Xylitol

This article was written by Sherrill Sellman, the author of the bestselling book Hormone Heresy: What Women Must Know About Their Hormones.

Xylitol is not only a safe, natural sweetener without the bad side-effects of sugar and artificial substitutes, it’s also good for your teeth, stabilizes insulin and hormone levels, and promotes good health. Americans have a mighty hankering for sugar. It seems that we just can’t get enough of the stuff. On average, a half a cup of sugar is consumed per person every day. It is estimated that the average American eats, drinks, slurps, stirs, and sprinkles about 150 pounds of it annually. Never in modern history has a culture consumed so much sugar.

Sugar truly does deserve its reputation as a white poison. Thinking of sugar as a food is really a stretch of the imagination, because it is more a chemical that is difficult for our bodies to utilize and digest. Humans were really not designed to eat large amounts of sugar in whatever form it may take: white and brown, corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, barley malt, honey, rice syrup, and maple syrup. Sugar is also highly seductive, acting like an addictive drug that lures even the most well-intentioned person back into its sweet clutches. According to Chinese wisdom, sweetness is one of the flavors necessary for maintaining balance in the body.

[Editors note: The concept of sweetness referred to here likely means alkalinity, as in the acid-alkaline balance within the body that was a major topic of Edgar Cayce’s medical discourses while in trance. In that respect, Cayces wisdom would agree with the ancient Chinese wisdom, but the advice is actually OPPOSITE the implied conclusion. That is, you want to eat ACIDIC things, like citrus, to produce an alkaline REACTION in the body to keep it slightly on the sweet side. This matter has long been a subject of obvious confusion for Cayce readers, who often get it backwards until they understand the actual reactions of body chemistry he was talking about. And that same concept is likely what the ancient Chinese medical wisdom meant by sweetness within the body.]

But regularly eating large amounts of sugar will cause serious harm. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia and weight gain, leading to diabetes and obesity in both children and adults. It leaches the body of vital minerals and vitamins. It raises blood pressure, triglycerides, and the bad cholesterol (LDL), increasing the risk of heart disease. It causes tooth decay and periodontal disease, which leads to tooth loss and systemic infections. It makes it difficult for a child’s brain to learn, resulting in a lack of concentration. Both children and adults exhibit disruptive behavior, learning disorders, and forgetfulness from sugar consumption. It initiates auto-immune and immune deficiency disorders such as arthritis, allergies, and asthma. It also upsets hormonal balance and supports the growth of cancer cells. So what are we to do? Will our sugar cravings always hold us hostage, or is there really a way to lick the sugar habit successfully? Author Sherrill Sellman can be contacted via her website or by email.

Author: Sherrill Sellman