I love gum myself for starters. Its one thing that really takes care of your mouths freshness like all the time. But as they say everything good has some of its side effects. As you chew your gum please take a closer look at some of its side effects.
Originally, chewing gum was made from tree sap but today's commercial brands are loaded with harmful
ingredients and chemicals.
The modern day chewing gums are made of four major ingredients
including synthetic rubber, plastic, sugar, and coloring (dye). Modern
day gums are produced from synthetic polymers such as styrene-butadiene
rubbers and polyvinyl acetate. The final product is composed of 60%
sugar, 20% corn syrup, and only 20% actual gum material.
If
you're chewing gum you are chewing rubber and plastic. Chewing gum is
known as a harmless cultural tradition but it contains many properties
that may be hazardous to our health.
Today's chewing gums and
bubble gums are predominantly sugar by volume. Seventy to eighty percent
of most gums on the market today are sheer vehicles for sugar, the
number one drug on the planet. Just as cigarettes are a conveyor for the
addictive drug "nicotine", so is gum for sugar.
There is great
danger in chewing gum due to numerous toxic and poisonous chemicals used
as ingredients. There are several common ingredients in gum that are
harmful to human health.
Brief History of the Origin of Modern Gum
The first recorded history of mixing a gum with sugar can be traced to
the Arab sugar traders who mixed the sugar with acacia, known as "gum
Arabic."
In 1850, modern commercial chewing gum originated in Bangor, Maine.
In 1859, Thomas Adams of New York used "chicle," the dried latex
material of the sapodilla tree in Central America, to make chewing gum.
Adams received a patent in 1871 for "chicle gum."
In 1885,
William J. White of Cleveland, Ohio further refined and improved gum by
adding corn syrup and flavoring the gum with peppermint, making it very
successful.
In 1893, William Wrigley invented Juicy Fruit and Spearmint gums, greatly improving chewing gum.
In 1900, Frank Fleer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania placed a hard shell
on gum and called in Chiclets. In 1906 Fleer would also go on to invent
Bubble Gum and an employee of the Frank H. Fleer Company, Walter Diemer,
invented the pink colored Double Bubble, bubble gum.
Aspartame
Aspartame, a known carcinogen, is a neurotoxin. It converts into
formaldehyde when exposed to heat above eighty-six degrees Fahrenheit.
This means that aspartame converts into formaldehyde when inside the
human body.
Aspartame is absorbed by the buccal mucosa of the
mouth, gums, and the tongue-making it even more dangerous than if
injected intravenously. By passing the spinal cord and the blood-brain
barrier when absorbed in the mouth, the aspartame goes directly into the
brain. The smallest amount of aspartame can be very dangerous and
damaging.
When aspartame is ingested into the digestive tract,
it breaks down into numerous other poisons. Most Americans are unaware
that the candy, gum, and soft drinks that they consume, contain
aspartame.
Saccharin
Saccharin is
another known carcinogen. Government studies have linked the use of
saccharin to bladder cancer since 1971, which led to forcing
manufacturers to place warnings on any product that contained saccharin.
Unfortunately, in 2000, the government decided that the link to cancer
was less of a concern to humans than to rats, so the label warning
requirement was repealed.
Regardless of the legislation, saccharin should also be avoided at all costs.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
High fructose corn syrup is prominent in highly processed foods and is a
toxic food ingredient. The commercial food industry promotes the use of
high fructose corn syrup because it is cheap to produce.
It can
be found in everything soda, bread, candy, gum, commercial fruit
juices, and even meat. Introduced into the American food supply as a
cheap alternative to sugar, high fructose corn syrup is a booming
business.
It has become increasing more difficult to find a
processed food product without high fructose corn syrup. After
carbonated water, it is the leading ingredient in soda beverages. It has
been found that drinking soda may increase Type 2 diabetes and is also
responsible for tooth decay.
High fructose corn syrup is also found in most chocolate drinks, condiments, ice cream, bakery goods, yogurt, and cereal.
High fructose corn syrup masquerades under the name of crystalline fructose in flavored waters and energy drinks.
The human body does not metabolize high fructose corn syrup. In fact,
it disables the body's ability to recognize when its full and instead,
increases a person's appetite. By digesting high fructose corn syrup,
you are increasing your risk for metabolic syndrome, heart disease,
stroke, and diabetes. It increases your risk of developing a serious
disease and it not recommended.
When fructose is consumed, the
uric acid in the bloodstream rises and blocks insulin. Insulin regulates
how the both will use and store sugar for energy. If uric acid levels
are high, serious health risks may develop over time including high
blood pressure, obesity, and elevated blood cholesterol levels.
Other Sweeteners
Gums will also contain other sugars denoted with the suffix "-ose"
and/or "-ol". These harmful sugars include gluc(ose), sucr(ose),
dextr(ose), fruct(ose), mannit(ol), sorbit(ol), malit(ol), and
xylit(ol). All of these sugars are suspect. Your '-ose' ending sugars
are derived from fruits and your '-ol' ending sugars are derived from
grains or even wood.
Next to real fructose, Xylitol would be the safest or least harmful to use.
Color Lake Dyes
The various 'color lake' dyes such as blue lake, green lake, red lake,
and yellow lake are all derived from petroleum and are known to be
dangerous due to its carcinogenic properties. Normally used for textile
dying, lake dyes are industrial agents.
Petroleum is derived
from rocks or stones. Even though rocks are not typically considered a
food product, they become one when you use petroleum to make gum.
Believe it or not, the federal government actually defines chewing gum
as food.
Gum is made from synthetic rubber and plastic and
therefore cannot be assimilated by the human body nor do they provide
essential nutrients. Therefore this food product cannot repair the body,
promote growth of the body, or maintain the human body. Therefore, gum
should not be considered a food product.
Also, the artificial
sweeteners used in most commercial gums are 200-300 times sweeter than
regular sugar. The petroleum-based lake dyes are derived from rocks and
should not be considered food. The body cannot digest gum and even if it
could, gum does not provide any essential nutrients that the body can
benefit from. It does not repair, nourish, or sustain the human body.
BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene)
The chemical BHT is used as a preservative in gum. It is also found in
cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, rubber, petroleum fluid, jet fuel, and
embalming fluid. In some cases, gum will contain two embalming fluids,
aspartame and BHT.
Habitual Chewing
Due to the constant chewing and grinding of the teeth, chewing gum
destroys the teeth. Some people believe that chewing gum strengthens
your teeth but this is certainly not the case. Some brands may provide
less harmful products with minimal sugar, but all of them are harmful to
the teeth.
Chewing
gum promotes the desire to continuously eat. Gum causes the body to
produce digestive juices (hydrochloric acid) in preparation of eating
solid food, which can lead to digestive problems.
Contrary to
popular belief, you cannot whiten teeth by chewing gum. All those brands
that purport to whiten teeth while chewing gum are simply exploiting
people with stained teeth whose teeth most likely became stained from
drinking soda pop, drinking coffee, and/or smoking cigarettes.
CHEW YOUR GUM SPARINGLY!
tags The Kenyan Kid Medical blog
03:43
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