Reduced Fat Gain, Improved Glucose & Lipid Metabolism on Obesogenic Diet Make D-Xylose a Good Sugar-Replacement
If you are looking for sugar-replace-ments, D-Xylose may be the "new kid on the sugar-block" you may be interested in. It has a lower energy content than sugar, acts as a sugar blocker and has prebiotic effects. "Xylose (cf. Greek ξύλον, xylon, "wood") is a sugar first isolated from wood, and named for it. Xylose is classified as a monosaccharide of the aldopentose type, which means that it contains five carbon atoms and includes a formyl functional group. It is derived from hemicellulose, one of the main constituents of biomass and is abundant in corn cobs, coconuts, seed hulls, and straw (Horton. 1995). Like most sugars, it can adopt several structures depending on conditions. With its free carbonyl group, it is a reducing sugar". That's what Wikipedia knows about a monsaccharide that has less than 70% the sweetness of regular sugar and Xylose contains the equivalent of 2.4 calories of energy per gram. Now, in isolation, this probably doesn...