A Sweetener That's Good For You?

These days everyone says how bad sugar (and even honey) is for you. Even widely used sugar substitutes could cause cancer or brain tumors.

Then I found xylitol on the supermarket shelves.

This evening I was searching the web for things related to the ear and found that xylitol can help prevent ear infections. I could hardly believe my eyes (not ears, this time).

So - until one of you debunks xylitol - here is something to ruminate about:

Medical applications

[edit]Dental care

Xylitol is a "tooth-friendly," non-fermentable sugar alcohol.^[11][12] A systematic review study^[13] on the efficacy of xylitol has indicated dental health benefits in caries prevention, showing superior performance to other polyols(poly-alcohols). Early studies from Finland in the 1970s found that a group chewing sucrose gum had 2.92 decayed, missing, or filled (dmf) teeth compared to 1.04 in the group chewing xylitol gums.^[14] In another study, researchers had mothers chew xylitol gum when their children were 3 months old until they were 2 years old. The researchers found that the mothers in the xylitol group had "a 70% reduction in cavities (dmf)."^[14] Recent research^[15] confirms a plaque-reducing effect and suggests that the compound, having some chemical properties similar to sucrose, attracts and then "starves" harmful micro-organisms, allowing the mouth to remineralize damaged teeth with less interruption. (However, this same effect also interferes with yeast micro-organisms and others, so xylitol is inappropriate for making yeast-based bread, for instance.)

Saliva containing xylitol is more alkaline than saliva which contains other sugar products. After taking xylitol products, the concentration of basic amino acids in saliva may rise. When saliva is alkaline (i.e., its pH is above 7), calcium and phosphate salts in saliva start to precipitate into those parts of enamel where they are lacking^[16].

Xylitol-based products are allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make the medical claim that they do not promote dental cavities.^[17]

A recent study demonstrated that, as a water additive for animals, xylitol was effective in reducing plaque and calculus accumulation in cats.^[18]

[edit]Diabetes

Possessing approximately 40% less food energy,^[19] xylitol is a low-calorie alternative to table sugar. Absorbed more slowly than sugar, it does not contribute to high blood sugar levels or the resulting hyperglycemia caused by insufficient insulin response.

[edit]Osteoporosis

Xylitol also has potential as a treatment for osteoporosis. A group of Finnish researchers has found that dietary xylitol prevents weakening of bones in laboratory rats, and actually improves bone density.^[20][21]

[edit]Ear and upper respiratory infections

Studies have shown that xylitol chewing gum can help prevent ear infections^[22] (acute otitis media); the act of chewing and swallowing assists with the disposal of earwax and clearing the middle ear, whilst the presence of xylitol prevents the growth of bacteria in the eustachian tubes (auditory tubes or pharyngotympanic tubes) which connect the nose and ear.^[23] When bacteria enter the body they hold on to the tissues by hanging on to a variety of sugar complexes. The open nature of xylitol and its ability to form many different sugar-like structures appears to interfere with the ability of many bacteria to adhere.^[24] In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, saline solutions of xylitol significantly reduced the number of nasal coagulase-negative Staphylococcus bacteria. The researchers attributed the benefits to the increased effectiveness of endogenous (naturally present in the body) antimicrobial factors.^[25]

[edit]Infection

In rats, xylitol has been found to increase the activity of neutrophils, the white blood cells involved in fighting many bacteria. This effect seems to be quite broad, acting even in cases such as general sepsis.^[26]

[edit]Candida yeast

A recent report suggests that consumption of xylitol may help control oral infections of Candida yeast; in contrast, galactose, glucose, and sucrose may increase proliferation.^[27]

[edit]Benefits for pregnant or nursing women

Xylitol is safe for pregnant and nursing women, and studies show that regular use significantly reduces the probability of transmitting the Streptococcus mutans bacteria, which is responsible for tooth decay, from mother to child during the first two years of life by as much as 80%.^[28]

On the topic of ears, we have been tortured the last few days and nights by poor quality, but loud audio from the site of a fair at the Thai Embassy. 


By coincidence the Sunday Times ran a story, in today's issue, by one of their journos who said,"These construction workers must be the most hardworking in the world. They work seven days a week without fail, making it impossible for me to sleep in late even on weekends.

I've complained about this to my friends, who are uniformly unsympathetic - mainly because they are all experiencing some variation on the same situation.

Singapore has always been an eternal construction site but in recent years it feels like this has been taken to a whole new level.

Mega-infrastructure projects, extended MRT lines, plans to rejuvenate reservoirs and canals, and the construction of new roads, cycling routes and park connectors have transformed many parts of the country into a hellish cacophony of noise and confusion.

The dust and din are bad enough, but the endless construction is also a disturbing reminder of Singapore's perennial quest to continually overhaul itself and race forward.

Amid this chaos, buildings that I've always taken for granted have been dispassionately torn down. The condominium in which I grew up was recently sold en bloc, indelibly erasing a piece of my past. New landmarks and structures keep sprouting up, seemingly overnight, all over the place."

While we shouldn't necessarily believe all we read, see or hear these days (especially here!), this might give you a picture of the 'new' Singapore. 

If you are spared construction chaos and cacophony at night and weekends then you must be a VIP or live close to one. The rest of Singapore is sacrificed to progress - by the laws which allow building activity 24 hours a day as long as an AVERAGE sound level is not breached.

Even Hong Kong has better living or should I say sleeping conditions; I have mentioned this time and again but it always falls on deaf ears (I cannot help nauseating puns).

As it happens the same journo (unless there are two by the same name) recently dispensed what seems to be good advice on the government's new measures to curb speculation in the property market and to enable more Singaporeans and PRs to buy their own homes.

Fortunately we are in the so-called 'twilight' of our lives and do not have to worry about a roof over our heads, but my sympathies are for my young friends - especially singles under 35. The only option to this segment is to buy in the open market (as opposed to HDB 'public' housing).

On the other hand, I guess they can get around this by getting married for the sake of getting a home. One of my old pals did this years ago and is happily ensconced in her home - both of them leading totally separate lives (my dear friend, correct me on this when you read it. Or say something in your inimitable style that I can post later).

But surely this places Singaporeans in a moral quandary, having to find loopholes (skirt the law?) 

Another old pal, as loyal and true a Singaporean as you will find anywhere, has this worry: "Yesterday’s clarification by the HDB on its rules regarding the ownership of property abroad seems to be sending the message to retirees and permanent residents that they should either learn to lie, or leave town.

Like me, many who are retirees today grew up in a Singapore which still had rural areas. There, contrary to the official line, we did not live in “slums”. We had spacious, rustic houses with electricity and modern plumbing.

Wanting a return to that bucolic lifestyle, members of my cohort have acquired landed properties in Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and America, at prices ranging from between S$240,000 to S$500,000 for large bungalows. These are hardly exorbitant sums, being less than the cost of a resale HDB apartment.

However, being Singaporeans at heart, with strong family ties and business connections here, they also purchased HDB flats for use during their very frequent and long return visits, during which some are still economically active and contribute to Singapore’s  growth.

A HDB flat is an affordable and important home base from which one can stay for extended periods. It allows one to come and go at will, without having to inconvenience friends or relatives.

This especially applies to foreign talent I know, who have business interests or family commitments spanning more than one country and who maintain homes in each.

The ruling that even properties abroad have to be sold before one can own a resale HDB flat can easily be circumvented, as pointed out in yesterday’s Straits Times article.

It will cause those retirees and permanent residents who are honest to make the hard decision as to whether or not to make Singapore their primary home.

And at the same time, those less upright will simply say to themselves that this rule is just another to be bent or broken for their own convenience.

If the former group leaves, and the latter’s mindset gains dominance, I fear for the future moral tone that will be fostered in this country."

Our government has many scholars in its ranks so I would have expected that the measures to make housing more accessible to Singaporeans would have been fully thought out before they were announced.

But more and more it looks like there are scenarios that were not taken into account or perhaps not even envisaged . I only hope that we do not paint ourselves into a corner as we have done with some of our policies aimed at controlling the number of vehicles, especially private cars, on our roads.

Speaking of which I had written to a local newspaper called TODAY about re-using the YOG road marking and signage instead of spending money to remove them. I wonder if the authority which decides on road matters has an entrenched 'NIH' (Not Invented Here) syndrome -  today's Sunday Times said, "Land Transport Authority (LTA) has started removing the lane markings reminding motorists to give way to YOG vehicles during the games so athletes and officials could get to their competition venues on time.

All such markings will be removed by the end of the year.

Some people have suggested that the markings be kept, and those lanes be used for emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and fire engines.

In response, the LTA said it was 'open to the suggestion', but that it would need to review this with the relevant agencies.

Maybe it is the NIH syndrome,maybe it's because we already had committed to remove the signs and markings (we spent $387 versus an initial budget of some $100+ million) and to vary that order would cost some more? 

Then there was a comment from Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and Transport, "in other cities where the Olympics have been held, entire roads were usually closed."


That's a bit of a stretch since we held ONLY the YOUTH Olympics Games (YOG), not the real McCoy, the Summer Olympic Games which is many times bigger and enjoys a much higher stature.


Sometimes, but only fleetingly, do I wonder what I would be doing today had I hit the books instead of enjoying life. 


Now if I had been born some 20+ years later, been blessed with far more brains and used them, perhaps I would be one of today's panjandrums. Think of how I could be enjoying vast authority and security of tenure!

As one of my pals opined,"Road closures and the reservation of lanes for YOG vehicles were seen as necessary, but the inconsiderate behavior of the official drivers, certainly caused annoyance.

Then rage began to build up as the real story started to unfold. If I had not been already retired, I would have been fired if I had overshot my operating budget by more than 300%."

All the same, I probably would have blotted my copybook and put my foot in my mouth too many times to be successful in politics or to join the civil service.