Xylitol - A Low Carb Food

Xylitol has a glycemic index of 7 compared to glucose with a glycemic index of 100.

What does "glycemic index" mean?

The Glycemic Index (GI) ranks carbohydrate-rich food by the immediate effect their digestion has on blood sugar levels. The Index measures how much your blood sugar increases over a period of two to three hours after a meal. . Carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic index. Generally, foods with lower GI values are preferable, because they break more slowly into glucose.

Although xylitol is 100% carbohydrate it is not metabolized by the body as a normal carbohydrate would be, hence the low GI compared to conventional sugars. In order to differentiate low GI carbs from those that are metabolized normally, certain descriptions such as "Net Carbs", "Effective Carbs" and "Net Impact Carbs" have come into use. These terms describe what the equivalent impact of a substance is compared to a normal carbohydrate.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which is responsible for meat and poultry products has recently stated that it will not object to the use of statements that do not expressly state or imply a specific level of carbohydrate in a product (e.g., "Carb Conscious" and "Carb Wise") nor will it object to terms such as "Net Carbs," "Effective Carbs" and "Net Impact Carbs" when used in a truthful and not misleading manner.