Alternatives to sugar #3: Xylitol

Xylitol is a naturally occuring sugar, found in the fibres of some fruits, vegetables and hardwood trees. Like sugar, it's granulated and can be used as a sweetener and as a baking ingredient.

image borrowed from http://www.healthyfellow.com/

Everyone's heard that xylitol can help prevent tooth decay, but do you know how it manages to do that? Apparently, consuming xylitol helps prevent toothdecay because plaque bacteria can't metabolise it (click here for the original ref).

More interestingly; This study found that pregnant women who chewed xylitol gum during pregnancy had children who were less likely to develop tooth decay compared to a control group. And this longitudinal study found that children whose mothers chewed xylitol gum while they were pregnant, had less dental plaque and were therefore less likely to develop tooth decay at age 3 and 6 when compared with a control group. Our review on xylitol gum can be found here

Nutritionally speaking, internet sources report a low Glycemic Index (GI is the impact which something has on the blood sugar) ranging from 7 - 13, along with 40% less calories than sugar making it suitable for diabetics and people watching their weight. Em uses it and it has no impact on her blood sugar, we use it as a sugar substitute for biscuits, cakes, smoothies and ice cream. 
Check out our xylitol sweetened lime cardamom cupcake recipe here

We find xylitol a little sweeter than ordinary sugar and tend to reduce the amount by 1/3 if we're following a recipe that asks for sugar, but that might be just us.  Another important note is that xylitol tends to accelerate the baking process by about 5 minutes (according to our calculations), so do remember to reduce your baking time if you use xylitol.

There are a few warnings about using xylitol, however; over-consumption can cause diarrhea, stomach discomfort, oral eczema and, in some cases, acute renal failure. So do make sure that you use it in moderation, according to ehow young children are more susceptible to over-consumption than adults and
children over the age of 12.

Please, please, please remember that xylitol is not suitable for pets, so far our research has found that it is toxic to dogs, so whatever you do; don't feed any of your xylitol treats to your pets!

If you've not been put off by the warnings about over-consumption, xylitol can be found in most supermarkets in the sugar aisle.

If you found this post interesting you might want to check out our other alternatives to sugar posts:

#1: Mesquite
#2: Lucuma

Have you tried xylitol, what did you think? let us know in the comments!

N.B. While very interested in nutrition we are not qualified nutritionists so, as with all of our food posts, we would advise you to research thoroughly and consult your health practitioner before making any changes to your diet.