recent resolution made in Japan regarding xylitol. The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare finished in 1996 a long-term scientific evaluation of xylitol and approved, in spring 1997, xylitol officially as a safe food additive in Japan. This positive public health-related decision will most likely greately accelerate the development of oral health-promoting xylitol products in Japan and its neighbouring countries. TOP Some potential future uses of xylitol Owing to the molecular properties of xylitol, it will most likely have new biologic, dietary and medical applications in the furute. One promising approach is the possible use of xylitol as a dietary agent to prevent midear infections in young children. This effect is based on the growth inhibition by xylitol of alpha-hemolytic streptococci, including Streptococcus pneumoniae. As one consequence of this, the usage of xylitol chewing gum by young day-care center children was shown to reduce the occurrence of acute otitis media and antimicrobial treatment received during the gum-using period (7). It is possible that the virulent bacterial flora present in the entire aero-digestive tract of man, can be favourably affected by systematic xylitol use. Xylitol, by virtue of its pentitol nature, modifies the outer environment of selected pathogenic organisms and the outer structures of the organisms themselves. Such changes may result in a lowered ability of the organisms to adhere onto epithelial cell surfaces and other host tissue surfaces, reducing the risk of infection. It is clear, however, that the above otitis media-related observations must be verified by independent studies before further conclusions can be made. TOP Xylitol compared with other sweeteners The following treatise will be restricted to deal with differences between dental and oral biologic effects of some common dietary sweeteners. Therefore, the "sugar alcohol nature" of xylitol must be emphasized. For a better understanding of the dental effects of xylitol, one has to recall the chemical features of the xylitol molecule described above. All dietary sugar alcohols share several common properties that make them biologically unique. Some of them are as follows: (a) The absence of reducing carbonyl group. This makes sugar alcohols chemically somewhat less reactive than corresponding aldoses and ketoses; some of the sugar alcohols are, therefore, less capable of supporting plaque growth. (B) The reducing power. Regardless of the above relative inertness of polyols in the human oral cavity, some sugar alcohols may actively participate in metabolic reactions where their "extra" hydrogen atoms can be deposited on other metabolites, to form other reduced products of metabolism, which are less harmful to the tooth structure. © Complex formation. As stated above, sugar alcohols can form complexes with Ca and certain other metal cations, thereby possibly affecting the metabolism of those cations in the oral cavity. Consequently, some sugar alcohols may contribute to the physiologic remineralization reaction whereby calcium phosphate salts are deposited in calcium-deficient sites. (d) Protein stabilizing effect. Sugar alcohols can protect proteins in aqueous solutions against denaturation and other damage. It is thus possible that, for example xylitol, protects salivary proteins. As a result of evolutionary expediency, human cariogenic bacteria have developed effective enzyme systems which utilize the chemical energy present in some ubiquitous dietary carbohydrates. Those carbohydrates are normally based on six-carbon skeletons (or multiples thereof) and normally have an aldose or a ketose structure. Suitable examples of such sugars are D-glucose, D-fructose (which are six-carbon monosaccharides) and sucrose (which is a disacacharide consisting of D-fructose and D-glucose). Starch consists of long chains of D-glucose molecules, and can be broken down in the oral cavity by plaque and salivary enzymes to yield D-glucose. All simple dietary sugars (the above three serve only as examples) may produce acids and may serve as building material in the formation of adhesive plaque polysacharides (glucans were above mentioned as an example of such molecules). Sucrose, D-glucose and D-fructose are normally in this sense effectively utilized by cariogenic bacteria. The upshot of this utilization can be the formation of potently cariogenic plaque. Xylitol is unable to form such plaque because the xylitol molecule contains only five carbon atoms. For the same reason, xylitol does not produce lactic acid. No study has shown that the oral bacteria become adapted to utilize xylitol for effective acid and polysaccharide production. Sorbitol, on the other hand, has been shown to stimulate plaque growth; adaptation to sorbitol occurs. Sorbitol itself does not give rise to large amounts of lactic acid in human dental plaque, but the ability of sorbitol to promote the growth of cariogenic streptococci makes it indirectly caries-promoting. (However, sorbitol is by far safer from the cariologic point of view than sugar.) It is irrational to compare xylitol with artificial, intense sweeteners (such as saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame, etc.), because these substances are used at totally different chemical concentrations in food. The synthetic sweeteners´ chemical activity is, therefore, so low in most foods that they rarely exert any specific, significant, oral health-promoting effects. Xylitol, being a natural dietary carbohydrate, must be used at chemical levels corresponding to those of regular table sugar. Such concentrations are more likely to display specific effects on oral microorganisms and on oral tissues. TOP References 1. Mäkinen KK. Biochemical principles of the use of xylitol in medicine and nutrition with special consideration of dental aspects. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 1978. 2. Aminoff C. New carbohydrate sweeteners. In "Sugars in Nutrition" (Sipple HL, McNutt KW, eds), Chapter 10, Academic Press, New York 1974. 3. Mäkinen KK. Latest dental studies on xylitol and mechanism of action of xylitol in caries limitation. In "Progress in Sweeteners" (Grenby TH, ed.), Chapter 13, Elsevier, London 1989. 4. Svanberg M, Knuuttila M. Dietary xylitol prevents ovariectomy-induced changes of bone inorganic fraction in rats. Bone Miner (1994) 26:81-88. 5. Mäkinen KK, Söderling E. Solubility of calcium salts, enamel, and hydroxyapatite in aqueous solutions of simple carbohydrates. Calcif Tissue Int (1984) 36:64-71. 6. Mäkinen KK. Dietary prevention of dental caries by xylitol - clinical effectiveness and safety. J Appl Nutr (1992) 44:16-28. 7. Uhari M, Kontiokari T, Koskela M, Niemelä M. Xylitol chewing gum in prevention of acute otitis media: double blind randomised trial. Br Med J (1996) 313:1180-1184.
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#3 snorkels4

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Posted 08 April 2006 - 09:07 PM

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#4 snorkels4

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Posted 08 April 2006 - 09:28 PM

my dad died from a c. dificil infection-march 2005-susequent to antibiotic treatment for staph and pseudomonas infections aquired iduring bypass surgery :(

he was given metronidazol for months--im sure xylitol was not even considered :angry:

if i had known:::::::::::::



For many microorganisms, including Clostridium difficile, mucosal association is an important factor influencing intestinal colonisation and subsequent infection. Inhibition of adhesion of C. difficile to intestinal mucosa could be a new promising strategy for prevention and treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. We investigated the possibilities of influencing the adhesion of C. difficile by xylitol and bovine colostrum whey. Caco-2 cells and C. difficile cells were incubated with 1%, 5% and 10% solutions of xylitol and colostrum. Our study revealed that both xylitol and colostrum inhibited the adhesion of C. difficile to Caco-2 cells. Inhibition by xylitol was dose-dependent. When compared to the control, the count of adherent C. difficile decreased 3.4 times when treated with 1% xylitol, 12 times when 5% xylitol was applied, and 18.7 times when treated with 10% xylitol. The inhibition of adherence by colostrum was partially dose-dependent: 3.1 times in the case of 1%, and 5.5 times in the cases of 5% and 10% colostrum. Further experimental and clinical studies are needed for the application of xylitol and colostrum in the treatment and prophylaxis of pseudomembraneous colitis.

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#5 OEXCHAOS

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Posted 11 April 2006 - 05:32 PM

Too much to read now. The real question, does it taste good in coffee? Mark

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#6 snorkels4

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Posted 13 April 2006 - 09:21 PM

mark, you might know that yellow stain that occurs on the surface of the tongue. ive been brushin my tongue for 15 years and the stain persisted until recently, when i started using xylito mixed with water and perrermint oil in a sqeeze bottle i got at sally's beauty supply (hair color bottle) at night before bedtime. i still brush my teeth in the morning but dont particularly feel the need. best of all, the stain is ""gone"" , my tongue is really pink all over, again. i put som xylitol in my saline nasal spray, also, and i do believe its done something to my seasonal allergies--no more, nada, not. i never had many allergy problems before but none is a great improvement. if i get a cold or allergy, at any time in the not extremely distant future, i will report it here ;)
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