Xylitol question

[Guest guest]

I've seen many mentions of xylitol on variouslists, and have a question.

I've heard people say that xylitol is 'natural' but as far as I can

tell it is no more natural than some other non-caloric sweeteners. In

particular it seems most production of xylitol involves extensive

chemical processing to produces and extract the xylitol from the

source material (typically wood chips).

In our family we have switched from white-refined cane sugar to

minimally processed sweeteners including rapadura sugar, maple sugar,

and maple syrup. These sweeteners have the benefit of retaining most

of their original minerals and trace minerals.

It seems the primary motivation for xylitol is a lower glycemic

factor, and possibly a lower caloric rating (because it isn't full

utilized) and is popular for a diabetic diet.

Xylitol's claim of 'natural' seems to come from the fact that it is

found naturally occurring in fruits, berries etc. yet the crystalline

xylitol that is used is still a highly refined, chemically processed

product.

It seems that, unless diabetic, that moderation with a minimally

processed natural sweetener would make more health sense than a

reduced caloric highly processed one.

Am I missing something?

Mark