Wrigley is doing its level best to convince us that Gum is Good.
Can you really lose weight just from chewing gum?
Wrigley links to a rather verbose research article looking into the effect of gum-chewing.
It seems that the bottom line is that when people chewed gum for 15 minutes, they ate slightly less sweet foods (36 Calories) than when they didn’t chew the gum.
Problems With the Research
- The numbers were small – just 40 women and 20 men – of which only 9 were overweight or obese.
- The results were also skewed by those called “restrained eaters”. Those who were good at denying themselves food tended to be the ones who ate less after chewing the gum.
- This is no double-blind research. Either you were chewing the gum or you weren’t. Who is to say how the gum-chewers consciously or subconsciously changed their eating habits?
- The research was “supported” by an Educational Award from the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.
Then there is, of course, the aspartame – a controversial subject. However despite the collection of research claiming there’s nothing wrong with aspartame – the massive body of anecdotal evidence gives many of us pause.
Recently a woman made headlines (supported by her doctor) claiming that the aspartame in chewing gum lead to a myriad of health problems. Of course the 4 packet-a-day habit didn’t help.
I chew gum – but I’m not going to kid myself that I will lose pounds because of it. Does gum curb your cravings?
Yes it does help you lose weight. I was 48 kg and went 12 pounds down. There are 2 kinds of hunger. Stomach hunger and mouth hunger. Sometimes, you know that your stomach is full but still you have a craving to stuff things in your mouth. Chewing gum satisfies our mouth hunger and we tend to not snack between meals.
does it really make u lose wieght
Peppermint gum puts a taste in my mouth that makes me not want to eat. It’s kind of like thinking of toothpaste and orange juice? That’s the only benefit haha.
Chewing gum has proved a boon to me in a few aspects. It is not the exercise I need and it doesn’t make up for a lack of fruits and vegetables in my diet (both many times more important), but it does a couple other things.
I am a snacker. One of the issues this article had with the study was the eating habits of the subjects. If left to my own devices I eat crap all day, at work and at home. I’ve been chewing gum now (4 to 6 sticks a day) for a few months. My grocery bill and my waistline both thank me, as well as my energy levels from a better nutrient to junk ratio.
In short:
I eat less junk.
I drink less soda/energy drinks.
I have more energy (due to lack of the above).
I have lost weight.
i eat when i get bored
which is why gum helps me,it keeps my mouth entertained. even when im hungry at school,it helps…for a while..or until lunch
I went to cornell and we had a speaker from wrigley come to class. We all got a free pack of gum at the end of it. The next day we had a final in the same class and at the top we were asked to check a box if we were chewing gum. When we got our tests back the teather put stats on the board showing avg score for those who chewed gum and those who didnt. The avg score for those who were chewing gum was much higher.
I just noticed I wasn’t hungry after chewing gum. Guess it works.
i did not now that chewing gum would hepl u loss weght that is so cool
It makes perfect sense that the results were skewed by restrained eaters. They’re the ones who chew gum the most. Chewing gum actually produces more saliva, which makes the body think food is coming. But restrained eaters, who often have eating disorders, are good at fooling their body into thinking they don’t need food. For most people though, they’ll physiologically want to eat more when chewing gum.
im not 100% sure about this, but gum tends to contain phenylalanine, which seems to suppress my appitate. Gum helps me loose weight, coz i just like chewing food. I read somewere your body releases happy chemicals when you chew. But everyones different, But defo works for me and helps my teeth get stronger. (the denist told me to chew extra gum, helps build up teeth )