Many of you who read my blog know that my youngest son Kyle is somewhat of a sugar-a-holic. When we started to learn the truth about many of the harmful ingredients in the candy that he loved to eat, we knew that we had to make changes. We learned that what he loved not only made him hyper active, but it literally damaged brain cells and that many of the types of candies he loved had known carcinogens which have the potential to cause cancer when ingested consistently.
For this reason, we set out to find alternatives. One of the biggest ingredients that we were dead set on removing from his diet was aspartame for a number of reasons. If you're not familiar with what it can cause, please read my February 7th blog that covers it in detail. We had always thought that we were doing Kyle a favor when buying sugarless gum until we realized that aspartame is in all of it! We then figured that buying gum with good old fashioned sugar in it like Big Red and Juicy Fruit was a better option as long as we made him brush to avoid cavities.
It wasn't until today when he asked me for some when I filled up at the gas station that I realized that these options along with regular old bubble gum have aspartame and a number of other terrible ingredients that should be avoided at all costs! Let's take a look at the Big Red gum that I almost bought. The breakdown of ingredients below was provided by thesmilingman.hubpages.com:
Big Red ingredients: Sugar, gum base, corn syrup, natural and artificial flavors; less than 2% of: Glycerol, soy lecithin, aspartame-acesulfame, hydroxylated soy lecithin, color (red 40 lake, blue 1 lake), BHT (to maintain freshness).Phenylketonurics: Contains phenylalanine.
1. Sugar: A sweetening additive. Made mainly from sugar cane and sugar beet.
Health effects: Safe if eaten in small amounts. Consumption of large amounts over time has been linked to tooth decay, periodontal disease, obesity, hyperactivity, B vitamin deficiencies, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
2. Gum base: A non-nutritive masticatory substance used as a support for the edible and soluble portion of chewing gum.
Gum Base is made from a mix of raw materials which are categorized in five classes:
- Elastomers: act as the key ingredient and provide elasticity and bounce. Can be made from natural latexes such as couma macrocarpa, loquat, tunu, jelutong, chicle, or synthetic rubbers such as butadiene rubber, butyl rubber, and polyisobutylene.
- Resins: Act as binders and softeners, providing a cohesive body or strength and usually made from glycerol esters of gum, terpene resins, and/or polyvinyl acetate.
- Waxes: Render the elastomer soft to ensure thorough blending of the gum base. Usually made from paraffin or microcrystalline wax.
- Fillers: contribute to the overall texture. Made from calcium carbonate (chalk) or talc.
- Antioxidants: prevent oxidation of the gum base and flavors and extend shelf life. BHT is most commonly used.
- Resins: Act as binders and softeners, providing a cohesive body or strength and usually made from glycerol esters of gum, terpene resins, and/or polyvinyl acetate.
- Waxes: Render the elastomer soft to ensure thorough blending of the gum base. Usually made from paraffin or microcrystalline wax.
- Fillers: contribute to the overall texture. Made from calcium carbonate (chalk) or talc.
- Antioxidants: prevent oxidation of the gum base and flavors and extend shelf life. BHT is most commonly used.
Health Effects: Unknown. Though caution is advised due to the use of synthetic ingredients. Synthetic ingredients tend to be carcinogens.
3. Corn syrup: A sweet syrup made by treating corn starch with acid enzymes. May be genetically modified.
Health effects: Considered safe if eaten in small amounts. May cause allergic reactions.
4. Natural flavors: Any flavor not chemically derived. Obtained by physical processes from plants or animals. Made to provide flavor to a food rather than nutritional value. May contain MSG.
Health effects: Unknown.Different foods use different natural flavors and processes. Naturally derived ingredients may be altered, rendered unsafe. It should be noted that the use of the word “natural flavors” is often used to mask the use of harmful, naturally derived flavors.
5. Artificial flavors: A synthetic mixture not found in nature, designed to mimic a natural flavor. May contain MSG. Over 1,700 artificial flavors are approved by the FDA.
Health effects: Unknown. Companies are not required to identify the various synthetic mixtures (1,700 to date) used in foods, requiring only that they be listed under the umbrella of the “artificial flavors” listing. Some individuals are sensitive to artificial flavors, experiencing headaches, nausea, and drowsiness, among other symptoms.
Artificial flavors sample list: benzyl isobutyrate, ethyl acetate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate (petroleum derivative), methyl benzoate (petroleum derivative), hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone. An artificial flavor may be made up of any number of synthetic chemicals.
6. Glycerol: (Glycerine) A natural or synthetic (petroleum) byproduct of soap manufacturing. May be animal based. May be corn, peanut, or soy based. May be genetically modified. Used as a humectants (maintain moisture).
Health effects: Excess may cause headaches, nausea, elevated blood sugar,and may affect stomach and reproduction.
7. Soy lecithin: Made from soybean waste. Extracted with hexane, a gasoline byproduct, through a “hexane bath”. May contain pesticide residues. May be genetically modified.
Health effects: The use of hexane in the making of soy lecithin raises issue since hexane is a neurotoxin.
8. Aspartame: Artificial sweetener. Made from aspartic acid and phenylalanine.
Health effects: Studies link it to cancer in rats. May cause neurological and behavioral issues. Reported symptoms include irritability, headaches, insomnia, hyperactivity, seizures, memory loss, migraines, depression, vision problems, memory loss. Should be avoided by those with the genetic disorder phenylketonuria.
9. Acesulfame: Artificial sweetener. Not digested by the body, eliminated through urine.
Health effects: In animal studies, cause lung tumors, breast tumors, respiratory disease, leukemia, and cancer. Emits toxic fumes when heated to decomposition.
10. Hydroxylated soy lecithin: An emulsifier made from soy lecithin, which is made with hexane.
Health effects: The use of hexane in the making of soy lecithin raises issue since hexane is a neurotoxin.
11. Red 40 lake: Pigment manufactured to make insoluble color. Done by combining red 40 (a coal tar derivative) with a form of aluminum, calcium, barium potassium, strontium, or zirconium.
Health effects: A suspected carcinogen. Has been linked to hyperactivity, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and lower IQs in children. Some scientists question its safety since all tests were conducted by the manufacturer instead of the regulator, the FDA. May contain aluminum, which has been linked with lung & kidney disorders, and reduced skeletal mineralization. Alzheimer’s victims have been found with aluminum deposits in their brains, implicating aluminum as a factor in Alzheimer’s disease.
12. Blue 1 lake: Pigment manufactured to make insoluble color. Done by combining blue 1 (a coal tar derivative) with a form of aluminum, calcium, barium potassium, strontium, or zirconium.
Health effects: Produces malignant tumors at the site of injection and by ingestion in rats. Possible effects include asthma, hives, hay fever, low blood pressure, allergic reactions. Caution is advised if aspirin sensitive. May contain aluminum, which has been linked with lung & kidney disorders, and reduced skeletal mineralization. Alzheimer’s victims have been found with aluminum deposits in their brains, implicating aluminum as a factor in Alzheimer’s disease.
13. BHT: (Butylated hydroxytoluene)Antioxidant made from petroleum. Banned in the United Kingdom.
Health effects: Possible carcinogen. May cause chronic hives, asthma, aggressive behavior, and may affect liver, kidney, stomach, and reproduction.
Pregnant mice fed BHT gave birth to offspring with abnormal behavioral patterns. Possible link to DNA damage in mouse gut. Toxic to aquatic organisms.
A special thanks goes out to the Wrigley company for caring about their customers health so much by putting these ingredients in their products (NOT!). So what can we do when we or our kids have the urge to chew on some gum if we don't feel like paying for it with a long list of potentially harmful side effects?
1. Order Glee Gum (www.gleegum.com) Here's a link to their aspartame free gum options:
It has:
- No aspartame or other artificial sweeteners
- No artificial coloring or flavoring
- No preservatives
- No GMOs
- Sugar-free flavors sweetened with 100% xylitol
for dental health - Classic flavors sweetened with Fair Trade sugar
& brown rice syrup - Made with chicle to help conserve the rainforest
- Packed in biodegradable, recycled cardboard
2. Pur Gum (www.pur-gum.com)
PÜR Gum is sweetened with Xylitol, a naturally-occurring sugar alcohol found in corn cobs and stalks which a healthy alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. Available in four delicious and tantalizing flavors: Wintergreen, Pomegranate Mint, Spearmint and Peppermint. YOU can KICK ASPARTAME to the curb with PÜR Gum. Also, PUR Gum prides itself on the use of all-natural flavors, colors, and sweeteners, and their products are 100% GMO-free.
These are just a couple of options available to spare you and your family from the health hazards that we face by instinctively grabbing for the terrible options available to us at the check out lines.
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Thank you for the information! I will check out the websites of the alternative ones.
ReplyDeleteREALLY everything has bad sides Ex: chicken nuggets fried food hotdogs bread cereal oranges. We humans are always dying slowly so if you tell me that not eating certain gum will make me live longer ,then you should become a vegan you hater. I will still love my hubba bubba Big red 5 gum Orbit Extra Eclipse . Wrigley will always be in rubbery gum heart .
ReplyDeleteVery dumbed-down response. Clearly, you've already lost most of your brain cells by chewing too much chemical gum or eating like an uneducated moron.
DeleteGet real. Do you have any citations for any of this?
Delete1. All chewing gum causes you to salivate. Saliva makeup includes flouride, anti-bacterial compounds, enzymes, etc. Gum does not cause cavities.
2. The most sugar any piece of gum will have is 35 grams. Sugar will not hurt you in any way. Sugar is produced in the body and you need it to survive. Sugar will NOT do cause any of the following: Tooth decay, periodontal disease, obesity, hyperactivity, B vitamin deficiencies, or heart disease.
3. I don't know where you learned this, but if you're going to say false things don't do it on the internet.