For an overview of all benefits of Naturlose: Tagatose,
the New GRAS
Sweetener and Health Product
G.V. Levin
Journal of Medicinal Food,
Volume 5, Number 1, 2002,
© Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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BENEFITS OF NATURLOSE
TASTE! [ ]
The major attribute of Naturlose is its taste. Naturlose (Tagatose) occurs in nature and
has an excellent, sucrose-like taste, with no cooling effect or
aftertaste. Standard taste-test panels on Naturlose showed it to be 92% as
sweet as sucrose.
WEIGHT LOSS AT HEALTHY RATE
[ ]
Human clinical trials conducted at the Department of Endocrinology, University
of Maryland School of Medicine on both type 2 diabetics and normal subjects
receiving a daily regimen of Naturlose (tagatose) for 12 months showed that
both groups gradually and consistently lost weight at medically desirable
rates.
DIABETES (safe and beneficial for diabetics)
[ ]
Naturlose (tagatose) has been proven to be useful in treating Type 2 diabetes.
Tests on genetically diabetic rats relieved all symptoms. Human clinical trials
on Type 2 diabetic patients and normal controls were run at the Department of
Endocrinology, University of Maryland School of Medicine. Tagatose produced no
change in fasting glucose or insulin levels. In addition, pre-treatment with
tagatose attenuated the rise in serum glucose after oral glucose or sucrose
intake. These findings prompted further research, which concluded, "d-Tagatose
may be a useful therapeutic adjunct in the management of type 2 diabetes
mellitus." A small clinical trial was then conducted as a follow-up. After a
2-month run-in period, patients with type 2 diabetes were given 15-g doses of
tagatose in each of three daily meals for 1 year. The study confirmed and
extended the usefulness of tagatose in treating the disease. Spherix's U.S.
Patents 5,215,591 and 5,356,879 protect the use of tagatose to treat diabetes.
The above research prompted a poster presentation made to the American Diabetes
Association in 1996 ( D
Tagatose: A Novel Therapeutic Adjunct for Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes
), and a paper that was published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism in
December 1999 ( D-tagatose
a Novel Hexose: Acute Effects of Carbohydrate Tolerance in Subjects with and
without Type 2 Diabetes ).
ANTI-HYPERGLYCEMIC [ ]
Hyperglycemia is generally recognized as the major cause of aging. The
glucose-induced linking of protein molecules in muscle and the brain causes
these organs to atrophy. In an early investigation of the influence of
Naturlose (tagatose) on blood glucose levels, experiments were conducted on
normal and genetically diabetic rats. Tagatose was shown not to increase
glucose levels, and, in addition, the sugar was found to be anti-hyperglycemic.
Even more surprisingly, these studies found that tagatose relieved the symptoms
of diabetes in the diseased animals ( Diabetes
). Tagatose taken prior to glucose or sucrose ingestion blunts the rise in
blood glucose. In addition, glucose is required for the metabolism of the
tagatose absorbed into the bloodstream, thereby reducing the body's store of
glucose and inhibiting hyperglycemia. Spherix's U.S. Patents 5,447,917 and
5,356,879 cover this property.
ANTI-PLAQUE, NON-CARIOGENIC, AND ANTI-HALITOSIS
[]
Naturlose's anti-plaque, non-cariogenic, and anti-halitosis properties advocate
its use in oral and other products, and make it a potential agent for the
prevention of dental caries, gingivitis and other periodontal diseases,
halitosis, and for tooth whitening.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2010 Objectives
"recognizes dental caries as the single most common chronic disease of
childhood, and states that 30 percent of adults have untreated dental decay."
Naturlose (tagatose) has been demonstrated to be noncariogenic in two studies
using human volunteers. On December 2, 2002, the FDA authorized an amendment to
a health claim (21 CFR 101.80) on sugar alcohols and dental caries to include
tagatose. The FDA has allowed the claim that tagatose does not cause tooth
decay, and that use of tagatose may actually reduce the risk of that disease.
The FDA statement said, "Based on the totality of publicly available scientific
evidence, we have now determined that the sugar D-tagatose . is not fermented
by oral bacteria to an extent sufficient to . cause the erosion of dental
enamel. . Therefore," the Agency stated, "we have concluded that D-tagatose
does not promote dental caries."
PREBIOTIC [ ]
Naturlose (tagatose) has prebiotic properties that improve digestion (Bertelsen
H, Jensen BB, Buemann B, D-tagatose-a novel low-calorie bulk sweetener with
prebiotic properties, World Rev Nutr Diet 1999;85:98-109). Long appreciated in
Europe and Asia, prebiotic properties are of growing interest in the United
States. Tagatose selects for more favorable or benign microbial flora in the
intestine and against potentially pathogenic organisms such as Escherichia
coli. Moreover, tests have shown that ingestion of tagatose produces larger
amounts of desirable short-chain fatty acids, in particular butyrate, than are
produced by a normal diet. The many beneficial effects of butyrate include
defense against colon cancer .
FIGHTS COLON CANCER [ ]
Naturlose (tagatose) has been shown to act as a prebiotic
, aiding digestion; to produce elevated amounts of butyrates that have been
reported to fight colon cancer; to combat intestinal pathogens, including
E.coli, while promoting the growth of favorable microorganisms, such as lactic
acid bacteria (Bertelsen H, Jensen BB, Buemann B, D-tagatose-a novel
low-calorie bulk sweetener with prebiotic properties, World Rev Nutr Diet
1999;85:98-109).
ANTI-BIOFILM [ ]
The U.S. Public Health Service's Communicable Disease Center states that up to
65% of bacterial infections in humans are biofilms in nature. Biofilms are
conglomerations of microorganisms that consist of one or more species of
bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa, singly or as a mixture, in which the
participants adhere together in an aqueous environment to form a film attached
to surfaces such as teeth, gums, human and animal blood vessels, medical
implant materials, soil particles, metals, and plastics. The total annual cost
of the adverse consequences of biofilms runs into the billions of dollars.
Naturlose (tagatose) has been demonstrated to have the potential for preventing
plaque development, for disassembling existing plaque, and for combating the
adverse health, physical and environmental effects of biofilms (Cisar et al.
"Specificity of coaggregation reactions between human oral streptococci and
strains of Actinomyces viscosus or Actinomyces naeslundii", Infect.
Immun., 24:742-752. 1979). The possibility for administering Naturlose in the
treatment of biofilms include its use: in, or as, a food; in, or as, a drug;
and as an ingredient in toothpaste and mouthwash.
INCREASES BENEFICIAL HDL-CHOLESTEROL
[ ]
A low baseline HDL-cholesterol in our population is seen commonly in obese
patients with type 2 diabetes and has been shown to be a major risk factor for
coronary heart disease. Daily ingestion of Naturlose (tagatose) with food leads
to weight loss
and significant increases in HDL-cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes.
In a human clinical trial conducted at the Department of Endocrinology,
University of Maryland School of Medicine, four male and four female subjects
with type 2 diabetes were studied for 14 months. A 2-month run-in period was
followed by a 12-month treatment period during which time 15g of oral tagatose
was taken three times a day with food. A progressive and marked rise in
HDL-cholesterol was observed following dietary supplementation with tagatose
throughout the 12-month intervention period in all 8 subjects.
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