Xylitol, a low-calorie sugar made from birch bark, certain fibrous fruits and vegetables and corn cobs, is almost too good to be true. It is a safe, natural sweetener which is as sweet as, and tastes exactly like, cane or beet sugar but: contains 40% fewer calories and 75% fewer carbohydrates boosts rather than disrupts the immune system protects against rather than encourages harmful bacteria and increases rather than decreases plaque alkali levels in the mouth, thus is good for your teeth. 1,2 Furthermore, if women use xylitol when pregnant, its protective effect against tooth decay is passed from mother to baby 3 is slowly absorbed and metabolised by the body, helping stabilise insulin and hormone levels, protecting against breast cancer and slowing ageing has no known toxic effects can replace sugar in cooking, baking and beverages is also found in chewing gum, mints and nasal sprays The human body itself makes and treats itself with an average