my research so far
xylose/xylitol
Xylitol has no known toxicity in humans. In one study, the participants consumed a diet containing a monthly average of 1.5 kg of xylitol with a maximum daily intake of 430 g with no apparent ill effects.[31] Like most sugar alcohols, it has a laxative effect because sugar alcohols are not fully broken down during digestion; albeit one-tenth the strength of sorbitol.[clarification needed] The effect depends upon the individual. In one study of 13 children, four experienced diarrhea when consuming over 65 grams per day.[32] Studies have reported adaptation occurs after several weeks of consumption.[32]
Adaptation, an increase of the laxation threshold, occurs with regular intake. Xylitol has a lower laxation threshold than some sugar alcohols, but is more easily tolerated than others such as mannitol and sorbitol
-wiki (take of it what you want)
65 grams a day is excessive
lets assume a 23Litre batch of cider would need 500 grams to make it ridiculously sweet
500 grams in to 23 litres = 23.5 litres or there abouts, which comes to only 16 grams in a 750 mL long neck
65 grams of xylitol is 4 long necks, i would never go near that in a day
the more you drink the lesser the effect which is ideal, if you use it instead of normal sugar in your coffee/teas etc and slowly introduce yourself to it
at the moment xylitol is leading the non fermentable sugars
Daily intakes of 30-40 grams of xylitol per day is safe, but can have a laxative effect and cause diarrhea in some people. While there are exceptions and some people have built-up much larger tolerances, daily intakes of over 50 grams of Xylitol per day can have a laxative effect on many people.
-xylitolnow.com (not biased at all)
nice non-biased study
http://www.ecogreenoleo.com/Sugar_Alcohols.pdf
the good
100 grams dissolves in 100 mls of water at 1 degree
the same sweetness as sucrose (as said previously)
im pretty set on xylitol, just need to find a place to buy it and give it a go
thinking of putting it in some sour/dry apple juice or something sour/dry to see the sweetness and if any direct effect on me, the drinker
then i can brew the cider put it in to a few cups and test to find the right concentration
i may fill a bottle throw the correct amount of xylitol in to see if anything ferments, if not then fill up the brewing vessel according to the concentration
and at $15.50 a kilo it isnt too pricey