Wagon Wheels

It came true last week. Just before the trial of sickness began in earnest. And no, this is not about our new dog. Believe me, this smells much better!

I had been dreaming of going to Global Foods ever since I purchased Serene Allison’s Rejuvenate Your Life: Recipes for Energy. I’d read here and there about young coconuts; especially in regard to making kefir from the water of young coconuts. But I’d not heard about the delectable, creamy, scoopable flesh of the young coconut until reading Serene’s recipe book. And about the myriad of health benefits associated with coconut water. There were other things I wanted from Global Foods, like Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a tin (so as not to be rancid), and tahini, but the coconuts were my main motivator.

So we drove for an hour and fifteen minutes on Monday to get to this marvelous market. It was truly a smorgasbord of many foreign and unusual foods. As you walk in the door, you pass a large chocolate section with all of the quality chocolate you would find at a regular grocery store, plus all of the foreign chocolate you can imagine! I lingered here as long as I dared with five children in tow.

Next we perused the produce section, which was huge! I asked the produce-man where to find young coconuts, and he directed me to the third table down. I am ashamed to admit that I still couldn’t find the coconuts! The annoyed man had to show me personally, because I didn’t know what a young coconut looked like. It isn’t brown, hairy or round, which are all adjectives I associate with the word “coconut”. The young coconut is actually green, but for the market it has been carved, and so it is an off-white color. It is shaped like a rounded pyramid house, and covered with plastic wrap. I put five of them in the cart. They were $1.89 apiece and $1.00 for the older, semi-moldy ones. I “hurried” through the rest of the store, with only a slight detour at what I’ve dubbed “the wall of coffee”. Each aisle was labeled with countries, and it was hard to find what I wanted when I had to locate personnel for each item on my list! Laborously, I located the Extra Virgin Olive Oil (first cold press) in a tin, tahini, and Nori sheets. The store apparently did not carry Nama Shoyu (a natural soy sauce). The bulk nuts were reasonably priced and I picked up some walnuts and cashews to make crispy nuts. We hurried home, with yours truly dreaming of the Coconut Cream shake I was going to make with my young coconuts.

Well, it was that night when Rebekah (my eight-year-old) began to be sick with some sort of stomach virus. My coconuts stayed in the fridge, forgotten, as I began to care for her and juggle school, new puppy and nursing her back to health. When she continued to lose fluids for 2 days, I immediately thought of the young coconuts. I already knew that the coconut was very good for you, but as I began to investigate, I was truly amazed at the astonishing properties of the young coconut. The water inside the coconut is the most sterile available from a natural source. It is actually used as a blood plasma substitude in third world countries, known as the Coconut IV, because it’s makeup is nearly identical to our blood plasma. It is full of minerals and the most natural electrolyte beverage available (much better than Gatorade). So naturally, I wanted to rehydrate my sick daughter with this wonderful beverage.

But first, I had to get the water out. Fortunately, Serene Allison’s book had instructions for opening the coconut in a non-frustrating manner. First, I sawed off the top of the coconut with a good, serrated knife. The sawn-off part resembled a spinnable toy top. Then I was rescued by my over-protective husband from a flimsy knife, as I stabbed a hole in the newly flattened top of the young coconut. I wiggled the knife around until I had a sizable hole, and then poured off the coconut water. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of water I obtained from one coconut. It was surely more than 2 cups.

The next part required a bit of strength and again a good, solid, sharp knife. I turned the coconut on it’s side and carved a circle, the size of which a spoon can enter to scoop out the tender coconut flesh from inside the coconut. My ‘circle’ was really more of a triangle. I first scooped the flesh from the bottom, using just enough force to scrape the white flesh and not too much of the darker rind underneath. Then, I turned the spoon over and scooped from the top, removing the flesh from the upper third of the inside of the coconut. I scooped it all out into a bowl and removed any larger portions of the rind still attached to the flesh. The coconut flesh was moist and slightly sweet with a subtle, tropical flavor. Nathan and I both loved the coconut water also, as it has a sweet, mild flavor which does not scream “coconut!”

Well, imagine my surprise when my daughter, whose sense of smell had been elevated to super-sensory, was apalled at the coconut water! She truly did not like it all. I am happy to report that I forced her to drink some on that first day, and she was able to hold it down for quite a while, so I’m sure that it was helpful to her rehydration, but I was truly disappointed to encounter reluctance in the face of such a gift! However, I’ve not given up hope. I think that she may change her mind in the face of some of the delicious smoothies coming her way.

So far we’ve made 2 coconut smoothies. The first was Coconut Cream, from Serene Allison’s book. It was truly a delight, containing the coconut flesh, water, vanilla, maple syrup. The second was my own concoction, with coconut flesh, kefir, lime juice, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mmmmm-Mmmm! It was a delight! I was motivated by the much-loved muppet song chorus line: “put de lime in de coconut, and drink ‘em both up.”

The coconut dream, it seems, has only just begun. I just found three more ways to open a young coconut, and I’ve got 3 more in the fridge . I’ll keep you posted.

When I faltered in my attempt to avoid sugar in my diet, I considered using xylitol instead, whose myriad of health benefits range from fighting tooth decay and reducing ear infections to losing weight and overcoming depression.  As I searched for the least expensive xylitol on the market, I scanned multiple sites to learn that much xylitol is made from corn.  The last few years we have made efforts to avoid GMO produce, so I was curious:  Was xylitol produced from GMO corn?  If so, did it’s GMO-ness come through in the xylitol?

As I continued to search, I came across a product that was not produced from corn.  Global Sweet Xylitol is made from birch trees.  I found that I could purchase a 55 lb. bag of Global Sweet Xylitol for $217.50.  But I had questions.  I asked the nice lady on the phone exactly how they produced their xylitol.  She directed me here.  Long story short, my questions remained unanswered.  I began to wonder, exactly how is the same product produced from birch trees and corn?  And that caused me to wonder, exactly how is xylitol made?  And why is it so expensive?  My research has by no means been exhaustive, but Rami Nagel seems to have found some answers, and shortened my search for cheap xylitol.  Go to the article yourself, or read it below:

(NaturalNews) Consuming 1.4 ounces of Xylitol per day will cause diarrhea in many subjects according to a study conducted in 1977. On Xylitol.org the page sates, “In the amounts needed to prevent tooth decay (less than 15 grams per day), xylitol is safe for everyone.” 15 grams of xylitol is about 0.5 ounces. What about doses over 15 grams?

What is Xylitol?

Xylitol is a 5-carbon sugar alcohol found in many fruits and vegetables and produced in small amounts by the human body. Xylitol is also found in things like hardwood. Keep in mind that the xylitol in chewing gum is not necessarily the same thing as xylitol in fruits or vegetables because it has to be treated and processed in order to extract the sugar crystals from the fruit or vegetable. This is akin to the differences between synthetic vitamins and naturally occurring vitamins in foods. They are not the same thing.

How is Xylitol Made?

A search of patents online explains one process for making xylitol, tell me if this sounds healthy? You begin with some source material containing xylan. One commonly used source is corn imported from China.

1. First the xylan needs to be broken down in a process called acid hydrolyzing. The results of this process leave us with xylose and acetic acid. The process of hydrogenation is carried out at higher pressures and temperatures ranging from 158 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. Hydrogenation needs a catalyst, so a substance called Raney nickel can be used which is a powdered nickel-aluminium alloy.

2. The acetic acid needs to be removed as the material safety data sheet describes it as, “Very hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Hazardous in case of skin contact (corrosive, permeator), of eye contact (corrosive).”

3. Then the hydrolyzing acid and organic residues must be removed, this is done by heating the mixture and evaporating it.

4. The resulting syrup, now free of acetic acid, hydrolyzing acid, nick-aluminum and other residues.

5. The syrup is crystallized by stirring ethanol into it.

6. The crystalline xylitol is now separated in a centrifuge from the ethanol and from the sorbitol remaining in solution.

7. Viola, you have xylitol.

Health Claims

It is obvious to me, as it might be to you, that xylitol, in addition to killing bacteria, will probably kill just about anything. This clearly explains why it is only recommended to be used in small doses. Yet if you go to a health food store, you will see larger sized bags of xylitol on the shelf, promoting its many health uses.

Health Concerns

In lab tests, xylitol will kill a rat 50% of the time in a dosage of 16.5 grams of xylitol for every 1000 grams of rat. Medium rats weigh 100-120 grams, or say .25 pounds. That means, to kill a 100 gram rat, you need only to get the rat to consume, 1.65 grams of xylitol.

A typical xylitol piece of gum contains .7 – 1 gram of xylitol. About half the amount needed to kill a rat. I read of a study stating that humans consumed up to 400 grams of xylitol per day without any ill health effects. I find that hard to believe that such a study is accurate in comparison to the lab tests done as indicated on the material safety data sheets. If 1.65 grams can kill a rat, consuming 400 grams would be highly toxic to humans.

A more detailed look gives cause for even more concern, there seems to be no long term safety data about the long term health effects of regularly consuming xylitol. The data sheets state:

“Epidemiology: No information found

Teratogenicity: No information found

Reproductive Effects: No information found

Mutagenicity: No information found

Neurotoxicity: No information found”

Critics will claim that lethal doses on material data sheets are not conclusive proof. But I must ask this question, has xylitol been proven conclusively to be safe or effective?

What About Cavity Fighting Power?

Let’s assume you don’t mind your liver being poisoned or the diarrhea side effects that are possible from xylitol gum or mints, because you want to fight the cavities. While one would assume that there is a huge body of evidence showing that xylitol prevents cavities, an article published in 2006 in the Journal of the American Dental Association volume 137, states, “Some studies claimed that xylitol-sweetened gum had an anticariogenic effect, though these claims need further study.” This basically says that any evidence that xylitol sweetened gums stops cavities is not conclusive and requires further study.

Conclusions About Xylitol

Xylitol is a processed sugar. After being hydrogenated and having toxic chemicals added to xylan from corn or other plant material, and then removed, you get xylitol. For anyone who wants to be healthy, the first thing that is pretty much unanimous about any diet or protocol to restore your health, is that you need to avoid processed sugars. While there is a variety of opinions on what foods to eat in replacement of processed sugar, it is blatantly clear that processed sugars, like xylitol, are extremely harmful to humans. Perhaps, xylitol has special uses in special cases; as a regular part of your diet, it is clearly a poor idea.

Xylitol might inhibit bacteria growth, but so does white sugar. Xylitol’s dirty little secret is that even in moderate doses of larger than 15 grams, which is approximately 3 teaspoons, xylitol’s own promotional material says it is not safe for everyone to use. Children being smaller and less developed than adults, will obviously be much more sensitive to xylitol’s effects.

The way to prevent and control cavities is not with a processed sugar chewing gum or mint, but rather with a good diet. A good diet that is capable of preventing cavities is generally low in sugar, and high in absorbable vitamins and minerals, particularly fat-soluble vitamins in foods like avocado, coconut, the germ of wheat, raw/unpasteurized milk, pastured organ meats, and sea foods.

If you want healthy teeth and gums, you need to avoid processed sugar’s like xylitol. Avoiding other processed foods like processed sugar, white flour and other foods not made from freshly ground grains, cheap low quality vegetable oils, soft drinks and artificial flavors and preservatives, soy milk, pasteurized milk, and other non-organic, non-wholesome foods will help increase your immunity to cavities.

I have found that there is no short cut to good wholesome whole foods for health.

Is xylitol safe or effective? The answer is clear.

Cheeseslave posts some interesting information about Agave sweetener also.  Apparently it is processed and high in fructose.  Sigh.  I’m agreeing with Rami here.  There is no substitute for natural foods.  I’m going to renew my efforts to eat less sugar, and forget all about my “turkish delight”. .