Xylitol has been used as a sugar substitute since World War II and is also known for its abilities to fight tooth decay. In addition, research is showing that xylitol added to chewing gum could be a way to prevent middle ear infections. Although its anti-bacterial effects are promising, there's not enough evidence for you to use xylitol exclusively as a treatment for infection.
Xylitol
Xylitol is a natural carbohydrate produced by your body's own metabolic processes every day and is also found in plants. Xylitol is a white crystal sugar alcohol with 40 percent the calories of table sugar, one reason food manufacturers add it to their products. Xylitol differs from other sugar alcohols like sorbitol, fructose and glucose because its molecule has five rather than six atoms of carbon, and also due to its antimicrobial properties.
General Benefits
Many chewing gum products use xylitol because of its proven ability to reduce your risk for cavities. The sugar alcohols in xylitol don't have much impact on your blood sugar levels, which is why the sweetener is considered safe for diabetics. Xylitol contains only trace amounts of vitamins and minerals, but it aids in the absorption of calcium and B vitamins your body needs. However, it's the antimicrobial potential of xylitol that has interested health experts regarding ear infections.
Preventing Ear Infections
Two different double-blind trials investigated xylitol's effects on cases of acute otitis media, the name for a middle ear infection. The first study took place in Oulu, Finland in 1996 and involved eleven day care nurseries. The results, published in the "British Journal of Medicine," showed that children using 8.4 g chewing gum daily for two months had a significantly reduced risk of an ear infection. A follow-up study in 1998 found that the rate of ear infection decreased by up to 40 percent in children given xylitol chewing gum or a xylitol syrup.
Contradictory Evidence
In 2007, researchers at the University of Oulu Department of Pediatrics gave children 9.6 g xylitol chewing gum or a xylitol mixture three times a day for three months. The study, published in "The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal," found that an almost equal number of subjects -- 94 of 332 children receiving xylitol products versus 98 of 331 children receiving a control -- developed an ear infection. The researchers concluded therefore that xylitol failed to prevent acute otitis media.
Recommendations
A team at the University of California Santa Barbara set out to survey pediatricians in the U.S. regarding their use of xylitol in cases of otitis media. At the time of the survey in May 2010, few of the doctors were prescribing xylitol for their young patients to prevent or treat ear infections. Since acute otitis media can be serious in young children and even hinder speech and language development, the doctors recommended that children under the age of six months be treated with traditional antibacterial therapy.
Considerations
There have been no reports of serious side effects associated with xylitol use up to 20 g per day in children and 50 g per day for adults. The adverse effects that did occur involved nausea, gas, bloating and diarrhea. These effects may be particularly hard on very young children.
References
- Drugs.com: Xylitol
- "British Medical Journal"; Xylitol Chewing Gum in Prevention of Acute Otitis Media: Double Blind Randomised Trial; M. Uhari, et al.; 1996
- "Pediatrics"; A Novel Use of Xylitol Sugar on Preventing Acute Otitis Media; M. Uhari, et al.; 1998
- "Journal of the American Academy of Audiology"; National Survey of Pediatricians' Opinions about and Practices for Acute Otitis Media and Xylitol Use; J.L. Danhauer, et al.; May 2010
- "The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal"; Failure of Xylitol Given Three Times a Day for Preventing Acute Otitis Media; O. Hautalahti, et al.; May 2007
