Xylitol

Studies in people

• Open question

  Tooth decay in children²

  Xylitol in fluoride toothpaste may cut tooth decay in children, but scientists are not yet sure about other xylitol products.

• Concern

  Tooth decay and gut side effects³

  Xylitol may help prevent tooth decay, but eating too much can cause diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome.

• Benefit

  Tooth decay⁴

  Studies in people suggest xylitol chewing gum helps stop tooth decay and plaque acids.

• Benefit

  Plaque build-up on teeth⁵

  In students who chewed xylitol gum, plaque weighed less than in those who chewed sucrose gum.

• Open question

  Blood sugar and fullness⁶

  In people, xylitol slowed stomach emptying and raised fullness hormones, with a small rise in blood sugar and insulin.

• Benefit

  Tooth decay prevention⁷

  Xylitol chewing gum is used daily by many Finnish schoolchildren to help prevent tooth decay.

• Benefit

  Preterm and low-birthweight births⁹

  In Malawi, women who chewed xylitol gum had fewer babies born early or at low birthweight.

• Open question

  Blood fat and cholesterol¹⁰

  In people, eating xylitol for weeks left triglyceride levels unchanged, though cholesterol tended to drop.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar after meals¹¹

  In people with diabetes, xylitol in breakfast kept blood sugar steadier than sucrose did.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Blood sugar control¹³

  Xylitol may help keep blood sugar steady, but this has only been shown in lab and animal studies, not in people.

• Open question

  Tooth decay bacteria¹⁴

  In lab studies, tooth bacteria that grew used to xylitol still made acid and plaque just like the others.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria and bowel habits¹²

  Xylitol feeds gut bacteria and may help with constipation, but human studies are still limited.

How it’s made and used

• How much gets absorbed⁸

  In people, xylitol was absorbed very little, and none of it turned into erythronate.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

Expert panels that weigh all the research. Shown for context: the signal at the top does not count them.

• UN and WHO food additive experts (JECFA), 1983

  No daily limit needed (“ADI not specified”, JECFA’s term for very low toxicity).