# Xylitol Xylitol is a five-carbon sugar alcohol, coded E 967 in the EU. It is about as sweet as table sugar, gives a cooling sensation on the tongue, and counts as 2.4 kcal per gram under EU labelling rules. JECFA and EU evaluators list its ADI as 'not specified', meaning no numerical limit was judged necessary. The practical limit is digestive. Absorption is incomplete, and intakes above roughly 30 to 50 g a day commonly cause bloating and diarrhoea, with tolerance varying widely between people. EU law requires a laxative warning on foods with more than 10 percent added polyols. The dental case is the strongest one. EFSA accepted in 2011 that sugar-free products sweetened with xylitol help maintain tooth mineralisation. A 2015 Cochrane review by Riley and colleagues found the caries evidence thinner than often claimed and rated it low quality. In 2024 the Hazen group reported in the European Heart Journal that higher fasting xylitol tracked three-year cardiovascular events, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.57 for the top tertile, and that a xylitol drink raised platelet reactivity in ten volunteers. Xylitol is produced in the body, but circulating levels from endogenous production sit more than a thousandfold below those seen after consumption. The reverse-causation defence used for erythritol therefore does not apply here. Xylitol is toxic to dogs. ## Sources - Witkowski M, Nemet I, Li XS, et al.. (2024). Xylitol is prothrombotic and associated with cardiovascular risk. European Heart Journal. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae244 - Riley P, Moore D, Ahmed F, et al.. (2015). Xylitol-containing products for preventing dental caries in children and adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD010743.pub2 - EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA). (2011). Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to the sugar replacers xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, lactitol, isomalt, erythritol, D-tagatose, isomaltulose, sucralose and polydextrose and maintenance of tooth mineralisation. EFSA Journal. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2076 --- _Canonical: https://longevity-germany.com/en/glossary/xylitol · Part of Longevity Cities · Updated 2026-08-25_