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Interesting. What do you think about sugarless gum? I chew it because it helps with my acid reflux. I'm wondering if it might cause a spike in insulin, like
by e40 10y ago
Interesting. What do you think about sugarless gum? I chew it because it helps with my acid reflux. I'm wondering if it might cause a spike in insulin, like diet soda would.
I guess one good thing is I usually chew it after a meal, but I do occasionally chew on an empty stomach if I'm having trouble burping.
- akiselev 10y agoThe amount of artificial sweetener in a can of diet soda is going to weigh an order of magnitude more than your one piece of gum (which is mostly made of an undisgestible polymer anyway, with very little in the way of actual flavorings). You might as well dissolve a packet of splenda in an eye dropper and take a few drops.
- credit_guy 10y agoI understand the GP's comment a bit differently. What matters is how much the taste buds are stimulated, not the amount of artificial sweeteners. If that is true, the sugarless chewing gum is many many times worse than the diet soda. The drink passes through your mouth in a few seconds, the gum stays in contact with your tong for half an hour (or more).
- e40 10y agoThis is precisely what I'm worried about.
- Declanomous 10y agoAh, I see. I guess I've been unclear. The taste buds in your mouth don't cause the insulin response. There are separate taste buds embedded in the wall of your small intestine that activate the insulin response, and play a role in insulin resistance. On a somewhat related note, my non-expert opinion is that sugarless gum is probably still better for you than gum with actual sugar in it for reasons relating to oral heath.
- e40 10y agoThanks for the clarification. Much clearer now.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- Declanomous 10y agoI just replied to a comment further down the thread. The taste buds in your mouth don't play a role in insulin resistance. There are separate taste buds embedded in the wall of your gut that are responsible. I'd still recommend chewing gum, but you'd have to weigh the evidence for yourself, cause I'm not a doctor. However I believe the oral health benefits outweigh the potential risks. Acid reflux is also correlated with a lot of really nasty health issues, like esophageal cancer and heart disease. (It's my understanding that the heart disease link may be due to the elevated calcium levels caused by consuming large quantities of antacids) If chewing gum helps control your acid reflux I'd keep chewing gum. I'm actually considering this myself now that you mention it, since I suffer from acid reflux as well.
- e40 10y agoI'm actually considering this myself now that you mention it, since I suffer from acid reflux as well. Chewing gum greatly reduces the amount of antacids I need to consume. The other thing that really surprised me was my low-carb diet further reduced antacid use to almost zero. For a month after my low-carb diet, I didn't even think to take a single antacid.