How is xylitol different from other sugar-free sweeteners?
Xylitol is a nutritive sweetener that contains about 40% fewer calories than sugar. It is all-natural and differs considerably from chemically-engineered artificial sweeteners like Splenda®, sucralose, aspartame & acesulfame potassium. Because of its molecular structure, it is considered a polyol or “sugar alcohol.” Sugar alcohols are commonly used to sweeten sugar-free products and xylitol is considered a “sugar-free” sweetener. Sugar alcohols are neither sugars nor alcohols. They are carbohydrates with a chemical structure that partially resembles sugar and partially resembles alcohol, but they don’t contain ethanol as alcoholic beverages do. They are incompletely absorbed and metabolized by the body, and consequently contribute fewer calories. The polyols commonly used include sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, maltitol syrup, lactitol, erythritol, and isomalt. Xylitol is the sweetest of all the sugar alcohols and has the greatest impact on the bacteria that cause tooth decay. A
