Xylitol is sugar?

Xylitol (C5H12O5), a five-carbon sugar alcohol, is the intermediate product of xylose metabolism, white powdery crystals in shape, very soluble in water, widely found in fruits, vegetables, cereals, mushrooms and other foods and wood, straw, corn cobs and other plants, is a natural, healthy sweetener.

Its sweetness is very similar to sucrose, but has the advantage of low calories compared to sucrose, so it is often used as a sugar substitute and favored by diabetics.

So, is xylitol sugar?
We usually say that sugar refers to monosaccharides and disaccharides, such as sucrose, sugar, glucose, fructose, and xylitol belongs to sugar alcohol compounds, is the product of reduction of monosaccharides, according to the FAO and the World Health Organization’s most recent report, sugar, including monosaccharides, disaccharides, and sugar alcohols, so xylitol belongs to the sugar category.

However, the metabolism of xylitol does not need insulin to promote, can directly through the cell membrane to provide nutrition for the tissue, the human body after the intake of xylitol, the glucose content of the blood to increase very little, not enough to cause an increase in blood glucose value. This is the reason why blood sugar can be stable after eating xylitol with sweet flavor.

Can sugar lovers eat more xylose

In our clinic, we often hear sugar lovers refer to xylitol food as “sugar-free food”, which is actually not a good idea. The so-called “sugar-free”, just because xylitol food sucrose content is less than ordinary food, but xylitol is also composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen elements of carbohydrates, in the human body after oxidation can also release heat energy.

In addition, staple xylitol foods (cookies, pastries, etc.) often increase the amount of starch and fat in order to pursue taste while reducing sucrose, resulting in high calories. Sugar is not the only substance that causes our blood sugar to rise, but overall calories are also the “main culprit”, so excessive consumption of xylitol foods should be avoided.

Application of xylitol in food

1. Substitution in baked goods
In the application of sugar-free pastries, sugar-free pastries do not use sucrose from the filling to the crust. Instead, it adopts a variety of “sugar-free sweeteners” that have sweet taste but do not produce heat or have very low heat to replace sucrose. Sugar-free cakes using liquid xylitol will not undergo Mitochondrial browning reaction after baking and have lighter color on the surface, and have better taste.

2、Xylitol can be used as a liquor additive to improve the quality of liquor.
Japanese research believes that adding 0.15% a 3% of xylitol can improve the color, aroma and taste of wine. For example, adding 0.13% xylitol to synthetic alcohol instead of glucose can make sake fragrant and mellow, sweet and soft, and has the characteristic of reducing microbial spoilage.

The addition of 0.15%-2% xylitol to Weishangjiu achieved similar results. Adding 1.15% xylitol in white wine can make white wine taste smooth and mellow. China’s Baoding distillery will xylitol applied to red grain Daqu, dosage 1%, as a flavoring agent. After tasting, than the modulation of the aroma before the full-bodied, mellow taste, sweet and long aftertaste.

3, xylitol in the application of chocolate products
Chocolate made with xylitol can be suitable for diabetic patients to eat, with fructose, sorbitol or mannitol, xylitol can replace sucrose in chocolate products. However, xylitol must be a finely ground powder material, and the relative humidity of the air should be regulated during the production process. If the relative humidity of the air exceeds 80%, the products produced will appear rough “sandy” structure after storage for a period of time.

4、The application of xylitol in beverages
Ordinary beverages are generally added to sucrose and a certain amount of acid and other ingredients made of sugar-free beverages can be used in low-temperature conditions with xylitol and maltitol compounding coupling, to achieve a soft and mellow beverage finished taste quality, without adding any high-fold sweeteners, the finished product is refreshing and pleasant.

Xylitol and other sugar alcohols, fructose composite preparation, can also be used alone in sugar-free tea drinks, fruit juice drinks and health drinks. In addition, xylitol can also control the caloric value, stabilize and protect the nutrients from damage, improve the beverage aftertaste, texture and cool feeling.

5、The application of xylitol in dairy products
Xylitol, as a new type of functional factor that can improve gastrointestinal function, has high functional properties and is a promising functional additive factor. Sugar-free yogurt made with xylitol is becoming more and more a favorite dairy product for middle-aged and old people and children due to its nutritional value of milk, which can promote the proliferation of bifidobacteria and the digestion and absorption of nutrients as well as improve the immune system and other health care functions.

And because of the weight loss effect, so especially favored by women. If you add jam, fruit pieces, natural colors and flavors made of different flavors of yogurt, to meet the needs of consumers with different hobbies on nutrition and health care functionality of yogurt.

6, xylitol in the application of candy
Chewing gums and candies with xylitol as the main sweetener have been officially recognized by six national dental care associations. Ordinary hard candy usually contains sucrose and glucose syrup, the latter can prevent the emergence of crystallization, and make the product a non-crystalline transparent solid.

Low-energy confectionery has become the hot spot of consumption and the focus of development in today’s international confectionery market. Xylitol is used as a filler-type sweetener to replace sucrose in the production of confectionery, without the need to add aspartame and saccharin-type potent sweeteners, the manufacturing process will not produce the phenomenon of boiling, and recrystallization of the space, equipment, time and energy required for the production of confectionery is less than that of the other “non-sucrose” confectionery taste good. The taste of the made candy is better than other “non-sucrose” candies, with pure sweetness, refreshing coldness and no bad aftertaste.

Due to the special molecular structure. Meladic reaction will not occur. The color of the sugar body is stable when boiling sugar, can withstand the high temperature when boiling sugar, not easy to decompose, while the thermal stability of the strong sweetener is poor, easy to decompose at high temperatures resulting in the loss of sweetness. Xylitol alone can’t make malleable products, but it can if mixed with sorbitol.