What is Xylitol?
Xylitol is an all-natural, chemical-free alternative to both sugar and artificial sweeteners. It might sound like a mysterious chemical, but it’s just a natural substance derived from fibrous vegetables, fruits, and birch trees. It is also found in the glucose metabolism of humans, animals, plants, and micro-organisms. Intriguingly, our own bodies produce up to 15 grams of xylitol each day as part of the normal metabolic process.
Xylitol shares sugars texture, and taste, but while sugar tends to wreak havoc on our health, xylitol plays the hero, promoting healing and immunity. It's a five-carbon sugar, and an antimicrobial powerhouse that prevents the growth of bacteria. In contrast to sugar's acidic nature, xylitol leans towards the alkaline side, enhancing our overall well-being.
It's been around for over a century, and its safety has been rigorously tested and approved by major regulatory bodies worldwide. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Food Standards Australia & New Zealand have given it their seal of approval.
Moreover, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organisation (WHO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the EU Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) have both given xylitol their nod of confidence. JECFA even assigned xylitol an "Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI)" of "Not Specified," the safest category a food additive can land in.
Why do we use it?
Our products contain absolutely no added sugar. The only sugar found in our products occurs naturally in the oats we use which contributes between 1.2g and 1.8g of natural sugar per serving. Whilst we know there are some hardcore 'straight up coffee' lovers out there, we have found the majority of our customers don't mind a little 'something' in their coffee so we use Xylitol to lightly sweeten our drinks.
Some other fun Xylitol facts…
- Xylitol packs 40% fewer calories than the "regular" table sugar.
- We use GMO free Xylitol.
- Xylitol is not actually a sugar, but a sugar alcohol.
- Xylitol leaves no lingering aftertastes, and even helps curb sugar and carbohydrate cravings.
View our no-added-sugar and preservative free products here.