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Comment by wxw | Hacker News Reader

Tangentially related, apparently xylitol gum can reduce cavity risk by killing off bacteria (which cannot digest but cannot differentiate xylitol from regular sugar) in the mouth.

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Xylitol is really cool that way. The bacteria waste energy trying to convert it to a form they can use, but they just end up with at a dead end with xylitol-5-phosphate. Once they realize that they need to get rid of it, they convert it back to xylitol (so it can cross the membrane easier and probably to keep the phosphate). Of course, that means the xylitol is back to fool some other nearby bacteria into wasting its energy.

They end up wasting their energy on work that won't help them reproduce and needing to waste more energy getting rid of it.

In that way I'm like a bacteria. "Ah beans, gotta undo all this work"

Sounds interesting, indeed. Just dug up this review [1] that claims there were no adverse effects from any of the interventions, and that after 2.5 to 3 years of use, a fluoride toothpaste containing 10% xylitol may reduce caries by 13% when compared to a fluoride-only toothpaste.

I wonder how well bacteria will adapt long term in your mouth to Xylitol exposure through bubble gum based adminstration.

[1] Xylitol-containing products for preventing dental caries in children and adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD010743. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010743.pub2.

Couldnt find any (relatively recent) studies that looked at bacteria over multiple years, but some earlier ones (1&2), or shorter period ones(3), that touch on it (aswell as caries, as that is the prevalent subject)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2758793/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1810656/

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3...

Wouldn’t this also be a problem for gut flora?

Excessive xylitol consumption causes digestive problems, yes.

Not just gut flora. High levels of circulating xylitol (and erythritol for that matter) have been shown in both mouse models and humans to be associated with increased platelet reactivity and elevated 3-year risk of major cardiovascular events.

But we're talking significant levels of xylitol/erythritol, such as from keto-friendly ice cream and drinks, not the modest levels from chewing gum, and the dental benefits are well established.

It certainly is a problem for the guts of some people.

There is a hilarious Amazon review describing the effects of sugar-free gummy bears in rather graphic details.

https://old.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ktb95/most_helpful_...

I don't know if it is xylitol, but if not, it is another sugar alcohol, like sorbitol, maltitol, erythritol,... that have similar properties

I swish xylitol crystal after each meal for five minutes and then spit out. I no longer have plague on my lower bottom teeth, a problem area for most people. I like the fresh minty feel afterward as well. Wish I had learn about this earlier.

It does? I wonder, what it does to the gut biome then

It's already bad for your cardiovascular system. It's food as a mouth wash but don't swallow it, especially at the recommended doses of 3+ mouthwash per day with 3-5g each time

The recent study on it gave the subjects a 300mL "standardized, artificially sweetened beverage containing 30g of xylitol diluted in water."

Recommended amount is 5–10g per day (5 pieces of 100% xylitol gum, 36% is already effective), taken after meals.

Just be careful around dogs and presumably other pets as it's toxic for them.

By the way, you should know some people have trouble with the *-itols, causing a range of uncomfortable gut problems.

not only xylitol, but sorbitol, mannitol and maltitol. Also related are lactose, fructose, and *saccharides.

the keyword is FODMAP, look up low-FODMAP diet.

maybe: https://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/gi/faculty-staff-website/wp...

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