More and more foods containing xylitol are now available. Reporters casually visited several supermarkets and saw a dazzling array of foods containing xylitol. In one supermarket, a store owner confidently told the reporter: "Xylitol can completely replace sugar. Eating it will not make you fat, and diabetics can also eat it with confidence. Is this really the case?"
Can xylitol also make you fat? Nutritionist Song Xin said: Xylitol is a natural plant sweetener extracted from plants such as birch and oak. Because xylitol is not easily fermented by microorganisms to produce acidic substances, it can reduce the production of cariogenic bacteria and dental plaque, and has a certain effect on preventing cavities.
Therefore, many friends start by eating xylitol gum, and psychologically believe that xylitol has low calories, so they are unrestrained when eating other xylitol foods. But in fact, eating too much xylitol can also make you fat. Moreover, in terms of physical and chemical properties, xylitol is cool in nature. It is not decomposed by gastric enzymes and directly enters the intestine. Eating too much can irritate the gastrointestinal tract and may cause abdominal discomfort, bloating, and bowel sounds. Due to the absorption rate of xylitol in the intestine being less than 20%, it is easy to accumulate on the intestinal wall, which can easily cause osmotic diarrhea. In European and American countries, foods containing xylitol will carry a consumer warning on the label that "excessive intake may cause diarrhea". However, such labels are rarely seen on foods sold in the domestic market. A well-known gum manufacturer stated that the xylitol content in its produced xylitol gum is "low and not enough to cause diarrhea", so such a label is "unnecessary". Nevertheless, nutritionists still remind that for the Chinese constitution, the total daily intake of xylitol cannot exceed 50 grams. Chewing gum should be fine, but if you eat a lot of other xylitol foods, you need to pay attention to the amount. Expert interpretation: Excessive consumption will increase blood lipids
Due to the disorder of insulin secretion function in the body, diabetic patients cannot eat too much sugar, and even a small amount of sugar may cause adverse consequences. At present, there are about 30 million diabetic patients in my country, which means that about 30 million families need to be cautious in choosing their diet. This has also allowed many businesses to seize the opportunity to make money, and a large number of sugar-free foods have been produced. As a result, more and more "suitable" foods for diabetic patients have appeared, such as extra-dry beer, pumpkin juice drinks, sugar-free milk powder, sugar-free biscuits, sugar-free oatmeal, sugar-free gum, sugar-free candies, etc.
Nutritionists say that because diabetic patients cannot eat refined sugars, using xylitol as a condiment is a good choice. However, it should be noted that xylitol, like glucose, is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and can release heat energy after oxidation in the human body. In the initial stage of xylitol metabolism, insulin may not be required, but in the later stage, insulin promotion is required.
After eating xylitol, the magnitude and speed of blood sugar increase in normal people are lower than that of glucose and sucrose. However, once diabetic patients consume too much, it will have side effects, causing an increase in blood triglycerides and leading to coronary atherosclerosis. Therefore, diabetic patients should not eat too much xylitol. Especially for those who suffer from insulin-induced hypoglycemia, xylitol is strictly prohibited. Expert correction: Xylitol can completely replace sugar, wrong! Misconception 1: It can repair cavities
Xylitol has a certain effect on preventing cavities, but it is impossible to repair them. The principle of xylitol gum is that when people chew xylitol gum, it stimulates saliva secretion. More saliva can wash away bacteria from the teeth in the oral cavity, reduce the acidic substances that harm the teeth, and thus play a role in preventing cavities. The principle of cavities is that the tooth structure is destroyed, the teeth are decalcified, and rotted. Misconception 2: The higher the content, the better the anti-cavity effect
In general, the more xylitol in gum, the better the preventive effect. However, according to experts, a large number of foreign clinical trials have shown that the amount of xylitol in gum does not affect the anti-cavity effect. For example, a two-year clinical trial conducted by Canderman in Canada showed that there was no difference in the anti-cavity effect between sugar-free gums with 15% and 65% xylitol content. Therefore, when consumers choose tooth-protecting gum, the xylitol content should not be the main factor. Misconception 3: It can completely replace sugar
Xylitol, like glucose and sucrose, is a carbohydrate composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen elements. In the initial stage of xylitol metabolism, insulin may not be required, but in the later stage, insulin promotion is required. Therefore, xylitol cannot correct the disorder of sugar metabolism in diabetic patients, nor can it lower blood sugar, urine sugar, or improve clinical symptoms. Diabetic patients should not eat too much xylitol. Keyword: Xylitol
Xylitol is a sweet substance with nutritional value and is also a normal intermediate in human carbohydrate metabolism. A healthy person, even without eating any food containing xylitol, has 0.03-0.06 mg/100 mg of xylitol in the blood. In nature, xylitol is widely found in various fruits and vegetables, but the content is very low. Commercial xylitol is made from agricultural crops such as corncobs and bagasse through deep processing, and is a natural and healthy sweetener.
Xylitol is a white crystal, similar in appearance to sucrose. It is the sweetest sweetener among polyhydric alcohols, with a cool taste and sweetness equivalent to sucrose, and calories equivalent to glucose. It is a sweetener of the future and a substitute for sucrose and glucose. The appearance and taste of xylitol are very similar to sucrose. In terms of food grade, xylitol has a broad and narrow sense. Broadly, it is a carbohydrate; narrowly, it is a polyhydric alcohol. Because xylitol can only be slowly absorbed or partially utilized. Low calorie is a major feature: 2.4 calories per gram, 40% less than other carbohydrates.