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.
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.<p>They end up wasting their energy on work that won't help them reproduce and needing to waste more energy getting rid of it.
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.
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.<p>I wonder how well bacteria will adapt long term in your mouth to Xylitol exposure through bubble gum based adminstration.<p>[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)<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2758793/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2758793/</a><p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1810656/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1810656/</a><p><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.882636/full" rel="nofollow">https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3...</a>
Wouldn’t this also be a problem for gut flora?
It certainly is a problem for the guts of some people.<p>There is a hilarious Amazon review describing the effects of sugar-free gummy bears in rather graphic details.<p><a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ktb95/most_helpful_amazon_review_i_wont_be_purchasing/" rel="nofollow">https://old.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ktb95/most_helpful_...</a><p>I don't know if it is xylitol, but if not, it is another sugar alcohol, like sorbitol, maltitol, erythritol,... that have similar properties
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.<p>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.
Excessive xylitol consumption causes digestive problems, yes.
In that way I'm like a bacteria. "Ah beans, gotta undo all this work"
It does? I wonder, what it does to the gut biome then
Just be careful around dogs and presumably other pets as it's toxic for them.
apparently it helps reduce risk of mouth cancer..... what im hearing is rotate this and zyns in my mouth, see what happens.
Alternative form of delivery required for Singapore.
I'm just over here wondering how/where/when I can buy this
I wonder if chewing mastic would be as effective?
I'm curious. HIV has been largely conquered, so why hasn't HPV been conquered yet? Same goes for shingles.
There's been a lot of failed attempts at therapeutic vaccines and the like, but nothing has proven effective. It seems that the virus is quite hard to detect and target in the skin.<p>That, plus a lack of urgency due to the effectiveness of preventative vaccines, leads to a lack of urgency on the issue.
Adding to my sibling comments: It also <i>has</i> been conquered in some sense of the word. There are effective vaccines for the 9 most problematic HPV types: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPV_vaccine" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPV_vaccine</a> . It is worth getting, regardless of your gender.
Less resources devoted to curing because of lower lethality
You need to use antiretrovirals constantly to control the HIV. It's not worth it for the HPV that is mostly benign (and only rarely causes cancer).
This is the future I wanted.
Aren't all gum based basically plastic? Including natural ones? So chewing any gum is just going to fill your body with microplastics right? I wonder if the risk offset is worth it.
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Sounds like an ad. "Eat this gum, it is so healthy."
Not worth the time of day until it can be demonstrated that there is a net health benefit. Precautionary Principle FTW.