Gum

I have never been a gum fan, I think people chewing gum look like cows chewing their cud, however, when I am dieting I need something tasty, something sweet, something to hold me over and I turn to gum. 

I tend to pop a piece in my mouth after eating and chew it for a short while then out it goes. I would never ever consider attending a meeting with a piece of gum in my mouth.

I like Dentyne Fire, spicy cinnamon and buy it by the big 10 pack at Smart and Final, but they were out last time I went so I bought a big box of this: Dentyne Pure.

What a miserable mistake that was! First, the texture was very soft and almost non-existent, like it was a marshmallow about to dissolve.

But the big problem? 

Maltitol

Holy cow! Here I am weighing and measuring all my food and enjoying my little machine of a body when along comes this disastrous excuse of a gum, I should have been more careful.

What's the big deal about Maltitol anyway? Gastrointestinal distress, at least for me.  

In countries such as Australia, Canada, Norway, Mexico and New Zealand, Maltitol carries a mandatory warning such as "Excessive consumption may have a laxative effect." In the United States, it is a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substance, with a recommendation of a warning about its laxative potential when consumed at levels above 100 grams per day.

I spent the afternoon burping and dealing with a great deal of gas (do you really want the details?) When I got home, feeling pretty lousy, I thought it must be the gum because I was very sure of every other item that went into my mouth. 


Still, I popped one more piece in my mouth the next day just to see what one tiny piece would do, and I waited. It didn't take long, this is evil stuff! 


Here are the ingredients in case you cannot read the back of the box (one of 8 I have left).

DENTYNE PURE MINT WITH HERBAL ACCENTS NATURALLY AND ARTIFICIALLY FLAVORED

INGREDIENTS: MALTITOL, GUM BASE, SORBITOL, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORING (*INCLUDING A BLEND OF NATURAL BOTANICAL EXTRACTS), MALTITOL SYRUP, ERYTHRITOL; LESS THAN 2% OF: ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, ASPARTAME, BLUE 1, CANDELILLA WAX, GELATIN, GLYCERIN, SOY LECITHIN, SUCRALOSE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (COLOR), XYLITOL AND YELLOW 5.
PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE
*Neutralizes bad breath odors caused by bacteria and food.

The gum I used to eat also has maltitol in it, but it is not the first ingredient, Sorbitol is. I know sorbitol is also a sugar alcohol that can have laxative effects, but for some reason it doesn't affect me like the maltitol does.

I wanted to bring this up, as so often we suffer through things like this not knowing what caused it, many people wouldn't even think that a couple pieces of gum could do something like this, evil little things.

If you suffer through gastrointestinal distress out of the blue one day, check your gum!