Day 5: Dubble Bubble

A one pound bag of dubble bubble is my saving grace when I'm trying not to eat. The only problem is that I can eat the ENTIRE bag in one day. That's about 75 pieces of gum (55 if you take out the ones my brother eats). No matter how much gum u give me, whether it's ten pieces or ten hundred pieces I usually end up eating the entire amount I'm given. What happens is that the mosre I chew the less time I keep each piece in my mouth. I'll pop one piece in and then another only five seconds later. I don't even let the flavor go away. I just spit out the one and put another in. My mom says that the how much gum I can choose is just one of the many reasons while I'm not losing weight. I've always wondered if that was true and I've also wondered how many calories one actually takes in by chewing gum. So I've looked up some facts.

You've probably heard that if you swallow your chewing gum, it will stay in your stomach for seven years. Gum doesn't stay in your stomach, but continues on into your intestines, eventually finding its way out of your system in pretty much the same condition as when you swallowed it. In rare cases, however, frequently swallowing your gum could lead to the development of an intestinal stone, called a bezoar or enterolith. These form when a difficult-to-digest substance gets tangled or trapped, eventually calcifying and basically becoming a permanent addition to your digestive system. (Luckily, I NEVER swallow gum.)

I checked out some blogs about my mom's comment. On one blog a woman asked Is it true that chewing gum can lead to weight gain because the enzymes in your salivia try to digest the gum and therefore when you eat food it cannot digest properly? The answer...NO! chewing gum makes your stomach think its going to receive food and so will release stomach acid and some enzymes in preparation. This sometimes causes people to be hungrier which could be why people may gain weight. However, gum contains sorbitol which in high amounts can cause a person to lose weight.

Assuming you are not swallowing the gum once the flavor is gone(obviously the gum is made up of things that do nothing for the flavor, that probably contain some calories) If the chewing gum contains sugar, your body will certainly digest the sugar that disolves in the saliva and is swallowed. Sugar, obviously is a high calorie item,thus your body is absorbing some calories. Thus, the amount of calories you get from chewing sugar-containing gum will generally be lower than the amount labeled on the bag. Needless to say, you should always opt for the sugar-free varieties....that makes me sad :( Guess my mom is somewhat right...