Xylitol, General Information
Xylitol, or as it is alternatively called, birch sugar or in some cases wood sugar is a sugar alcohol or polyol. Xylitol is widely used as a sugar substitute. Unlike most of the commonly used sugar substitutes, xylitol is a natural occurring substance.
The names birch sugar and wood sugar are derived from the fact that xylitol used to be produced from birch tree pulp. However, today that large ammounts of xylitol are produced, extracting xylitol from birch tree isn't a viable solution and therefore it is now mainly extracted from corn. Other sources that can be used for the extraction of xylitol are rasberries and plums.
One more thing that should be noted is that our body produces up to 15gr of xylitol daily. A fact that demonstrates quite well the fact that xylitol is a 100% natural product since it is even a byproduct of the human metabolism.
Xylitol Side Effects
Finally, we should mention that xylitol was approved from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1963, and it has no known toxic levels or serious known side effects for humans. Nonetheless, it should be mentioned that it may be dangerous if consumed by pets like dogs.
