Xylitol is often recommended as a sugar replacement.
Xylitol (1,2,3,4,5-pentol), a natural five-carbon sugar alcohol, is thought to be among the most valuable microbial products. It is commonly used as a sweetening agent. Xylitol was first isolated from the bark of beech trees in 1890. The application of xylitol varied widely from food, nutraceuticals, beverage to pharma industries, making it one of the top 12 global bio-products with a rapidly growing market share, which is expected to cross USD 1.14 billion by 2023. Xylitol is considered as a “Generally Recognised as Safe” (GRAS) additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and as a low-calorie sweetener by more than 35 countries.
However as natural health practitioners who understand the harmful side effects of isolated compounds, we beg to differ!!
Below are some of the reasons that sugar alcohols like xylitol are not recommended for human consumption:
1. Digestive concerns
Sugar alcohols are notorious for triggering GI issues because they pull water into your intestine and also get fermented by gut bacteria. Because the body cannot digest this substance properly, the non-metabolized portion ferments and creates a favorable environment for harmful bacteria to colonize.
This can exacerbate yeast problems and cause digestive issues like constipation, gas/bloating and diarrhea.
2. Blood sugar issues
Although it has less of an impact than cane sugar, it has been reported that sugar alcohols can raise blood glucose levels, which suggests that diabetics shouldn’t consume it.
This may seem odd to most people, as many doctors recommend that people use it to replace sugar because it’s relatively low on the glycemic index.
3. Potential weight gain
Next to minor GI complaints, weight gain is the most heavily researched side effect to consuming xylitol and other artificial sweeteners.
According to Harvard Medical School experts, “Research raises concern that [Alternative] sweeteners may do the opposite and actually promote weight gain. How so? Sweeteners are extremely sweet — hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than table sugar.”
What happens is people who consume sweeteners habitually become desensitized to sweetness so much so that unsweetened, healthy foods become unappetizing. This can lead to a less healthy diet, avoiding foods that provide satiety and instead filling up on empty, unhealthy calories from sweetened products.
4. Other side effects
According to one report, the key to avoiding xylitol problems is only consuming a low dosage. Xylitol side effects when exceeding 40–50 grams per day can include:
- nausea
- bloating
- borborygmi (rumbling sounds of gas moving through the intestine)
- colic
- diarrhea
- increased bowel movements
Some authorities also have concern about the production process (Xylitol: a review on bioproduction, application, health benefits, and related safety issues - PubMed) that is used to manufacture this product. Currently, most xylitol is produced by “hydrogenating” xylose, a chemical process that treats a compound with hydrogen usually with a catalyst, such as nickel.
At this point, there is no research proving that the process used to create xylitol is harmful, but there are known concerns regarding consumption of hydrogenated foods and also nickel.