Doctors
say that chewing sugar-free gum after a meal decreases mouth's
bacterial acidity, the main factor involved in tooth decay, due to the
abundant salivation, diluting and neutralizing the acid. And here comes
the shock: a new research published in the "British Medical Journal"
shows that exaggerating with the chew gum could cause stomach
conditions and non-healthy weight loss.
This was linked to the sweetener used – sorbitol (E420) – also found in
many sugar-free sweets and cereals. Sorbitol has 60 % of the sugar's
calories, but 14 or more chewing gum sticks daily could severely affect
your health. This chemical is poorly absorbed by the gut and has
laxative properties.
The German doctors signal the case of two patients experiencing chronic
diarrhea and severe weight loss. This challenges researches made by the
Wrigley company, signaling a positive weight loss induced by chewing
gum, by decreasing the urge to munch all the time. Also, a gum stick
has 5 to 10 calories and the chewing gum consumes around 11 calories an
hour.
The team at the Charite Universitatsmediz, in Berlin medical school,
discovered that the 21-year-old woman, one of the two patients, chewed
large quantities of sugar-free gum, meaning about 18-20 g sorbitol
daily (one stick of chewing gum has around 1.25g of sorbitol) and had
lost 24lb (11kg),
weighing 6st 6lb (40.8kg). The 46-year-old man, i.e. the second
patient, chewed 20 sticks of sugar-free gum and consumed 200g of sweets
daily, ingesting 30g of sorbitol each day. In 2007, he had lost 48.5lb
(22kg). When both patients ceased consuming sorbitol-containing foods,
their diarrhea was gone, and they started gaining weight.
"People should be warned of the dangers of too much sorbitol, including
diabetics who rely on low-sugar or sugar-free foods. Both our patients
consumed large amounts of sorbitol, which belongs to the family of
polyalcohol sugars, like mannitol and xylitol, some of which are
regularly used as laxatives. However, sorbitol is also used as a
sweetener in many sugar-free foods and drug products", wrote the
authors.
"Our cases show that sorbitol consumption can cause not only chronic
diarrhea and functional bowel problems but also considerable unintended
weight loss (about 20% of usual body weight). Thus, the investigation
of unexplained weight loss should include detailed dietary history with
regard to foods containing sorbitol", they added.
"Excessive consumption of polyols, such as sorbitol, can have a
laxative effect in some individuals. Studies generally indicate that
people can consume up to 40g of sorbitol without experiencing a
laxative effect, subject to the individual and other components of his
or her diet – a level not even approached by normal consumption of
sugar-free chewing gum. To reach the threshold of excessive consumption
of sorbitol through use of gum alone, someone would have to chew close
to 100 pellets of gum daily", said a spokesperson for the Wrigley
Company.
say that chewing sugar-free gum after a meal decreases mouth's
bacterial acidity, the main factor involved in tooth decay, due to the
abundant salivation, diluting and neutralizing the acid. And here comes
the shock: a new research published in the "British Medical Journal"
shows that exaggerating with the chew gum could cause stomach
conditions and non-healthy weight loss.
This was linked to the sweetener used – sorbitol (E420) – also found in
many sugar-free sweets and cereals. Sorbitol has 60 % of the sugar's
calories, but 14 or more chewing gum sticks daily could severely affect
your health. This chemical is poorly absorbed by the gut and has
laxative properties.
The German doctors signal the case of two patients experiencing chronic
diarrhea and severe weight loss. This challenges researches made by the
Wrigley company, signaling a positive weight loss induced by chewing
gum, by decreasing the urge to munch all the time. Also, a gum stick
has 5 to 10 calories and the chewing gum consumes around 11 calories an
hour.
The team at the Charite Universitatsmediz, in Berlin medical school,
discovered that the 21-year-old woman, one of the two patients, chewed
large quantities of sugar-free gum, meaning about 18-20 g sorbitol
daily (one stick of chewing gum has around 1.25g of sorbitol) and had
lost 24lb (11kg),
weighing 6st 6lb (40.8kg). The 46-year-old man, i.e. the second
patient, chewed 20 sticks of sugar-free gum and consumed 200g of sweets
daily, ingesting 30g of sorbitol each day. In 2007, he had lost 48.5lb
(22kg). When both patients ceased consuming sorbitol-containing foods,
their diarrhea was gone, and they started gaining weight.
"People should be warned of the dangers of too much sorbitol, including
diabetics who rely on low-sugar or sugar-free foods. Both our patients
consumed large amounts of sorbitol, which belongs to the family of
polyalcohol sugars, like mannitol and xylitol, some of which are
regularly used as laxatives. However, sorbitol is also used as a
sweetener in many sugar-free foods and drug products", wrote the
authors.
"Our cases show that sorbitol consumption can cause not only chronic
diarrhea and functional bowel problems but also considerable unintended
weight loss (about 20% of usual body weight). Thus, the investigation
of unexplained weight loss should include detailed dietary history with
regard to foods containing sorbitol", they added.
"Excessive consumption of polyols, such as sorbitol, can have a
laxative effect in some individuals. Studies generally indicate that
people can consume up to 40g of sorbitol without experiencing a
laxative effect, subject to the individual and other components of his
or her diet – a level not even approached by normal consumption of
sugar-free chewing gum. To reach the threshold of excessive consumption
of sorbitol through use of gum alone, someone would have to chew close
to 100 pellets of gum daily", said a spokesperson for the Wrigley
Company.
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