Have you ever wondered if chewing gum is a good product? As always, the first thing to do is read the label.
Composition of chewing gums 📝
- Sweeteners, which represent more than 60% of the chewing gum.
- Gum base, responsible for the typical chewing gum texture and resistant to chewing.
- Other additives such as stabilizers, flavorings, etc.
In addition, the label indicates that the product:
- It is a source of phenylalanine: when the gum contains aspartame. The presence of phenylalanine should always be notified because it can cause problems in pregnant women and in phenylketonuric patients (people who are not able to metabolize phenylalanine).
- It has a laxative effect: due to the presence of sorbitol.
Why is gum normally consumed?
Let’s think of the most recurrent situations:
- For its flavor and for the breath freshness it leaves behind.
- Due to stress and / or boredom
- Because having your mouth busy chewing gum prevents you from eating other things.
- Due to the belief that chewing gum increases caloric expenditure and therefore helps to lose weight.
But, does it make sense to eat gum on a regular basis, for any of the above reasons? Not at all.
How to reduce this non-healthy habit 💡
- It is preferable to maintain good oral hygiene before eating gum at all times.
- Stress must be addressed in the appropriate way, not by eating gum.
- Eat satisfying food and drink flavored water/tea/coffee, so you won’t have to “avoid eating” by chewing gum.
Effects of chewing gum on a daily basis 🥴
- Although a small increase in caloric expenditure has been seen when chewing gum (Hamada Y. et al, 2016), this is not significant. If you want to increase your caloric expenditure, just move! (Check our previous article where we talk about this).
- When chewing gum, air enters the digestive tract and can cause the appearance of gas (Hamada Y. et al. 2016), an effect that lasts up to an hour after chewing it.
- The consumption of chewing gum with maltitol affects the composition of the buccal microbiota by decreasing bacterial species that intervene in the correct dynamics of dental plaque (Bart J. F. et al., 2018).
Seems pretty clear, right? Keep all these in mind before chewing gum all day long…it’s a habit you should get rid of asap!