CORN vs. BIRCH TREE

It is interesting to observe the impact a new product can have on society, and how special interest groups contribute to our perception of that product. A powerful “new sugar” seems to be gaining momentum in the U.S., and has the potential to push aside the “chemical sweeteners” that dieting Americans have grown to depend on.

The first time I heard the name Xylitol, I thought it was just another chemical sweetener being introduced to the unsuspecting public. But I was surprised to discover that this sweetener was all-natural, and actually had therapeutic benefits. Why didn’t they call it “splenderful” or “sweet & loose” to trick us into thinking that it is good for us.

If you can get past the name Xylitol, you will discover a very powerful natural sweetener, with a list of health benefits longer than my arm (size 34”). I am not here to sell you on the benefits of Xylitol, but to report on a battle that I see emerging from different countries, that understand the potential for export to the U.S. Up until a few years ago, Finland had dominated the “small” U.S. market, dealing mostly in gums and toothpaste. Traditionally using birch trees to produce its Xylitol, they seemed to have found their niche in the market place. Because of the high price of Xylitol, very little effort was given to selling it in bulk. But Americans began looking past the price, and began replacing their sugar with the more expensive Xylitol.

Not going unnoticed, the enterprising Chinese recognized this potential and started research and development, to manufacture their own form of Xylitol from corn cob. It didn’t take long for the Chinese to become a major importer of Xylitol in the U.S.
It makes me proud to see traditional communistic and socialistic countries competing in a capitalistic society. But this healthy competition has started to take a turn for the worse.

I admit buying my Xylitol on the internet, and have found a variety of prices and packaging available. I was satisfied that I had found a good product, at a reasonable price. It wasn’t until little miss “informed” called me and asked “where does your Xylitol come from, corn or birch?” I asked her what is the difference? For the next five minutes I was lectured about the hazards of buying Xylitol produced from genetically altered corn. I asked her how she knew that the corn was genetically altered, and instead of a logical or informed response to my question, their was a brief pause, then the sweet voice that I had been listening to was gone, and a cold response of “your just so naïve” followed, my honor had been pierced. Our conversation came to an uncomfortable end, and I was left to ponder this subject. It only took me a few minutes to conclude that this issue reeked of “politics”. And so I gathered as much information on the subject as possible, and took it to a good friend of mine, who is a research chemist.

Rather than try to impress you with a bunch scientific words, that even I don’t understand, permit me to explain it to you in my own words what he found out.
The star of the show is a little set of molecules called “xylan”, which is a constituent of pentosan, that are naturally occurring in many plants. Xylan is a polysaccharide that can be hydrolyzed into D-xylose, or more commonly known as wood sugar. You take D-xylose, and thru a hydrogenation process you get Xylitol! Sounds simple? It’s a very complicated, technical and expensive process. I was shocked to find out that even my own body produces Xylitol, and that most living organisms do to some extent. Back to the star of the show, xylan. This little guy wears many disguises, from the mighty oak tree, the human body, to small plants through out the world. Thru eons of time, none of these plants have been able to change the basic molecular structure of xylan. And when you make Xylitol, you leave behind all of the other alkaloids that have the potential to be genetically altered.

It reminded my of my sociology professor, trying to explain the fallacy of racism; take away the skin color and accent, and the physiological function is the same for everyone. But the real problem, explained to me was that the extraction process was critical to the purity of the product. He said: forget about the source, and look at the process. Someone is trying to give Xylitol a bad name if comes from corn, and make it sound therapeutic if it comes from the birch tree.

That’s where the politics come in. I immediately went to the internet, to find as much information as I could on Xylitol. I also ordered Xylitol from eight of the biggest suppliers in the U.S., and called and talked to any supplier that would take the time to answer my questions.

Besides the few suppliers that were claiming organic trees, prayed over by a team of holy-men, and “no tree is ever harmed in the process”, I found most suppliers to be honest and informative. I am still trying to figure out how you extract xylan from a tree without killing it. A great Houdini act!

After talking with different suppliers, I realized that the biggest problem was the impact on the environment. Is the Xylitol your are buying from a renewable resource? What does the manufacture do with the waste water? What do they do with the waste product?

I found one manufacture in china, that used the waste water for mushroom farming, and the pulp was processed into fertilizer. I asked them about pesticides in their corn, and he said that the farmers in his area were to poor to afford the luxury of a pesticide. (I hope it stays that way).

Overall I found that the product I was using all along worked good for me, and personally I like the shinny crystals, they don’t leave an aftertaste.
Now I hear that India is trying to get in on the act using Bagasse. Maybe they can hire me to start rumors about China and Finland’s process. I need to recoup some of the money I spent saving my honor from “little miss informed”

Bon Appetite

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