All our mints and gum are sweetened only with xylitol. Our mints are a whopping 92% xylitol by weight, meaning each pack contains nearly 14g of the stuff. Why do we use it? Well it’s naturally derived, sustainably sourced and very good for your teeth.

Xylitol was first made from Finnish birch trees in the early 1900s. It’s got a bit of a weird sounding name but ‘xyl’ is just Greek for wood (think xylophone).

It’s naturally produced by most living things including trees, fruits, plants, animals and even people. It’s great for making mints and chewing gum as not only does it taste nice and sweet but it has an active dental teeth benefit. That’s why we chose it over sugar. If you’re interested, we’ve got a section about dental health here but basically it inhibits the bacteria in your mouth that cause tooth decay. In Finland some schools even distribute free xylitol gum and sweets to kids to keep their teeth healthy.

We’ve worked closely with the British Dental Health Foundation and after testing our mints and gum they’ve certified that they’re good for your teeth and help prevent cavities. Our first gold star. ”Eating Peppersmith mints and gum helps reduce plaque and the risk of tooth decay”, they say.

You can read more about xylitol and dental health in these extracts from a very good recent article in The Times newspaper.

On top of all this good news for your teeth, xylitol has 40% fewer calories than sugar, 75% less carbohydrates and has a low GI (of 7).

In some parts of the world it’s made from corn cobs but we prefer to get ours from trees. This way we can be sure there are no GMOs in our ingredients and that it’s 100% sustainably sourced. We source ours from birch and beech trees from sustainably managed European forests.

Each pack of mints (15g) contains a 13.8g of xylitol and each pack of gum (15g) contains around 10.6g. To make the most of the dental health benefits it’s recommended that you have 5g of xylitol per day. 5g of xylitol per day.