Why a Stick of Chewing Gum is More Harmful To Your Health Than Anything You Eat

Written by Thomas Corriher Friday, 23 April 2010 00:31

If you thought that either toothpaste or red meats laced with sodium nitrate were the most dangerous things at the grocery store, then you should guess again.

People do not typically swallow gum, and thus they give very little attention to their ingredients.  After all, if it is not swallowed, then ingredients should not be a concern, right?  Wrong.  The ingredients in gum go into the bloodstream faster and in higher concentrations than food ingredients, because they are absorbed straight through the walls of the mouth, and they will not undergo the normal filtration process of digestion.

Gum is typically the most toxic product in supermarkets that are made for consumption, and they are very likely to kill your pet.  Commercial gum products contain roughly the same list of toxic ingredients, with differing labeling, which is virtually always designed to be deceptive.

Common Ingredients of Gum

After looking at several different brands of chewing gum, we found that these were the most common ingredients:

• Sorbitol • Gum Base • Maltitol • Mannitol • Xylitol • Artificial and 'Natural' Flavoring • Acacia • Acesulfame Potassium

• Aspartame • BHT • Calcium Casein Peptone-calcium Phosphate • Candelilla Wax • Sodium Stearate • Titanium Dioxide (so cancerous that external skin contact is enough)

When you consider that all of these ingredients are absorbed directly into the bloodstream unaltered through the mouth tissues and saliva, it is at least slightly disturbing to most rational people.  It should be.  We will be analyzing some of these ingredients in-depth, because we intend to debunk the myth that chewing gum is harmless and even good for you (ie. "it strengthens the teeth").

The "Sugar Free" Sugar Alcohols

Sorbitol, Maltitol, and Mannitol are sugar alcohols.  These are usually made from sugar, and they frequently increase the blood sugar just as much as eating sugar straight.  However, they allow manufacturers to make deceptive  "sugar-free" claims, since these ingredients are not pure sugar anymore.  (Nothing up this sleeve)  While such sugar derivatives are technically "sugar free" when the manipulative word games are employed, they nonetheless remain dangerous for diabetics, who by the way, are the very audience that these gums are marketed to.  Let's not forget that the sugar alcohol containing gums are also marketed to improve our dental health, either; since they are so "sugar free", after all.  The sugar alcohols are even more chemically bastardized than "white" sugar is (more toxic), so we have reason to believe that these forms of sugar will stimulate even more weight gain and inflammation than regular sugar.  All the evidence points in that direction.  Furthermore, these chemically bastardized sugar alcohols are documented to cause abdominal pains and diarrhea, whilst aggravating various health conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome; so the immune system takes a huge hit from them.  This immuno-suppression will, in turn, cause greater yeast development in the body to actually cause cavities.

There is no wonder about why such gums are so well loved by the American Dental Association.  It's like the thing with fluoride supposedly "stopping cavities" instead of actually causing more, along with various other dental problems.

Gum Base

Instead of telling customers what they are really eating, 'gum base' is used to generalize a list of ingredients that is never published.  As the name implies, it is the foundation agent of chewing gum.  We have tried exhaustively to find exactly what 'gum base' is made from.  On one website after another, we found the following babble, which is obviously meant to derail serious research:

"Gum base is produced through a blend of raw materials which can be categorized in five classes:

1. Elastomers, act as the key ingredient and provide elasticy
2. Resins act as binders and softeners
3. Plasticizers render the elastomer soft to ensure thorough blending of the gum base
4. Fillers contribute to the overall texture
5. Antioxidants prevent oxidation of the gum base and flavors during shelf life"

Since this was repeated identically at all websites that we looked at, we can only assume that all of these companies are actually owned by the same people, or at least they are working together as a cartel to cover-up an honest disclosure of what is in their gums.  We found out that the gum base is usually a commercial trade secret.   None of the websites told us the full ingredients.  For instance, exactly what plasticizer is used?  Are people chewing on super-toxic PVC?  The plasticizing agents could contain dioxins for all we know, and quite frankly, they probably really do.

After much more research, we found one Chinese company who told us about their ingredients.  Wuxi Yueda Gum Base Manufacture Co, Ltd said:

"It is made of several food grade raw materials, which are rubber (food grade), glycerol ester of rosin, paraffin waxes, polyvinyl acetates, talc powder and calcium carbonate."

Glycerol ester of rosin is often made from the stumps of pine trees.  It is used industrially to create fast-drying varnishes.  The Internet is riddled with stories of people who had severe allergic reactions to it, usually causing a swollen throat that led to difficulty breathing.  Glycerol ester of rosin is now being added to soft drinks, though federal limits ensure that its quantity remains under 100 p.p.m..  This safety limitation does not apply to chewing gum.

Talc has been linked to lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and fibrotic pneumoconiosis with just transdermal exposure.  It is very rarely put into products that are to be consumed.  In fact, the only other consumable products that we have seen containing talc is diet aids (most are extremely toxic).  Talcum powder was once used on small children, but it has now been replaced with cornstarch, due to safety concerns.  It's too dangerous to touch the skin, but absorbing it straight into the bloodstream  ― that's okay!  It sounds like we must be talking about vaccines again, doesn't it?

Polyvinyl acetate is not quite P.V.C..  It's P.V.A..  P.V.A. is frequently referred to as 'Carpenter's glue' or simply 'white glue'.  Remember that this is not being used as an industrial product, but as something that children are frequently given to chew on ('gum base' is in bubble gum too).  This goes quite well with the paraffin wax, which is derived from refined petroleum.

Aspartame and Acesulfame Potassium (otherwise written as Acesulfame K)

Aspartame is one of the most controversial additives of all time, and sits alongside M.S.G. and saccharin in terms of both consumer trust and safety.  Its presence in foods has nothing to do with safety, but everything to do with politics and money.

Aspartame has been linked to just about every health condition known, from seizures to brain tumors.  Some epileptic patients have recovered from their condition simply from the elimination of this toxin from their diets.  It is found in diet foods, diet drinks and sugar-free products as an alternative to sugar.  Aspartame is a cure that remains worse than the disease.  Aspartame is an excitotoxin, which means that it over-excites the neurons in the brain, until they burn out, causing lowered intelligence and a host of neurological problems.

Dr. Russell Blaylock is the leading expert on the dangers of aspartame.  He helped produce the documentary, "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World" which catalogs the health problems caused by Aspartame.  Aspartame can cause diabetes, fibromyalgia, lowered I.Q., obesity, multiple sclerosis, asthma, insomnia, muscle spasms, and a total of 92 known symptoms.

Acesulfame Potassium has similar properties to aspartame, and is believed to be a cancer risk.  The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has petitioned the F.D.A. for a stay of approval, due to the lack of testing done on this substance.  Studies on animals have shown a correlation between acesulfame potassium and various tumors.

Calcium Casein Peptone-Calcium Phosphate

While we would love to be able to provide lots of information on this ingredient, we can't.  We simply don't know.  It's only appearance is in Trident gum (the worst brand), and thus we were unable to find studies or any other information about it.  It could be a whitening agent.  It's important to note that casein is a milk-extractive that was linked with the Chinese baby formula poisonings.  Trust this ingredient at your own risk, but we would never put something in the mouth that has its research hidden from the public.

BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)

B.H.T. is a preservative which has been linked to cancer, and is banned in the United Kingdom and Japan.  It is unbelievably sold as a "dietary supplement", and some people believe that it has anti-viral effects.  So does gasoline and rat poison for that matter.  We do not recommend it, because of the safety implications.  It causes kidney and liver damage.  Benjamin Feingold (creator of the 'Feingold diet') linked it to hyperactivity in children in the 1970's, as a large component of A.D.H.D..

Prologue

For the sake of brevity, we will not continue to examine all of the ingredients in most chewing gum.  Chewing gum is easily one of the most toxic products available, and it is difficult to ever know exactly what it contains due to vague terms such as 'gum base' and 'artificial flavors'.  They're trade secrets, and probably include hundreds of ingredients that they are unwilling to disclose.  You have no right to know.

You can purchase natural gum, which is made from chicle, a tree that is native to central America.  There was a time when all chewing gum was made in this manner, but it is more expensive, and thus less popular among companies.  Natural gum can be purchased online or from health food stores.