Listener Amy recently asked: What about xylitol for osteoporosis prevention? Is this fact or fiction?
What Is Xylitol?
Xylitol belongs to a category of molecules known as sugar alcohols, a group that also includes erythritol, maltitol, and sorbitol. Although small amounts of xylitol occur naturally in various fruits and other foods, it’s primarily used in its refined form as a low-calorie sweetener. Refined xylitol crystals, which look just like sugar, are usually produced from corn cobs or birch trees.
Sugar alcohols taste sweet but have fewer calories per gram than table sugar, so you’ll find them in dietetic or reduced-calorie foods. But in addition to being lower in calories, sugar alcohols don’t affect your blood sugar or insulin levels the way regular sugar does. So you’ll also see sugar alcohols used in so-called “diabetic” or sugar-free candies and cookies.
The Benefits of Xylitol
Xylitol, in particular, has also gotten a lot of attention for its unique ability to prevent and potentially even reverse tooth decay. You’ll find it in sugar-free gum, as well as toothpaste and mouthwash. Chewing xylitol-containing gum for 20 minutes after every meal can aid in the remineralization of your teeth and substantially reduce your risk of tooth decay.
A lesser-known benefit of xylitol is in the prevention of ear infections. Remember that the mouth and inner ear are actually connected by the eustachian tubes. So it’s possible for bacteria to travel from the nose and mouth to the ear and vice versa. Studies have demonstrated that kids who chew xylitol gum after meals and snacks can cut their risk of ear infections in half, compared with kids who chew gum without xylitol.
Another benefit of xylitol may be to act as a prebiotic, promoting the growth of healthy bacteria in our intestines. Is there anything this sweet little molecule can’t do? How about Amy’s question: What about xylitol for osteoporosis prevention?
Xylitol and Bone Loss Prevention
Xylitol can absolutely protect against bone loss and prevent osteoporosis. If you’re a rat. When added to rat chow, xylitol has been found to protect rats from the accelerated bone loss that accompanies menopause as well as plain-old age-related bone loss. The bones of the gum-chewing mice were significantly longer, thicker, and stronger than their counterparts.
Just checking to see if you were paying attention! The researchers didn’t really give the mice chewing gum, although that is fun to imagine. They simply mixed it into their food.
Xylitol can absolutely protect against bone loss and prevent osteoporosis. If you’re a rat.
Not only did the xylitol-fed mice have less bone loss, they also developed more collagen in their skin, leading to thicker, more youthful rat cheeks. I mean, really, these rats looked half their age! The only problem in terms of leveraging this benefit to fight osteoporosis (or skin aging) in humans is the amount of xylitol required to get the benefits. The effects didn’t kick in for the rats until their diet was 10% xylitol by weight.
A typical adult would have to consume about 1 cup of xylitol crystals a day to get the equivalent dose. That’s approximately 1,000 sticks of sugar-free gum.
Even if your jaws didn’t cramp up, your intestines probably would. One tricky thing about sugar alcohols is that they can cause bloating, gas, and diarrhea if you consume too much of them. Just ask anyone who ever absent-mindedly polished off a bag of diabetic candies to kill time on a road trip. Although everyone’s “laxative threshold” is different—and you can build up a tolerance over time—the amounts shown to protect bones are much (much) higher than the amount that your intestines are likely to tolerate. Those poor mice. Sure, their skin looked great but they never got to leave the latrine!
Xylitol does have an impressive range of proven health benefits, everything from preventing cavities to heading off ear infections to improving your gut health. But, while you will find websites promoting xylitol as a way to strengthen your bones, this is probably more fiction than fact. The amount of xylitol that you can reasonably ingest is almost certainly not enough to have any measurable impact on your bone health.
Thanks for that great question, Amy! If you have a nutrition question you’d like me to answer on a future podcast, send an email or stop by one of my live Q&A sessions. You’ll find the schedule on the Nutrition Diva Facebook page.
Image of xylitol © Shutterstock
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