Is Chewing Gum Bad For You?

Did you know that the chewing gum that you love to chaw from time to time is actually made of plastic and synthetic rubber? Shocked? It’s a fact! Chewing gum that was originally made using tree sap (Chicle derived from Mexican Sapodilla tree) in the past does not contain even a bit of Chicle today. The chewing gums available in the market these days comprise of four primary ingredients: Sugar, Artificial dyes, Synthetic rubber and Plastic. They are created from synthetic polymers like Styrene Butadiene rubber and Polyvinyl Acetate. In its most basic form, chewing gum ingredients comprise of 60 percent sugar, 20 percent gum material and 20 percent corn syrup.

Is Chewing Gum Bad for You? Check out Chewing Gum Ingredients

Most of the chewing gums these days predominantly comprise of sugar. Even the brands that promote their product as ‘sugar-free’ contain sugar alcohols such as Maltitol, Sorbitol or Mannitol that increase the level of blood sugar in our body. In fact, sugar alcohol has been found to be even more toxic than white sugar and is believed to stimulate even more inflammation and weight gain in comparison to regular sugar (Sugar-free trend started mainly to protect the teeth and help diabetic patients). Besides this, the other ingredients – sugar substitutes etc – present in chewing gum have also been found to be quite harmful for human health. Some of the common injurious ingredients found in chewing gums include:

Aspartame: Aspartame is a well-known carcinogen (cancer causing substance) and neurotoxin that converts into Formaldehyde due to the effect of the normal human body temperature after it enters our body. This aspartame is absorbed by our gums, mouth and tongue after which it is passed on to the brain through the spinal cord. Even the smallest amount of aspartame is extremely dangerous for our health.

Saccharin: Saccharin is an artificial non-nutritive sweetener that is also a carcinogen. Any non-nutritive ingredient that you consume will rob the body of its nutrition. Besides this, saccharin also works as a silent brainwashing agent which should be avoided as much as possible.

Corn Syrup: Corn syrup is extremely high in fructose content and is considered to be one of the main reasons behind the diabetes and obesity existing in the world today. Irrespective, the ingredient is commonly used in a variety of products such as bread, candy, gum as well as commercial fruit juices. Besides this, increased intake of fructose is also responsible for a rise in the level of uric acid in out bloodstream. It also blocks the functioning of insulin, which is essential for our body to regular the working of body cells and the storage of sugar and other nutrient.

Artificial Color Dyes: Not many people are aware of the fact that the artificial color dyes are derived from petroleum and are considered to be extremely dangerous as they are carcinogenic. These lake dyes are actually industrial agents that are usually employed for the purpose of textile dying, which is a clear indication that it cannot be good for our health.

BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene): BHT is the chemical that is used in chewing gums as preservatives. This ingredient is widely used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, rubber, petroleum fluid, jet fuel and embalming fluid.

Thus, it is clearly evident that a large number of harmful elements are commonly used as chewing gum ingredients, which makes chewing gum really harmful for our overall health and well-being.

(What I have mentioned here is only a short list of bad chewing gum ingredients. There are many others that are equally bad or worse for your health. And you thought the sugar in gums was the only harmful ingredient?)