Some Facts about Xylitol
In ordinary term, xylitol is a sweetener that can be used as a substitute for sugar. Studies have shown that it has benefits not found in sugar. It is also found to prevent tooth decays and can be used as sugar substitute in food for people with diabetes.
Xylitol is not actually a sugar chemically. Sugar has several kinds. Examples are fructose and glucose. Xylitol has five instead of six carbon atoms and it’s a sugar alcohol. Xylitol is as sweet and almost similar as sucrose.
German and French chemists discovered xylitol in the late 1900s. It is found in some fruits such as raspberries and strawberries. It can also be found in some vegetables and even in some mushrooms.
How does xylitol prevent tooth decay? It prevents the occurrence of acid attack, that’s how. The food that we eat contains sugar that aids in the proliferation of certain bacteria in the mouth. Those bacteria can penetrate the surface of our teeth through the acids produced by metabolic process.
Acidity is measured by “pH”. When the pH of plaque falls down to 5.5 or lower, calcium is being stripped away from our tooth’s surface. Then, our tooth’s enamel will start to dissolve slowly. This is when tooth cavities will be formed. As it goes on further, the enamel will become porous and vulnerable to bacteria and will later lead to tooth decay.
Xylitol can stop this acid attack because the bacteria that cause tooth decay cannot complete their metabolism process which brings their growth to a halt. Leading bacteria that cause tooth decay are lactobacilli and streptococci. It is said that with xylitol intake instead of sugar, the growth of these bacteria can fall to as much as 90%. Because they cannot produce acid, the enamel stays safe from attacks and cavity cannot be produced.
Our mouth is being protected from bacteria by our saliva. It maintains the desired pH level to prevent bacteria from producing acid that destroys our teeth. However, too much consumption of sugar in our daily diet limits the protective capability of saliva or may render it useless.
Most of us take beyond two instances of sugar per day so we need fluoride to wash out acids present on the enamel. This is the reason why we often brush our teeth. However, if xylitol is present in our saliva, it makes our mouth more alkaline. Xylitol raises amino acids and ammonia which can cause the pH level to rise and stops the production of bacteria.
You are probably interested where you can get xylitol to avail of its benefits. Manufacturers now use it in the production of chewing gum sweeteners. Dentists agree that such gum is a good way of adding xylitol to our saliva. Also, increased saliva secretion is stimulated by chewing a gum. More saliva secretion and xylitol can result to better buffer against tooth decay caused by bacteria.
One of the most important part of the body is the teeth. We need them to crush our food for better digestion. Toothache is definitely not something that we can take lightly. It’s like a curse if you suffer from toothache. It is also not advisable to immediately extract the tooth that is causing the pain. Dentists would often give medication first to stop the ache before extracting the tooth.
Another good thing about having healthy teeth is that you always have a ready smile for everyone. You’ll have more confidence when you talk with anyone. Hopefully, more manufacturers would find ways to use xylitol instead of sugar in our daily food so that we can always have healthy teeth.
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