Xylitol Artificial Sweetener With Benefits Very Dangerous To Our Best Pet Friends

 

Hi everyone!

 

I went out and looked up some information regarding this sweetener. Believe it or not, this "Artificial" Sweetener is not artificial at all, it is natural and comes from Raspberries, Corn Cobs, Birch and Plums and it is something our own body produces naturally. While it is a naturally occurring substance in our own body, it is not good for us to ingest it in large amounts because you will have the side effect of loose stools.

 

This sweetener has been found to have cavity fighting properties as well. It does this by helping to not allow the biofilm that causes cavities to occur.  A study was done on children in daycares in Finland and instead of brushing their teeth after they ate, the chewed gum with Xylitol.  They did find that the children who chewed the Xylitol gum had better oral health than those who brushed.  Tom's of Maine toothpaste has this ingredient in it.  Many gums have this ingredient as do Tic Tacs. So easy to find and when you don't want to carry a toothbrush and toothpaste in your purse or backpack it is actually better to chew gum containing it until you get home and use your Tom's of Maine that contains it. 

 

Other benefits that I found were:  Bone Density Loss prevention, Hormone Stabilization, Ear Infection Resistance, Help with Diabetes and the best part it is a good subsitute for sugar!

 

Now to the sad part, this ingredient can kill your dog/pet.  If you have a dog who is as mischievious as my late Suzi was, they get in your purse, on your counter and wherever they can get to (BAD BAD DOGS), you are going to have to keep your gum and candy out of their path.  If you have a small dog this ingredient is absolutely deadly!  The ingestion of this ingredient can lead to your dog/pet having the following symptoms:

 

• Vomiting
• Weakness
• Ataxia (uncoordinated movements)
• Depression
• Hypokalemia (decreased potassium)
• Seizures
• Coma
• Liver dysfunction and/or failure
• Death

 

 



If you think your dog has ingested any of this ingredient your vet will probably tell you to induce vomiting. I bet you are wondering how you can do that right?! Give them some hydrogen peroxide, however you can get it in them.  Then get your dog to the vet so they can be checked out.



I got my information from the following websites:

http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/toxicology/qt/xylitol_tox.htm



http://www.angelfire.com/az/sthurston/xylitol_natural_sweetener.html



http://www.ehow.com/facts_5756288_xylitol-health-risks.html



http://www.raysahelian.com/xylitol.html

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