Xylitol is a naturally occurring substance found in plants, fruits and vegetables, in addition to being produced by the body. It is an alcohol form of xylose, and is often used as a sweetener. Xylitol is also a component of many manufactured "sugar-free" foods, ranging from candies and cookies to soft drinks and chewing gum. In addition, xylitol has many industrial uses, and is often incorporated into toothpastes and throat lozenges.
Xylitol is considered extremely safe. It is listed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an ingredient that is GRAS, or "generally regarded as safe." It has been used in food dating back to the early 1960s.
Xylitol is typically used as a sugar substitute. It has less of an effect on blood sugar and insulin levels compared to sucrose. It also inhibits the growth of several types of bacteria, including the bacteria that cause tooth decay and ear infections, hence its use in several brands of toothpastes and mouthwashes.
The amount of xylitol to be taken depends on the condition being treated. To fight tooth decay, a typical daily dose ranges between 7 and 21 grams, divided into several small doses provided in candies or chewing gum. To prevent ear infections, 1.5-2.0 grams are given up to five times per day, usually in gums, throat lozenges, or syrups.
Xylitol is a naturally occurring substance in a variety of foods, ranging from fruits to cereals and mushrooms. When used as a food additive, xylitol is usually harvested from the bark of the birch tree.
Xylitol has no known toxicity or carcinogenicity. It has been recognized as safe by the U.S. government for more than 40 years. However, large amounts (>40 grams) consumed all at one may produce diarrhea and intestinal gas.
As of this writing, there are no known drug interactions associated with xylitol. As always, make sure to consult with a licensed health care provider before taking xylitol or any other dietary supplement or herbal remedy.
References
Chronic pain afflicts over 20% of the adult population. Sadly, most MDs have essentially no education in treating pain, beyond offering a few toxic medications. Then they tend to steer people with pain away from those health practitioners who are trained. This puts the acupuncture community on the front lines for addressing this epidemic.
When the body is going through a stressful event, the sympathetic system is activated. This activation will help the body with a life-threatening situation. If this state is activated for prolonged periods of time, it starts to consume energy. These traumatic events that generate stressors in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) will eventually become internalized.
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One of the things that makes acupuncture so difficult to measure is that the medicine actually does contain some esoteric aspects. There have been numerous studies that demonstrate the neurochemical reasoning behind why acupuncture points stimulate the autonomic nervous system to enact change However, not all the benefits of TCM can easily be measured by randomized, controlled trials. But does that make them fundamentally and definitively untrue?
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