A lot of us know that sugar is bad for our health and a lot of Australian’s have started making the switch from sugar to other alternatives. You can find a lot of sugar substitutes including stevia and xylitol Australia wide so it’s not an issue of unavailability. It all comes down to knowing the facts and your motivation to get rid of sugar once and for all. Below we’ll go over all the health benefits you will receive by replacing sugar in your diet with xylitol and how you can incorporate it into your cooking and everyday life. It might seem like a challenge, but once you know all the facts it really isn’t.
There are a lot of benefits you will get from switching sugar out and putting xylitol in, one of the better known benefits of xylitol is that it has a low glycemic index which means that it doesn’t spike your blood sugar, this is especially beneficial for those of you who are suffering from diabetes, pre-diabetes, or other problems that call you to use an alternative to sugar. Xylitol also has great benefits when it comes to dental health. There are properties in xylitol that stop bad bacteria in your mouth that cause you cavities, it also increases your absorption of calcium and reduces the acidity of your saliva. Just like it stops this bad bacteria in your mouth it can also help with ear infections as well which is quite a common problem in children. It can also boost your bodies ability to produce collagen which will prevent the signs of aging. These are all but a few of the benefits you can reap when you switch from sugar to xylitol.
So the only thing left it to know how to use it and how to cook with it. If you are someone who likes to bake you should know that xylitol absorbs moisture so you should always remove something from the oven a little earlier than you usually would to achieve the same softness. If you are someone who likes to bake their own bread, then you should know that yeast and xylitol don’t metabolize together but there are upsides to this as well, it is a natural preservative so it goes well in glazes and frosting. It can crystallize in the fridge if you plan on making your own jam or syrup but you can avoid this by adding a small amount of xantham gum to the xylitol before mixing it in with everything else. When using it as a replacement for brown sugar add 1 teaspoon of molasses for every cup of xylitol that you use and it will taste just as good. It also doesn’t caramelize so if you want to make hard candy you should look for an alternative.
One thing that you must keep in mind is that too much of a good thing is still bad for you. So don’t over do it, just like you shouldn’t with sugar. It is virtually calorie free so that’s also a plus for those of you who are looking to satisfy their sweet tooth without gaining weight. You can find sugar replacements and xylitol Australia wide both online and in stores, change your lifestyle today with xylitol.