Is Xylitol a Kind of Sugar?

1. Introduction to Xylitol

Xylitol is a natural sweetener, its sweetness is equivalent to that of sucrose, and it is accompanied by a slight cooling sensation when you taste it. It is widely found in various plants and is a product of xylose metabolism. Plants such as birch, oak, corn cob, bagasse… have higher content of Xylitol. Therefore, the production of xylitol mainly uses these plants as raw materials.

2. The characteristics of xylitol

After continuous research by scientists, it has been discovered that xylitol is not only fermented by bacteria that produce dental caries in the oral cavity, but also can inhibit the growth of streptococci and acid production. Therefore, using it to replace sugar in desserts can effectively prevent tooth decay.

According to this characteristic, xylitol is widely used in foods such as gum, chewing gum, candies and chocolate, and has been officially recognized by many national dental health associations.

Another excellent feature of xylitol is that it does not require insulin during metabolism, and it can directly enter the cell, and its metabolism is very fast. The glycemic index (GI) is only 7-13, which is much lower than that of sucrose. The glycemic index is 65), and there is no health hazard of fructose, so it is an ideal sucrose substitute for diabetics.

Based on the fact that xylitol has only 60% calories from sucrose, and eating xylitol will not increase the neutral fat in the blood, it can also inhibit the synthesis of glycerol and fatty acids. People who lose weight have also begun to use xylitol instead of sucrose.

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