Re: Xylitol and Cancer

Hi everyone,

I have been on the case: I've written to WebMD, received a kind reply from them and found the original sources behind their xylitol-tumor-link statement.

Their source was the Natural Medicines Comprehens​ive Database. So I emailed them too, to ask them about this particular xylitol issue and they very helpfully sent me this (quoted below), which I hope they'll be happy with me sharing to help anyone else who is concerned about the xylitol-tumor statement:

[QUOTE]

The wording from the SAFETY section of the Professional monograph says the following:

"POSSIBLY UNSAFE ...when used orally in very high doses, long-term. There is some concern that very high doses for extended periods of use can induce tumor growth (6815,6820). However, this effect has not yet been demonstrated in humans."

Here are the references used in those statements so that you can look into this further:

6815: Lee B, Sue D. Xylitol for prevention of dental caries. DICP 1989;23:691-2.

6820: Crapo PA. Use of alternative sweeteners in diabetic diet. Diabetes Care 1988;11:174-82.

[/QUOTE]

I have yet to find the articles and read them before saying any more on this topic, but I did find it a little reassuring that "this effect has not yet been demonstrated in humans".
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