Skip navigation

 Login or Register | Member Centre

Yum! Candy that fights cavities

CARLY WEEKS

From Friday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 5:23 AM EST 29/07/08

New evidence finds sweets made with the sugar substitute xylitol could actually reduce the risk of cavities ...Read the full article

This conversation is closed

  1. Iain's Opinion from Canada writes: And the long term effects of xylitol are?
  2. Brian Dell from Stockholm, Sweden writes: Xylitol, and all the other sugar alcohols ending in -ol, give me terrible gas.

    Anyway, this calls for the Gummi Bear Song:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z47EUaIFrdQ&
  3. S Lucht from British Columbia, Canada writes: Xylitol can also cause diarrhea.
  4. Ann Ig Norant from I want global warming and grow bananas in Calgary, Canada writes: The tropical trees neem and peelu are the best for preventing cavities and without any side effect.
  5. sherry smith from Canada writes: I have been using xylitol gum for years and buy it also to use in my tea and coffee, and sometimes baking.
    I am a type 2 diabetic and regarding taste, I find it the best without aftertaste.
    The difference apparently with xylitol, is that it is alkaline rather than acid and has the same effect in the body. Candidas yeast is not interested in it either, for food. It's a sugar alcohal and does not chemical mimic sugar which is good.
    The only drawback is the cost as it's expensive, and used in moderation it doesn't cause problems.
  6. George BrownIII from Christmas Island writes: LOL the dental industry worried about its long term effects, that should be their profits?
  7. RD Lone from Vancouver, Canada writes: It always amuses me how the dental industry still exists. We're a society that can replace basically almost every body part and make materials that can be used in space shuttles, but yet we haven’t figured out a way to figure out to protect our teeth without shelling out $500 a year? C'mon..
  8. Zach Fitzgerald from The Tdot, Canada writes: Ya and then u will have a healthy smile but what does this stuff do to you. Just like aspartame, it hasnt been properly tested. I guess it is now and were the test subjects.
  9. C J from Canada writes: in 10 years they'll be telling us it causes cancer
  10. Arielle Furneaux from Canada writes: It was the day I read, on a package of sugarless gum, "excessive consumption may lead to a laxative effect", that I pledged allegiance to the cult of sugar.
  11. jean leblanc from Mine, France writes: Well, what an amazing article... can't Canadian "Researchers" read previously published material? Even a spot of Googling will give more information than presented here. Xylitol is simply Birch tree (also Beech and Maize) sugar. It has been studied since the 19th centiry and a Finnish company perfected the method for its cheap extraction/production. Xylitol gum has been sold since 1975 in Europe (especially Scandinavia where over 95% of all gums use it). Strange that Canada will fund "Research (?)" to replicate previously published scientific results... do Canadians have a fundamentally different physiology? Incredible. As for the unsubstantiated claim of diarrhea, maybe the chili/garlic/bacon burger/hot dog you gulped down before chewing gum to cover up the smell is more of a factor. The CDA comment is the usual spineless drivel... could be more accurately phrased "It might affect our member's profits". Maybe they should go to some international conferences or read the scientific literature?

Comments are closed

Thanks for your interest in commenting on this article, however we are no longer accepting submissions. If you would like, you may send a letter to the editor.

Report an abusive comment to our editorial staff

close

Alert us about this comment

Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor's rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem.

Do not use this to complain about comments that don’t break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings.

Back to top