Xyla Mints from Xylitol Canada, 100 tablets, 50g, in a tin
I saw xylitol in a British TV food show about superfoods. It was interesting that xylitol sugar is indigestible by mouth bacteria and thus promotes fewer cavities. If they feed it to Finish kindergarten kids and shows they get fewer cavities then there’s got to be something behind it. I needed to try it.
Apparently xylitol is a sugar made from birch tree pulp. I have birch trees in my neighbourhood here in Toronto, but have never chewed on their pulp. Xylitol is supposed to be sweet, but unlike regular sugar, xylitol sugar cannot be digested by mouth bacteria for food. Thus xylitol does not feed mouth bacteria, and you get less cavities. Here is a whole slew of xylitol research report summaries from around the world attesting to Xylitol’s benefits. Note that 100% Xylitol is better than 60% xylitol and 40% sorbitol, or maltitol, or another sugar substitute. The research shows these mixes are less effective in preventing cavities than Xylitol.
Originally i was only able to find Xylitol gum. Though the gum was Ok in flavour and consistency, I’m not really a gum person. After a short search I found a store in Markham that sold Xylitol mints, so I bought a box of 100 mints, 50 grams.
While the taste is ok and is only slightly minty, I am disliking the consistency. The mints are small at 1cm in diameter and .5cm high, but are somewhat chalky. What is somewhat off putting is that once they get into your mouth and get wet, they near immediately disintegrate and provide almost no mint flavour after this. I feel a mint should act like a mint and leave your mouth felling minty. This certainly does not happen with this mint.
It is not like the product is faulty, or distasteful, but it does not act like a mint and freshen my breath. I think the tablets need to be much larger, have more spearmint, and last much longer. For this reason I will need to resume my research and find an alternative.
One highlight is that the tin box reminds me of 1960s candy. Who now provides a tin box? In side the box is inscribed “A sense of humor is the lubricant of life’s machinery.”, Unknown. Nice.
The other thing that I noticed is that it does not say the country of manufacture. It does say sweetened with North American hardwood xylitol, but would it kill them to state the country of manufacture? After all, I am eating their product.
Note that all Xylitol products are toxic to pets and especially dogs. So no sharing with your canine friends!
