More on Xylitol (Low Glycemic Sweetener)

[liveonearth]

Here's it's chemical structure:

Comments

A.K.A. "Birch Sugar."

[b_vainamoinen]

There's some "pilot project" going on in our town where all the elementary school kids (my daughter included) had their teeth checked by a dentist and now they get two xylitol lozenges in the morning and after lunch.

Then they're going to check them again periodically over the next couple years.

I hadn't heard anything about xylitol until I was handed the page I needed to sign. Then I looked it up.

I switched to xylitol in my coffee and I chew xylitol gum after lunch every day.

I like it. It's much subtler than sugar.

They had me at "It was developed in Finland."

Re: A.K.A. "Birch Sugar."

[liveonearth]

Cool! I didn't know it's called birch sugar. I have read that it is present in berries. It IS sweet, so it works just fine as a sugar substitute....Where do you find the xylitol gum? What brand is it? I want to try it.

Re: A.K.A. "Birch Sugar."

[b_vainamoinen]

It's just normal Trident Chewing Gum. I get the bubblegum flavor because I like to blow bubbles.

According to what I've read -- these days they don't get it from birch trees. I've read that these days its extracted from corncobs.

Birch sugar is what they call it in Finland.

[hausfrauatu]

There is a brand called "Spry" that you can get at places where natural foods are sold. Gum brands vary in the amount of Xylitol that they contain. Spry has a lot.

There are several brands that have Xylitol. Just check the label.

My youngest has been ordered to chew twice a day, because she has some small spots on her teeth. It has been proven to stop tooth decay, but if they make the claim, it would have to be approved as a drug, which is too much of a pain.

Can I friend you? I have seen your stuff on b_vanamoinen's page. Yum! Sciencey!

[liveonearth]

Thanks, I appreciate the comment. SPRY--I will look for it. Oh yes, you can friend me. Let me check you out, are you sciencey too?