News › Forums › Nutrition › Ask Nutritionist › Sugar free gum, › Reply To: Sugar free gum,
Marcella, if you are using the gum to keep you from mindlessly eating or from eating non-approved foods then I would say yes go ahead, just make sure it is sugar-free. Just don’t make this a habit….eventually you will not have cravings, at least that is the goal. The thing with gum is that it activates the salivary glands and tricks your brain into thinking that you are eating which makes you then begin releasing the enzyme Amylase which happens when you begin eating…it’s the enzyme that starts the digestion process and it happens in your mouth….So I guess the short story is your brain starts thinking you are eating and you really aren’t so there is this sort of brain, body and digestion confusion that can happen. This in turn can cause some hormonal confusion which can end up making your cravings worse. Again though this is if gum-chewing becomes habit, if you just pop a piece every now and then and move on with life while also avoiding eating a doughnut then by all means do it!