What Is Xylitol?

Xylitol is a naturally occurring sweetener primarily derived from plant sources and has many surprising benefits. Xylitol is not actually a sugar, it's a sugar alcohol. Other sugar alcohols include erythritol, maltitol and sorbitol. Unlike other sugars it has five, not six, carbon atoms. Classified as a low calorie (2.4 calories per gram), low carbohydrate natural sweetener, xylitol is considered beneficial for your teeth and completely safe for diabetics. It has no toxicity and has not been linked to any form of disease.

Xylitol Crystals

One surprising fact about xylitol is how readily available in nature it is; making it possible to extract from a variety of sources. It's found in fruits, berries, lettuce, and corn cobs. Traditionally, xylitol was extracted from birch trees (Birch Sugar), however many manufacturers have switched to environmentally friendly corn cobs. This insures that the production of xylitol does not contribute to the deforestation of trees and maintains a low cost to the consumer.

Xylitol is as sweet as sugar, without the calories and can be substituted one for one in place of cane sugar. When substituting xylitol for sugar, add more liquid as xylitol doesn't caramelize and can tend to make some recipes drier.

History Of Xylitol
Xylitol was discovered in 1891 by a German chemist, but it wasn't until the sugar shortage in WWII that alternative sweeteners were considered. Xylitol was introduced to the United States in 1963 when the FDA officially approved it as a sweetener and it's been gaining in popularity ever since.

Benefits
Xylitol rebalances the body's pH by creating an alkaline environment, which helps the body fight bacteria, viruses, and parasites that tend to grow in an acidic envrionment. Due to xylitol's high fiber content consuming more than 12 grams in one meal can yield a laxative effect to varying degrees.