Xylitol and strep

[pixiesmommy]

I saw in another thread (a few days ago) that Xylitol may help with strep. I have been meaning to look up specifics and finally remembered tonight.

 

Here is what I found for those, like me, who weren't in the know:

 

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...cgi?artid=90255

 

http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2007/Projects/J1426.pdf

 

I had a bag of Zellies pure Xylitol that I had been adding to my younger daughter's water (she has no enamel on front teeth due to antibiotic I was on while pregnant) and gum for myself. I've been adding about 2 tsp of the xylitol to Pixie's smoothies, but I am wondering if that really helps anything (maybe if she had strep in her gut?) and thinking maybe I should be letting her chew the gum too.

[ShaesMom]

I saw in another thread (a few days ago) that Xylitol may help with strep. I have been meaning to look up specifics and finally remembered tonight.

 

Here is what I found for those, like me, who weren't in the know:

 

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...cgi?artid=90255

 

http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2007/Projects/J1426.pdf

 

I had a bag of Zellies pure Xylitol that I had been adding to my younger daughter's water (she has no enamel on front teeth due to antibiotic I was on while pregnant) and gum for myself. I've been adding about 2 tsp of the xylitol to Pixie's smoothies, but I am wondering if that really helps anything (maybe if she had strep in her gut?) and thinking maybe I should be letting her chew the gum too.

 

Thanks for looking this up PixiesMommy. It was mentioned in a post I had about strep in our house by maybe Colleenrn or Peglem. I haven't had a chance to look into it either so this is very helpful. I just glanced at the first one but it looks like gum chewing may be encouraged at my house.

 

I'll read them more closely tomorrow.

 

Sam

[peglem]

We've mostly used the nasal spray, but when I buy gum its the xylitol kind. Allie doesn't chew gum, but I bet that would help prevent cavities.

[EAMom]

I started buying the Spry xylitol gum a few weeks ago. My kids really like the spearmint flavor (the only one we've tried). From the Zellies website it looks like they should be chewing 6 pieces a day. Hopefully it will help prevent cavitites. Neither child has sealants. They recommended them for my younger child but I am nervous about the plastics. If it does anything against strep that would be great too.

 

For anyone who has bought the powder....is that something I could put in my coffee? I am somewhat cavity prone. I use splenda b/c I figure it's better than sugar (in regards to cavities). But it sounds like xylitol would be great. I don't really care about the calories, but would love anything that fights cavities (and of course strep!)

[smartyjones]

we're using Xclear nasal spray and biotene toothpaste. I have the boys spray their nose as part of their coming home routine. at first, they didn't want to - then they sprayed it into the air and when they realized they could actually put it in their noses and spray, they were all over it!

 

i figured it couldn't hurt.

Kathy

[Suzan]

Our dentist said that the bacteria that causes plaque is a strep bacteria. She did not know if it was related to the strep we are all concerned with but I find it interesting that xylitol helps prevent cavities and also may help kill strep bacteria. I can't remember the name of the strep she was referring to though. It may just be because of the shape, you know?=

 

Susan

[peglem]

Our dentist said that the bacteria that causes plaque is a strep bacteria. She did not know if it was related to the strep we are all concerned with but I find it interesting that xylitol helps prevent cavities and also may help kill strep bacteria. I can't remember the name of the strep she was referring to though. It may just be because of the shape, you know?=

 

Susan

Strepcoccus mutans is the cavity monster.

[pixiesmommy]

Yes, it is fine in coffee and is a 1:1 sugar substitute. I'm very sensitive to splenda, etc and I can't taste a difference with Xylitol at all. I read that it is fine in baking, etc as well, but I haven't tried that yet. (It's so $$$!) And PURE xylitol is not supposed to be bad for your digestive system either like the other -tol sweeteners can be. We haven't had any ill effects from using a teaspoon here and there and chewing the gum.

 

The nasal spray sounds awesome too and might be good for the us (the adults) but Pixie would freak out, I'm sure!

[EAMom]

pixiesmommy,

what brand do you get? where do you get it?

[pixiesmommy]

I got Zellies granular in the 1 lb bag ($7.50!) http://www.zellies.com/catalog.asp?prodid=...;showprevnext=1

because it was the most "pure" that I could find. I wanted to be as sure as possible that it didn't have additional "stuff" that would aggravate Pixie. We do Feingold for her as much as we can. I'm not sure if they (Feingold) has one that is approved, but I'll head over to that board and ask. Also, if it's "cut" with other -tol sugars it can cause diarrhea in some people.

 

I got the gum too: http://www.zellies.com/catalog.asp?prodid=493494

It's an orangey/mint flavor and really yummy.

 

Here it is in Bulk (friends who order from this place vouch for the quality of their products, but I have not personally had experience with them)

http://www.azurestandard.com/product.php?id=SW144

 

Apparently it is made from corn-cobs, so if you are corn-sensitive, this would be a no-go.

 

Off to research some more....