xyitol: good? bad? ugly???

[Wishfire]

does anyone know if xylitol is induction friendly?
i have been reading up on it and "apparently" it has no effect on blood glucose or insulin levels....making it one of the best polyols for low carb diets (and diabetics)....it is also supposedly reccommended for the prevention of tooth decay (but that's kinda beside the point)

so anyway...since i do not get on with splenda, i've hunted around for xylitol...it DOES taste nice, it is comparable to sugar (so no weird conversions) and stable at high temperatures so you can cook with it....only snag....it has 4g of carbs per tsp
the label lists the whole 4 g from polyols and it is not produced using bulking agents (which is supposedly what gives sweeteners the majority of their carb content....can you tell i've been geeking it up with research articles? )

so....would we count all 4g per tsp?
i seem to remember dr A mentioning xylitol...but to be honest i have read SO much in the past couple of weeks that it all blurs into one, so i would appreciate some input

[Sherri]

Hello Wishfire,
I am very familiar with Xylitol, derivitive of Birch hardwood. It's my sweetner of choice when I use sweetners. Mine also has 4 grams of carbs and 0 Net carbs! That's right! The Xylitol I have has 0 Carbs. I buy mine from Long life Unlimited. Their web site is in my signature if you're interested. I buy the individual packet and the 1.5 pound jars. They also carry different items made from xylitol, as in gum, breathmints and so on.
There's nothing healthier and taste as good as Xylitol. And so healthy for you!
Sherri

[Wishfire]

thanks for the quick reply Sherri...i think i love you i SO wanted someone to tell me "nah, it's ok, go for it"

I have bough some xylitol, and to be honest it will probably last me a while, since i only really need it to sweeten my coffee (i have switched to decaf, but i can't bring myself skip on some sweetness) and the odd pumpkin treat here and there....but i was wondering whether it might cause stalling like a lot of other sweeteners seem to (even splenda stalls me :s)

[Sherri]

Great to hear!
I can't tell you about the stalling with it. I've been on a ALL sweetner fast now for almost two months. I can tell you that the scale really started moving and I have no cravings since kicking them to the curb. Coincidence? I don't want to find out.
What brand and company do you buy yours from? Mine is called Smart Sweet from Long Life Unlimitied.
Sherri

[Wishfire]

it's called Perfect Sweet (www.perfectsweet.co.uk) but i bought it from the local health shop which only stocked 8oz bags....I don't think they even make individual packets here...

[Sherri]

Hi Wishfire,
Thank you for sharing. The Xylitol that I buy is made in the United States and sold here. It's people like ourselves that are paving the way for others to find healthier alternatives to sweetners as in Xylitol. Rather than ingesting sweet poisons like the chemicle soup "splenda". I only know of a couple others on here that use xylitol and understand the health benifits to using it. I would like to invite you to my Challenge Operation "No Sweetners" and find out more about just what goes into the chemicle soup "Splenda" It may detour you from ever using that sweet poison again. I know it changed my mind set forever.
Here's to paving a healthier way for others.
Sincerely, Sherri
P.S where are you from?

[mitzimarie]

Originally Posted by Sherri

Hello Wishfire,
I am very familiar with Xylitol, derivitive of Birch hardwood. It's my sweetner of choice when I use sweetners. Mine also has 4 grams of carbs and 0 Net carbs! That's right! The Xylitol I have has 0 Carbs. I buy mine from Long life Unlimited.

Hi, Sherri

As you know, I've been doing some thinking about changing my sweetener of choice when I run out of my Sweetzfree (liquid Splenda). While I am aware of, and impressed by, the health benefits of xylitol, there is just something that I don't understand about it. This is from the Long Life Unlimited site:

"Xylitol is a good-tasting bulk sweetener which is reduced in calories and dentally safe."

OK, I guess I am just wondering how it goes from 4 grams of carbs to 0 net carbs, if it is a bulk sweetener. The site also states that it has 40% fewer calories than sugar, which means that there are calories in it. I wonder what the breakdown of those calories are? The reason I use liquid Splenda over the package kind, is because of the bulking agents... that is where the carbs come in. I like using a couple of drops to get sweeteness, and I see how Sweetzfree can claim 0 calories, 0 carbs, 0 maltodextrin. I guess I'm just trying to figure out how xylitol goes from 4g carbs to 0 net carbs, and still has 60% of the calories of sugar. Do you know where I can find some information about this? What do they use for their bulking agent?


Don't get me wrong - I 100% agree that Splenda is a chemical soup, and it has clearly been weighing on my mind that I use it. I'm thinking that it does stall me, as I have been able to maintain at 5 pounds below my goal weight (without going any lower) while still eating the same way as I did while losing in OWL (the addition of the Splenda is pretty much the only difference in my eating). It is only because I don't have to drop any more weight and because I don't experience aftertaste or bad physical affects from Splenda that I have been using it. The health reasons are the reason I am doing some homework to see if I want to switch sweeteners.

Thanks for all of your help, friend!

[julirama723]

My xylitol says 4g carbs, but the 4g are sugar alcohols. As with any sugar alcohol, I am hesitant to count it as 0g carbs...

If I am sweetening anything and NOT baking it, I use stevia (which truly is 0g carbs). If I'm baking, I will use xylitol because you can bake with it.

[mitzimarie]

Originally Posted by julirama723

My xylitol says 4g carbs, but the 4g are sugar alcohols. As with any sugar alcohol, I am hesitant to count it as 0g carbs...

If I am sweetening anything and NOT baking it, I use stevia (which truly is 0g carbs). If I'm baking, I will use xylitol because you can bake with it.

Ah... I see... sugar alcohols. While I have become a Splenda addict, I have managed to avoid sugar alcohols altogether. Hmmm... while I am not implying that there is anything wrong with it being a sugar alcohol, I would certainly be hesitant to count it as 0g carbs, too.

OK, tell me this - one of the ways that I use Splenda daily is in my pumpkin (MUP). Does that count as "cooking" or "baking"? Meaning, can stevia be used in the microwave? Also, what "form" is stevia in - powder, liquid? I assume it has no bulking agent, if it is truly 0g carbs?

Thank you

[Sherri]

Hello,
The Xyletol I use has 10 calories per 1 tsp. serving. Here's the website of the company that makes it. www.smartsweet.com It can answer just about any questions regarding to Xylitol.
I'm still not eating any sweetners. It will be 2 months in just a week without any sweet poisons. I've just about decided that I don't want any type of sweetners, good or bad. I'm finding I do so much better without them. Also I have found that there are more health benifits than pleasures. Since all the foods on Atkins are pleasures then I'm truly not missing out on anything.