More Health Stoof

XYLITOL: this stuff rocks! A sugar replacement made from Birch bark and other natural stuff, developed by those clever Finns (aka Benecolites; see previous post.)

Xylitol has some intriguing properties. For one, it doesn't trigger the dump of insulin in the bloodstream that ordinary sugar (sucrose) does. It tastes good, in fact, has a BETTER after-taste than sugar, more of a light, refreshing flavor. It can replace sugar 1:1 in most recipes and usages. Now this is all kinda cool, but as they say in the infomercials, wait, there's more!

• Helps Reduce the Development of Dental Caries
• Reduces Plaque Formation
• Provides One-Third Fewer Calories than Sugar – about 2.4 Calories per Gram
• Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1963, xylitol has no known toxic levels.
• Ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria that cause middle ear infections in young children. In two recent studies involving over 1,000 children, xylitol-flavoured chewing gum was found to reduce the incidence of middle ear infections by 40 per cent, 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.
• Dr Lon Jones, a physician in Plainsview, Texas, reported that the use of a xylitol nasal spray in his practice prevented 93 per cent of ear infections and resulted in comparable reductions in sinus infections, allergies and asthma.
• 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.
• 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. Another study showed that xylitol was effective in decreasing age-related bone loss in older male rats by 10 per cent.
• Xylitol has been demonstrated in repeated clinical studies to be very slowly metabolized. In fact, on the glycemic index, which measures how quickly foods raise the glucose and insulin levels in the blood, 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.
• Over 1,500 scientific studies have found that the more you use xylitol, the more you can eliminate sugar cravings, reduce insulin levels and alkalizes your body. It's a great aid on the way to good health and long life.
  
  

Not such a shabby replacement for our insidious sweets addiction. Little steps, as ger-beans mentions; but in strategic directions, they seem to cover a whole lot of ground.