Xlear sinus spray is working miracles... Q. re Xylitol & GSE

[ebethc]

I bought some Xlear on saturday night and it's working miracles for my brain fog... Xylitol and grapefruit seed extract break down the biofilms in your sinus.. Supposedly, a lot of chronic sinusitis is caused by a fungal infection in your sinuses, and that's the theory behind Xlear working... So far, it seems to be true for me!!


So, can Xylotol be taken internally? Grapefruit Seed Extract? I'd like to use the key ingredients to clean up my gut, but I'm not sure it applies.... I know skipping carbs/sugar is best for fungal infections, too. (I'm assuming this problem is throughout my digestive system, too)

thanks

 

[halcyon]

Yes, you can take it internally. I've wondered if it's a terrible idea though. Wouldn't it be harmful to your healthy gut microbiota?

 

[ebethc]

Yes, you can take it internally. I've wondered if it's a terrible idea though. Wouldn't it be harmful to your healthy gut microbiota?

well, that's the thing... I don't know, so I'm curious to know if anyone else can answer the question re Xylitol and GSE. I believe that GSE is okay, but not sure about Xylitol. BTW - Xylitol is on the list of "bad" ingredients for FODMAPs - which I don't adhere to, but it on my list of things to try next. I'm not sure whether this is one of those therapies that is great at first, gets my hopes up, then makes me worse off (if FODMAPS is ultimately the right thing for me)...ugh.. I don't care today, because for today my head feels good !

 

[Sushi]

So, can Xylotol be taken internally? Grapefruit Seed Extract? I'd like to use the key ingredients to clean up my gut, but I'm not sure it applies.... I know skipping carbs/sugar is best for fungal infections, too. (I'm assuming this problem is throughout my digestive system, too)

I'm curious to know if anyone else can answer the question re Xylitol and GSE. I believe that GSE is okay, but not sure about Xylitol.

I mix my own nasal was to use in my Grossan sinus irrigator and I use xylitol. I also very occasionally eat it, but don't know what it might be doing to the gut--though nothing immediate for me.

On the other hand, there are numerous well conducted studies that show that the active ingredient (the one that works!) in GSE is the chemical used to extract it. It is not a safe chemical--some kind of industrial solvent if I am remembering correctly! Because of this, I sadly stopped using it.

 

[minkeygirl]

I use Citricidal nasal spray which is just GSE

WHat has really helped is colloidal silver. Cleans me right up.

 

[Little Bluestem]

I bought some Xlear on saturday night and it's working miracles for my brain fog... Xylitol and grapefruit seed extract break down the biofilms in your sinus.. Supposedly, a lot of chronic sinusitis is caused by a fungal infection in your sinuses, and that's the theory behind Xlear working... So far, it seems to be true for me!!

How do you deliver this to your sinuses?

 

[ebethc]

How do you deliver this to your sinuses?

it comes in a spray... Xlear is the name of the product, and it has all those ingredients pre-mixed

 

[Thinktank]

I just received some xlear in the mail and I'm going to try it out tonight. The swollen sinuses have been part of me for so long i really forgot about it until my pulmonologist mentioned it's not normal to be a mouth breather....

@ebethc, how's your trial with xlear been going?

 

[MeSci]

On the other hand, there are numerous well conducted studies that show that the active ingredient (the one that works!) in GSE is the chemical used to extract it. It is not a safe chemical--some kind of industrial solvent if I am remembering correctly! Because of this, I sadly stopped using it.

I'm dubious about these claims, and have a suspicion that they are more an attempt to discredit a natural treatment than an honest and rigorous appraisal.

This in vitro study found that GSE itself is antibacterial. I'm not aware of any studies demonstrating that is harmful. Oh - except that it thins the blood and shouldn't be taken by people on other blood thinners.

Re xylitol, this has been extensively evaluated in a paper on sweeteners which used to be downloadable (I have it on disk), and it appears very safe. The document is called 'Sweeteners and Sugar Alternatives in Food Technology'
and it's edited by Helen Mitchell.

 

[Sushi]

I'm dubious about these claims, and have a suspicion that they are more an attempt to discredit a natural treatment than an honest and rigorous appraisal.

I'd hoped that this was true too. But after spending a lot of time reading and digging, I decided that, for myself, GSE was too risky. Though not the best source (I don't have time to look up the studies I read earlier, sorry), this Wiki article seems to sum up the arguments. Here is a quote from them:

Some manufacturers of GSE have stated that their extract has compounds nearly identical to benzethonium chloride, but a 2001 study supervised by chemist G. Takeoka has documented that commercial GSE preparations contain the synthetic compound benzethonium chloride that could not have been made from GSE.[5]

 

[MeSci]

I'd hoped that this was true too. But after spending a lot of time reading and digging, I decided that, for myself, GSE was too risky. Though not the best source (I don't have time to look up the studies I read earlier, sorry), this Wiki article seems to sum up the arguments. Here is a quote from them:

Yes, the Wikipedia was one of the first things I read on the subject. But when I read some of the linked papers I found the Wiki article very selective and biased, and even puzzling. For example, it says "Natural GSE has no antimicrobial properties." But several studies find that it most definitely has. How natural does it have to be? It's an extract - it's not claimed to be in its raw form. Essential oils are made by various kinds of extraction methods, commonly using solvents or CO2, but I think that most people still regard them as natural.

I don't think there would be so many widely-used GSE/Citricidal products for internal use on the market, sold by respected brands, if they were all contaminated, especially when you look at how regulatory authorities are going after natural products and trying to get many of them banned, at least in Europe.

I don't know why the Wiki article keeps citing 'contamination' and 'ethanol' in regard to the article I linked to. Here is the description in the article about how the GSE was made:

TABLE 1. NUTRITEAM’S METHOD OF PROCESSING GRAPEFRUIT-SEED EXTRACT, CITRICIDAL®

• 1. Grapefruit pulp and seeds are dried and ground into a fine powder (by product of expeller-extracted grapefruit juice).
• 2. The grapefruit powder is dissolved in purified water and distilled to remove the fiber and pectin.
• 3. The distilled slurry is spray dried at low temperatures forming a concentrated grapefruit bioflavored powder.
• 4. It is then dissolved in vegetable glycerin and heated.
• 5. Food grade ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) and ascorbic acid are added and this mixture is heated under pressure (NH4Cl remaining in the final product 15% to 19%, Ascorbic acid (C6H8O6) remaining 25 mg/q to 30 mg/q).
• 6. This compound undergoes catalytic conversion using natural catalysts (including hydrochloric acid [HCl] and natural enzymes).a
• 7. The slurry is cooled, filtered, and treated with ultraviolet light.

a Note: No HCl residue is present in the final product.

I am happy to keep taking it from time to time anyway! I have never observed any ill effects, but have often seen positive ones, notably on my gut.

EDIT - just did a very quick search on PR for 'grapefruit seed extract' and didn't see any posts that clearly indicated adverse reactions, but several positive posts. There are unfortunately only 2 comments and votes on GSE here, neither from me! Both positive.