Xylitol Crystals
Welcome to Xylitol For Health. I am glad you found your way to this 'blog. In coming weeks I will be sharing some of the benefits I have seen in using this natural sweetener as a substitute for sugar. If you have not tried xylitol in your coffee or tea, baked cookies with it, or chewed xylitol-sweetened gum, you are in for a treat! Please return often, as I hope to give recipes, articles, and (of course) my opinions about xylitol, or "sugar alcohol."
I was first introduced to xylitol by my dental hygienist, who told me after a particularly gruelling cleaning that I should cut down on my sugar intake, and try chewing gum with xylitol between meals. She said that since xylitol is not used by bacteria in the mouth (the same bacteria that produce plaque and cause bad breath), the "bad bacteria" eventually die back, leaving the mouth healthier and having less gingivitis.
Since I had radiation to my face several years ago for a particularly nasty kind of cancer, it is very important that I not lose teeth or have them pulled. My dentist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center told me that I would have to use a strong flouride treatment on my teeth nightly for the rest of my life so that I would not get tooth loss. If I did need dental surgery, it would have to be done at MD Anderson, due to the changes that radiation has brought to my teeth and bones. Also, I should have my teeth cleaned more often than most folks so that I could reduce cavities and inflammation of the gums. Needless to say, anything that helps my teeth and gums is important to me! Not to mention having less painful teeth cleanings.
I tried the gum, liked it, and found it to taste sweet without the nasty aftertaste of aspartame or saccharin. I have been chewing the gum regularly ever since. Then, I reasoned, if it's good in gum, might it be good in coffee or tea? I was told it would be. But I couldn't find any "bulk" xylitol in any store in my area.
Thus began my quest and crusade to use xylitol for as much of my cooking and drinking needs as possible. Since it is a natural product, by which I mean it occurs in nature and can be purified to pharmaceutical grade, health concerns should be minimal. And, since it is metabolized outside of the insulin cycle (more about that later), xylitol is not turned to fat in the liver, nor does it excite the pancreas to produce insulin. As you probably know already, insulin spikes are believed to be the cause of "sugar highs" and lows. The only negative side effect I have been told about is bowel trouble if xylitol is used a lot as you first begin using it. I have seen no trouble in that area at all so far.
Well, I will stop here and get back to other things. Please visit again to see what recipes, articles and information I will be bringing you about xylitol. And if you're interested pick up some Trident chewing gum with xylitol and see if you like it. I bet you will!
Till next time,
Mike
