Seems like with age, for a lot of us comes more focus on our health. Probably because when you start falling apart, all of a sudden your health becomes a big issue. Ever noticed how when you wake up feeling like crap, all of a sudden nothing else matters? Sucks doesn’t it?! I had one morning where I woke up and couldn’t hear anything out of my left ear (I had slept with ear plugs the night before, I guess lodging some ear wax into my ear drum, I know, gross!) I spent the day in bed worrying and feeling frustrated, angry, you name it, and I certainly wasn’t getting anything else done!

As I write this, I’m in the middle of some big life changes, I mean BIG, and at the moment, it is certainly a bit stressful, which is of course affecting my health already (Insert frowny face). I ate a somewhat healthy breakfast this morning (except the bagel) but am already paying the price with a big headache. I have been juicing every morning over the last year and boy can my body tell a difference when I feed it crap instead of what it’s used to, and come to love.

ENTER TO WIN A $50 Gift Basket of YUMMY healthy sweet Treats at the bottom of this post!

As you can probably guess, health is a very important issue for me, and I’m constantly looking for products and foods to help me feel my best (like Juicing!) and I recently came across something good for your mouth and oral health, that I’m very excited to share with you!

Although I strive to eat healthy, I have a major sweet tooth, when if not watched closely can get me into lots of trouble. I’ve learned over the years that it is just something I can’t and won’t give up. I make a little spot in my calorie intake every day for something sweet. I think a lot of women can relate to this. In America, (and probably a lot of the world) a lot of us have a major sweet tooth and finding our fix in a healthy way can be an incredible challenge.

When I came across the Focus Nutrition Products Brand, I was super excited to find healthier, sweet options for those of us who need our fix! Not only are these products earth friendly too, but yep you guessed it, they’re friendly to your body, your health, and your life too! At FocusNutrition.com, you can find lots of products to help you build a healthier you! Everything from their healthy homeopathic nasal spray, to their compostable toothbrushes (they even have one for kids!), to healthier options for -you guessed it- the sweet lover!

I got to try out Focus Nutrition’s Xyloburst healthy gum, mints, sugar free sweetener, and sugar-free lollipops! I was ecstatic to find I could still have my sweets but without the guilt! Focus Nutrition’s line of Xyloburst and Xylitol sweetener, uses 100% all natural Xylitol to give you the sweet fix, but get this- when ingesting products with high amounts of Xylitol, it actually has incredible benefits on your health! Yeah, not only can you enjoy these sweet treats guilt-free, but you’re actually IMPROVING your health and teeth by eating them! I know, read that again, you’re improving your health by eating them! How amazing is that?!

I didn’t know what Xylitol was so when I first heard about this brand and it’s use of it, I did some research to see what I could find. Xylitol is actually a natural occurring alcohol in a wide range of fruits and vegetables. What I found is that it is a widely used sugar substitute, and when added to gum, mints, and other “sweet” treats, it actually helps PREVENT tooth decay and dry mouth! And when extracted from birch wood,  It can actually also be used as a medicine for ear infections! It is also a great sugar substitute for those suffering from Diabetes and is also sometimes included in tube feeding formulas as a source of energy! (Source: WebMD)

How Xylitol works, is that although it is sweet, unlike sugar, when placed in the mouth it is not converted to acids, which is what causes tooth decay and why you should always brush your teeth right after eating sweets. My Dentist told me that once! Instead, Xylitol when combined with your saliva, reduces the levels of bacteria in your mouth that causes the tooth decaying bacteria. Pretty amazing right?! It does the reverse of sugar and is actually good for you, even though you can get your sweet fix by eating it!

*Also just a note for your fellow animal lovers, keep products containing xylitol locked away from your pets as it can be toxic to animals (Source: WebMD)

So after reading up on just how good for you Xylitol can actually be (it also comes highly recommended by Dentists worldwide!) I couldn’t wait to jump in and try this stuff out for myself, especially because at that very moment, I was craving something sweet! Ok you got me, I’m actually ALWAYS craving something sweet!

Focus Products so generously sent me a wide range of their yummy sweet treats containing Xylitol to try! When they showed up, I dived right into the mints first thing. I love mints and carry them with me often. These mints indeed taste sweet and are super yummy- and addictive! Good thing I know now that I can consume quite a few of them and it will actually be healthy for me and my teeth, instead of trying to rot my teeth out like anything else sweet out there!

What I love about the Focus Nutrition brand, is that they have a ton of great flavors including some unique flavors like green tea (my favorite!), ginger, lemon, licorice mint and more! You can also find the traditional peppermint, cinnamon, and others.  I loved that not only did I get my sweet fix with these mints and gum, but my mouth felt so fresh and clean afterwards (probably because the Xyliotol found in it, was busy killing that nasty tooth decaying bacteria in my mouth!)

I’m honestly not the biggest gum fan. I don’t chew it often, but when I saw some of the unique Xyloburst flavors, I was actually really excited to try them. I loved the Green Tea and the fruit flavor the best, and I found the gum was actually really yummy! I found it to be a lot better than gum you buy at the checkout at the grocery store. It was soft and easy to chew, which is probably my biggest gripe with store-bought gum. Not only that, but I really loved the unique flavors. It was sweet but not too sweet, and I was hooked at the first piece! I also passed it around to friends and family this weekend who all agreed it was really fabulous-tasting gum! And when I told them it was good for their teeth too, well, you can bet I got a lot of: “Really? That’s awesome!” out of it too!

Being that I’m a big sugar lover, you can bet I’ve already gotten a lot of use out of the Xyitol all natural sweetener! I dump this stuff in my coffee, in my oatmeal, you name it! It’s a great option for getting your sweet fix AND of course as we know now, improving the health of your teeth and mouth too! It of course has fewer calories than sugar, and none of those scary ingredients many other sugar substitutes on the market have. Sugar substitute sweeteners have really got a bad wrap over the last few years, but with the Xylitol sweetener, you can be sure you’re doing only good to your body! Obviously don’t dump a whole cup of it into your oatmeal though! It can’t help you there!

Amazingly this sweetener has 40% fewer calories than sugar, 75% less carbohydrates than it too! I found it to be equally sweet to sugar but I also didn’t need very much of it at all when adding to my foods and drinks to sweeten them up a bit. I would barely use a small teaspoon for most things. The price is totally comparable to other sugar substitutes on the market too, but again, unlike those “other guys”, you’re getting health benefits by eating this one!

Last but certainly not least, I got to try the Xyloburst lollipops. These were probably my favorite, because they ARE candy, and taste like candy, but again, its actually healthy for your body instead of causing your teeth and mouth to rot like we all know our favorite candies are unfortunately doing to us!

These lollipops are the perfect treat when I need my sugar fix. I loved that instead of saving my sugar fix for only after dinner, I could eat one or two of them then, as well as one in the afternoon when I started craving some sugar too. I could consume more sweet treats but without my weight going up and without the risk of tooth decay!

Choose from yummy flavors such as strawberry, apple, orange, and raspberry (my fav!).

Overall, I couldn’t be happier with this amazing brand. I love that I can have my candy and eat it too! The guilt is gone, but I can consume more of my favorite sweet treats! I love knowing that by eating them, I’m actually improving the health of my mouth too!

 

All of these yummy sweet and good-for-you treats are made right here in the USA! They have a ton more products than what I’ve mentioned here too, so be sure to check out their website at FocusNutrition.com. Next up, I’ll be buying their Xylitol sweetened jam!

Happy Snacking!

 

Also, the lovely people of Focus Nutrition are letting me GIVEAWAY a $50 Gift Basket filled with some of their fabulous healthy sweet treats to one of my lucky readers!

ENTER TO WIN A $50 Healthy Sweet Treat gift basket in the rafflecopter form below!

This contest is open to US only.

Good Luck lovelies! xo xo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

*MyStyleSpot is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

* I was given these products for the purpose of review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are solely my own. I only share reviews with my readers, I feel will be beneficial or informative in some way.