Xylitol - is it safe really?

[Bob]

If your cat or dog or other pet consumes Xylitol, one of the touted wonder sweeteners which has been claimed to reduce dental decay bacteria, take the animal to the vet immediately - it could die.

From low blood sugar.

(Source (http://www.seattletimes.com/life/pets/veterinary-qa-why-is-xylitol-so-dangerous-for-dogs-and-cats/))

Xylitol, is an artificial sweetener used as a sugar substitute in foods, including sugar-free gum, sugar-free mints, chewable vitamins, tooth paste and oral-care products. Xylitol is also available in a granulated form at your local grocery store for baking and beverage sweeteners.


Ingestion of xylitol by the dog or cat primarily affects insulin release throughout the body. Insulin causes an increase of glucose (blood sugar) uptake into the liver, muscle, and fat cells resulting in decreasing blood glucose levels.

Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) develops within 30 to 60 minutes, resulting in lethargy and weakness.

These signs may quickly develop into ataxia (trouble walking), collapse, and seizures.

Prolonged blood clotting times as well as skin and intestinal hemorrhaging are clinical signs that may develop within hours and warrant a very poor prognosis.


A simple piece of cupcake or cookie containing this so called benign artificial sweetener could kill an animal if the danger is unknown and not addressed immediately.

Manufactures say Xylitol is perfectly safe :Party: for humans. (I seem to recall something that manufacturers say about fluoride being perfectly safe, in small doses, even beneficial, hmmm.)

Well.. so they say..

From WebMD: Risks. There is not enough information to confirm xylitol's safety

in pregnant and
breastfeeding women,


WebMD: they should not use it for medicinal purposes. Although some animal studies have shown tumor growth resulting from high doses of xylitol over long periods, more research is needed.

Having tumors/cancer then do not take Xylitol.

80 percent of xylitol is metabolized through the liver. If one is having liver issues, taking Xylitol can be dangerous. The liver is used in detoxing and many other functions.

Liver:
The liver is a vital organ of vertebrates and some other animals.

In the human it is located in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen, below the diaphragm. The liver has a wide range of functions, including detoxification of various metabolites, protein synthesis, and the production of biochemicals necessary for digestion.

The liver is a gland and plays a major role in metabolism with numerous functions in the human body, including regulation of glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, hormone production, and detoxification.

Had you ever taken Xylitol, and had problems such as pain in the liver? Any issues appear with the above list, function not as good as it could be? after using Xylitol?

Possibly with any enzyme issues, consuming Xylitol MAY be contributing to continued or worsening problems.. ?

Symptoms of Liver Damage:


Pale stools occur when stercobilin, a brown pigment, is absent from the stool. Stercobilin is derived from bilirubin metabolites produced in the liver.
Dark urine occurs when bilirubin mixes with urine
Jaundice (yellow skin and/or whites of the eyes) This is where bilirubin deposits in skin, causing an intense itch. Itching is the most common complaint by people who have liver failure. Often this itch cannot be relieved by drugs.
Swelling of the abdomen, ankles and feet occurs because the liver fails to make albumin.
Excessive fatigue occurs from a generalized loss of nutrients, minerals and vitamins.
Bruising and easy bleeding are other features of liver disease. The liver makes substances which help prevent bleeding. When liver damage occurs, these substances are no longer present and severe bleeding can occur.
Pain in the upper right quadrant can result from the stretching of Glisson's capsule in conditions of hepatitis and pre-eclampsia.


So, the questions remain..

Xylitol can kill dogs and cats and small animals, through the low blood sugar and liver damage/failure.

If a human has any liver issues to start with, or enzyme or metabolism issues, consuming Xylitol may or may not be safe..

Can anyone weigh in with reports? Using Xylitol and not getting better?

[lucidity]

If your cat or dog or other pet consumes Xylitol, one of the touted wonder sweeteners which has been claimed to reduce dental decay bacteria, take the animal to the vet immediately - it could die.

From low blood sugar.

(Source (http://www.seattletimes.com/life/pets/veterinary-qa-why-is-xylitol-so-dangerous-for-dogs-and-cats/))

Xylitol, is an artificial sweetener used as a sugar substitute in foods, including sugar-free gum, sugar-free mints, chewable vitamins, tooth paste and oral-care products. Xylitol is also available in a granulated form at your local grocery store for baking and beverage sweeteners.


Ingestion of xylitol by the dog or cat primarily affects insulin release throughout the body. Insulin causes an increase of glucose (blood sugar) uptake into the liver, muscle, and fat cells resulting in decreasing blood glucose levels.

Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) develops within 30 to 60 minutes, resulting in lethargy and weakness.

These signs may quickly develop into ataxia (trouble walking), collapse, and seizures.

Prolonged blood clotting times as well as skin and intestinal hemorrhaging are clinical signs that may develop within hours and warrant a very poor prognosis.


A simple piece of cupcake or cookie containing this so called benign artificial sweetener could kill an animal if the danger is unknown and not addressed immediately.

Manufactures say Xylitol is perfectly safe :Party: for humans. (I seem to recall something that manufacturers say about fluoride being perfectly safe, in small doses, even beneficial, hmmm.)

Well.. so they say..

From WebMD: Risks. There is not enough information to confirm xylitol's safety

in pregnant and
breastfeeding women,


WebMD: they should not use it for medicinal purposes. Although some animal studies have shown tumor growth resulting from high doses of xylitol over long periods, more research is needed.

Having tumors/cancer then do not take Xylitol.

80 percent of xylitol is metabolized through the liver. If one is having liver issues, taking Xylitol can be dangerous. The liver is used in detoxing and many other functions.

Liver:
The liver is a vital organ of vertebrates and some other animals.

In the human it is located in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen, below the diaphragm. The liver has a wide range of functions, including detoxification of various metabolites, protein synthesis, and the production of biochemicals necessary for digestion.

The liver is a gland and plays a major role in metabolism with numerous functions in the human body, including regulation of glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, hormone production, and detoxification.

Had you ever taken Xylitol, and had problems such as pain in the liver? Any issues appear with the above list, function not as good as it could be? after using Xylitol?

Possibly with any enzyme issues, consuming Xylitol MAY be contributing to continued or worsening problems.. ?

Symptoms of Liver Damage:


Pale stools occur when stercobilin, a brown pigment, is absent from the stool. Stercobilin is derived from bilirubin metabolites produced in the liver.
Dark urine occurs when bilirubin mixes with urine
Jaundice (yellow skin and/or whites of the eyes) This is where bilirubin deposits in skin, causing an intense itch. Itching is the most common complaint by people who have liver failure. Often this itch cannot be relieved by drugs.
Swelling of the abdomen, ankles and feet occurs because the liver fails to make albumin.
Excessive fatigue occurs from a generalized loss of nutrients, minerals and vitamins.
Bruising and easy bleeding are other features of liver disease. The liver makes substances which help prevent bleeding. When liver damage occurs, these substances are no longer present and severe bleeding can occur.[40]
Pain in the upper right quadrant can result from the stretching of Glisson's capsule in conditions of hepatitis and pre-eclampsia.


So, the questions remain..

Xylitol can kill dogs and cats and small animals, through the low blood sugar and liver damage/failure.

If a human has any liver issues to start with, or enzyme or metabolism issues, consuming Xylitol may or may not be safe..

Can anyone weigh in with reports? Using Xylitol and not getting better?

Hi Bob,

I wonder what Xylitol does to monkeys generally and chimpanzees in particular.

In any case, Stevia is a better alternative since the Japanese have been using
it for 40 years without any obvious cause for concern. That's a big human trial.
Xylitol does generate a slight insulin spike and does provide calories.
Stevia provides no insulin spike and provides no calories.

I wish i could find 'stevia-chewing gum'.

be happy :-)

lucidity

[Meggings]

Bob, decades ago, for a brief period of time, I used sugarless gum (xylitol) a bit. I could not figure out what was bothering me. Vague as it was, my body definitely let me know it did not like whatever I was doing. I ceased using gum; there was no other source of xylitol in our family diet, and I returned to normal functioning.

This reminded me of 1982 when I had my first ever diet pop - it had aspartame in it. Got headache and feeling of un-wellness. The only change was diet pop (because we had moved to a house with a pool, it was summertime, and I bought coke for the company coming). I poured every bottle of diet pop down the laundry room sink when I realized what it was doing to my body. Never had it again.

Often I've thought that the purer one's diet is, the more quickly food additives become noticeable in their effects. It seems that when one eats processed foods, one becomes inured to non-foods.

A little family story: When daughter started grade one in school she had to take a lunch. I made pure foods from scratch, no store-bought stuff. One day she came home with reddish circles on her face. I enquired and learned she had swapped her lunch with someone. I said do not do that. Weeks went by and she came home another day with reddish round spots on her face. On questioning, she again said she'd had food from other lunchboxes.

Now, this same child in grade one had a close friend she visited. The mother gave both girls red Freshie - red food colouring and artificial flavourings. My daughter's mouth split open at the sides and began bleeding. I tracked that down to the red food colouring, and spoke to the mother asking her not to give daughter Freshie again. One day the school telephoned me in panic to come get my daughter, because blood was dripping down her chin. The same friend had given her red Freshie again in her school lunch.

True stories, of a family with sensitive bodies. (Once my mother was rushed to hospital by ambulance after eating canned tomatoes that had some kind of preservative in it...)

So we eat pure stuff - I just finished breakfast of organic filberts, apple, cottage cheese, cold-pressed hemp oil, and maple syrup. Recently my brother took me to a restaurant buffet. There I had a bite of many things but disliked the taste of everything. He was not happy at the food wasted, but I could not eat crap.

This has been a long diversion from your original question, Bob, and it is only my experience living in a family with sensitive physical vehicles that xilytol is not good for my body. I have often been described as a canary in a mine - that warns you when there is not enough oxygen.

Currently we are eagle-eyed to not buy a cottage cheese with carrageenan in it - it causes great pain from inflammed intestines, and it unfortunately is also in coffee cream.

[Bob]

Xylitol explained by the industry to be beneficial to the health of teeth.

The mechanism as to why it is "recommended" is that bacteria take it up, instead of absorbing sugars, and the Xylitol clogs up the bacteria's energy mechanism by the fake sugar (xylitol) and they die.

Sounds promising right? Kill the bacteria in the mouth, so that they don't decay the teeth..

Well, where ELSE do the bacterial normally live, the ones which are considered healthy, synergistic, and probiotic?

Intestines.. What do those helpful bacteria (probiotics) do? Producing all sorts of enzymes, producing vitamins for the host, such as biotin and vitamin K, and producing hormones to direct the host to store fats.

So let me see if I understand this. Xylitol acts like a broad spectrum bacteriocide (bacteria diminisher or killer), and one ingests this stuff, and it is LARGELY not absorbed by the human body, but goes into the intestines, and THEN is absorbed by the probiotic bacteria? HMMMMM.......

And the reported side effects are diarrhea - which easily could be the proper probiotics which have been fighting off the toxic dangerous E. Coli bacteria for instance, have been KILLED OFF..

Hmmmm.....

Lets look again at WHY proper probiotic levels are needed... Xylitol kills bacteria, and that is what it is claimed to be so good for.. Now tell me why again do we want to take the equivalent of ANTIBIOTICS continually, has anyone ever heard of resistance to antibiotics because of antibiotic over use? What about taking Xylitol, which kills bacteria, isn't it similar that issue?

Without gut flora, the human body would be unable to utilize some of the undigested carbohydrates it consumes, because some types of gut flora have enzymes that human cells lack for breaking down certain polysaccharides.

Rodents raised in a sterile environment and lacking in gut flora need to eat 30% more calories just to remain the same weight as their normal counterparts.

Carbohydrates that humans cannot digest without bacterial help include certain starches, fiber, oligosaccharides and sugars that the body failed to digest and absorb like lactose in the case of lactose intolerance and sugar alcohols, mucus produced by the gut, and proteins.

A further result is flatulence, specifically due to the metabolism of oligosaccharides (notably from beans) by many different species.

Bacteria turn carbohydrates they ferment into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)by a form of fermentation called saccharolytic fermentation.

Products include acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid.

These materials can be used by host cells, providing a major so urce of useful energy and nutrients for humans, as well as helping the body to absorb essential dietary minerals such as calcium, magnesium and iron.

Gases and organic acids, such as lactic acid, are also produced by saccharolytic fermentation.

Acetic acid is used by muscle, propionic acid helps the liver produce ATP, and butyric acid provides energy to gut cells and may prevent cancer.

Evidence also indicates that bacteria enhance the absorption and storage of lipids and produce and then facilitate the body to absorb needed vitamins like vitamin K.

Another strange symptom of Xylitol use is folks may get overweight even though it is claimed to help in reducing weight, and that blood sugar increases.. so it is said.. BUT WHAT if it has killed off the needed proper healthy probiotic bacteria in the intestines?

What gets messed up when probiotics are NOT present?

[Bob]

Meggings, thanks for that post and story/history.

I think my post 4 above explains the mechanism why I think Xylitol facilitated a multitude of issues. (I have similar reactions including a low blood sugar reaction, meaning liver function enzymes get messed up for me).. The probiotic bacteria are harmed.. AND they being killed off all sorts of out-of-balance conditions happen.

I think maybe we've connected some important dots, but I would like to hear from others on this subject before branding these "bacteriostats" as unhealthy due to probiotic kill-off..


Bob, decades ago, for a brief period of time, I used sugarless gum (xylitol) a bit. I could not figure out what was bothering me. Vague as it was, my body definitely let me know it did not like whatever I was doing. I ceased using gum; there was no other source of xylitol in our family diet, and I returned to normal functioning.

This reminded me of 1982 when I had my first ever diet pop - it had aspartame in it. Got headache and feeling of un-wellness. The only change was diet pop (because we had moved to a house with a pool, it was summertime, and I bought coke for the company coming). I poured every bottle of diet pop down the laundry room sink when I realized what it was doing to my body. Never had it again.

[..]

[Bob]

The prestigious Journal for Applied Environmental Microbiology in 2011 published a study about Xylitol being absorbed by both Gram Positive and Gram Negative bacteria.

To summarize what the scientists observed bacteria PERSIST in absorbing Xylitol even when there is real sugar present. They cannot metabolize Xylitol and die.

(Source (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3019703/))

What the science shows is that the second generations of cells grown when Xylitol was present for the parent cells, also exhibited damage, passed on from the parent cells having absorbed Xylitol.

What the scientists said that for a tooth decay prevention, as well as killing off bacteria in the mouth responsible for meningitis, pneumonia, e.Coli, staph, strep, clamidia, candida, pseudomonas, (on and on..) should be mixed with Fluoride.. possibly making a mouth wash, or dental toothpaste..

Obviously the situation is what about the poisons being absorbed, and getting down into the needed region, the intestines, and damaging probiotics? What about HEALTHY mouth bacteria? They would be killed too. (see healthy oral probiotics - http://www.oragenics.com/probiotics/probiora3/how-it-works for example)

[Selkie]

...Obviously the situation is what about the poisons being absorbed, and getting down into the needed region, the intestines, and damaging probiotics? What about HEALTHY mouth bacteria? They would be killed too. (see healthy oral probiotics - http://www.oragenics.com/probiotics/probiora3/how-it-works for example)

Healthy bacteria would, indeed, be killed. We have been inculcated to "think" that all bacteria are bad, but of course, this is not so. And it is often when something upsets our natural bacterial milieu that we get ill.

As an aside, for a horrifying read about fluoride,

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fluoride-Deception-Christopher-Bryson/dp/1583227008

It tells you most of what the PTB never wanted anyone to know about fluoride.

[Bob]

[..]

Hi Bob,

I wonder what Xylitol does to monkeys generally and chimpanzees in particular.

In any case, Stevia is a better alternative since the Japanese have been using
it for 40 years without any obvious cause for concern. That's a big human trial.
Xylitol does generate a slight insulin spike and does provide calories.
Stevia provides no insulin spike and provides no calories.

I wish i could find 'stevia-chewing gum'.

be happy :-)

lucidity

I'll look around and see what studies are available. Stevia chewing gum ! That sounds great !


==Post Update==


ABSTRACT
Xylitol was examined for its effects on pig-tail monkeys in an oral feeding study. Monkeys were fed diets initially containing 5% xylitol or sucrose. The level of sucrose or xylitol was increased to 20% at a rate of 5% per week and maintained at 20% of the diet for 4 wk.

The gradual increase allowed adaptation to xylitol and no diarrhea was observed. Both sucrose and xylitol diets caused an initial increase in levels of plasma triglycerides and cholesterol.

No other significant affects on plasma lipids or lipoproteins were observed and all plasma lipids and fractions examined were normal at the end of this study.

Above is from:

Quote from the initial heading in the Abstract -
Presented at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists. St. Louis. MO., June 10–13, 1979.

Scientific Paper No. SP5398, project 6216. College of Agriculture Research Center, Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA 99164.

Special thanks to Ron Orta and the Primate Research Center at Washington State University for their cooperation in making the monkeys available that were used in this investigation.

Appreciation is due Hoffman-La Roche Co. for the xylitol which was used and to R. Bendel for assisting with the statistical analysis.

BTW, I just completed reading a "google book" on xylitol studies from research in the 1970, and there is a strong warning about the effects of xylitol plus ethanol, if such manages to make it into the bloodstream and gets into the liver to be metabolized.

LACTIC ACIDOSIS (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4625008) a serious life threatening condition can happen, especially when muscles are experiencing hypoxia (reduced oxygen levels) - possibly people consuming alcoholic drinks on airplanes containing Xylitol COULD be tied into the strange psychosis sometimes reported on flights.

[sunpaw]

I have used it as mouth wash/rinse, not as sweetener. I was looking for the 'sugar', to test it what was available - I didn't like.
I also didn't want chewing gum - any chewing gum makes my mouth itch and my teeth hurt.
(Interesting side note: while chewing gum - you are less likely to experience having a song stuck in your head. It was explained it tricks the brain into 'I speak' - and who speaks often doesn't really listens...)
I also didn't want it as 'sweets'. Because I wanted it for the mouth not digesting it. Also for the psychological effect 'sweets are not good'

So I went to the pharmacy and got something (to rinse) with 10% Xylitol. So I brushed and cleaned as usual, rinsing with water and finished with a rinse of said solution.