Nobody wants to look at their midsection and feel like the Pillsbury Doughboy. Be that as it may, bloating is a common challenge that many people have to overcome. It can be especially annoying if the primary goal is to achieve a flatter stomach. All of your workout efforts may seem like they aren’t effective if your stomach remains bloated. 

It’s important to understand that bloating and weight gain are not the same, despite the fact that they can appear that way. Fat is not the direct result of gas and water, which typically contribute to bloating. If you balloon up overnight or over the course of a couple days, true weight gain is not the culprit. That’s a little reassuring, but it doesn’t solve the problem. You need to de-bloat and get that stomach back to a flatter state. How do you do that? We have seven simple ways that can help you below. 

Foam Roll Your Belly

Roll out your stomach to relieve stomach tension and built-up gas bubbles that may cause discomfort and bloating. According to several research studies, abdominal massages may relieve bloating. To give yourself an abdominal massage, lie facedown on top of your foam roller. Gently roll up and down to help relieve pressure from the sternum to the pelvis. Not only does this help eliminate gas, but it may even improve digestion.

Avoid Dairy

If you are lactose intolerant, the body cannot properly process dairy. An estimated 68% of the world’s population has lactose malabsorption, which isn’t the same as intolerance. It just means that people are more sensitive to dairy. When the body cannot properly break down dairy, the most common bodily response is gas, diarrhea, or bloating. Do your best to avoid dairy products and opt for one of the many plant-based dairy alternatives that exist. 

Put The Soda Away

Bubbly beverages beget bloating and burping. Alliteration aside, carbonated beverages like sodas typically lead to bloating. When bubbly beverages are responsible, it’s typically because the body cannot release gas via belching. Focus on consuming water, tea, or freshly made juices instead of carbonated beverages if you want your bloating to calm down. 

Eat Fermented Foods

The common saying is, “Happy wife, happy life,” but it should be, “happy gut, happy life.” That’s not as catchy, even though consuming beneficial bacteria encourages a healthier digestive system. Fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, fermented vegetables, kefir, and kombucha can promote a healthier microbiome. Repopulating the gut with beneficial bacteria helps break down food and reduce puffiness. Some studies found that probiotics in sauerkraut may reduce belly bloat. Not all probiotic strains work to reduce bloating, so you must choose your fermented foods wisely, as some are not as healthy as you think. 

Don’t Chew Sugar-Free Gum

People chew sugar-free gum because of the low calorie content, but the sugar alcohols are quite harmful to your system. These sugars have been bound with alcohol so that the body can only digest part of that sugar. As a result of partial digestion, the body experiences negative gastrointestinal side effects like gas and bloating. 

Eat Fiber, But Don’t Go Crazy

Fiber is necessary as it helps the body move food through the digestive tract. Additionally, fiber assists with the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut. You can go overboard with fiber, though, and encourage the growth of unhealthy bacteria that can cause bloating or gas. If you experience bloating and you eat a lot of fibrous foods, consider tapering off the fiber-rich superstars. Alternatively, you may need to consume more fiber if you don’t have enough in your current diet. 

Water Is The Answer

Despite that fact that water retention can contribute to an inflated midsection, drinking water will not cause more ballooning. If you don’t drink enough water, the body will retain water to avoid dehydration. When you regularly drink water, however, the body flushes out some of its stores and can reduce bloating. Coffee and tea do not take the place of water, so make sure to focus your efforts on water consumption if you want belly bloat to go away. 

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Some people read the title of this article and probably said, “How and why would I ever give up dairy?” Giving up some of your favorite foods like ice cream or cheese may seem impossible; it may not even seem necessary. Would it seem necessary if you were told that giving up dairy could lead to clearer skin, fewer allergy symptoms, and an easier time losing weight? Those are some great reasons to go dairy-free!

Some people are intolerant to dairy and they don’t even know it. They just pass off the signs of being lactose intolerant as normal bodily things that happen. You may not realize it, but dairy is in more foods than you think. Studies show that it is addictive and because of how widely it is used in the food industry, you keep coming back for it without knowing it. Dairy can be in most packaged foods that may not seem like they contain milk, butter, or cheese. These foods can include:

• Chewing gum
• Cereals
• Salad dressings
• Crackers or chips
• Meats (canned or processed meats, including deli meats)
• Donuts
• Nougat

And the following ingredients have milk in them, so look out if you see these names on the label:

• Curd
• Ghee
• Hydrolsates
• Rennet
• Whey
• Artificial butter or cheese flavor
• Lactose, lactoglobulin, lactoferrin, lactulose
• Lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate

Know The Enemy

Dairy products are sneaky and confusing because of how they can be in things that seemingly shouldn’t contain dairy. It takes time and lots of focus to know the enemy in its many forms. Become knowledgeable on the many names of dairy to successfully go dairy-free. Always look for “contains milk” on the product.

Go Cold Turkey And Try Not To Cheat

Don’t phase out the dairy products you consume. Eliminating dairy products one by one will only prolong the process, and it can even make you crave other unhealthy foods. Once you decide to go dairy-free, do it! While it is possible that you’ll find yourself snacking on a piece of cheese or taking a couple bites of ice cream during the process, don’t let this derail your efforts. Get back on track and try to keep these items out of your house, so you don’t go crawling back to them.

Embrace Nut & Seed Milks

We have to say this as a disclaimer: try to make your own nut or seed milks at all times. A lot of bottled nut or seed milks can have hidden sweeteners or processed ingredients that can irritate the intestines. If you can’t make your own or don’t have time, get the organic, unsweetened varieties without added flavors. If you are allergic to nuts and seeds, try coconut milk, but make sure you opt for the BPA-free cans with no additives. Avoid dairy replacements as well. You don’t need soy-based cheeses because they aren’t conducive to your overall health.

Eat More Whole Foods

There are too many food additives that contain dairy products, which is why it is optimal to choose whole foods. The less ingredients something has, the better. Foods with short ingredient lists can still contain dairy derivatives, though, so try to opt for fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes.

Keep Snacks On Hand

When you make a big dietary change, a common side effect is hunger. When you don’t have healthy snacks at the ready, your hunger can dictate your food choices, which can derail your diet. Try to keep an assortment of fruit or vegetable sticks, trail mix, homemade energy bars, or baked kale chips. Check out our snacks section for recipe ideas.

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Have you ever put on a fitted pair of jeans easily, but then, after a meal, your bloated belly prevented you from zipping them up? Well, you are not alone because bloating is an extremely common and annoying symptom, which is usually the result of a gastrointestinal problem. Bloating is never fun and is sometimes an inconvenience.

What is Bloating?

Bloating happens when your abdomen is filled with gas or liquid, which causes you discomfort. Sometimes your stomach looks visibly swollen and interferes with social occasions or exercising. Bloating is can be caused by the foods you eat, but it can also be due to a digestion issue. Different foods will affect the body differently, and some can even ferment in the digestive system, which is another cause of bloating. Allergies, a hormonal imbalance, thyroid dysfunction, constipation, or even antibiotics can cause bloating. Yes, antibiotics can kill the good bacteria, in addition to the bad bacteria, in your stomach because they cannot decipher which is which. This is why probiotics are often recommended to take for people who are bloated.

5 Tips to Stop Bloating

1. Drink Water

Sometimes it is necessary to fight fluid with fluid. Staying hydrated helps proper digestion by moving food and fluids through your body. A good rule of thumb is to drink a minimum of eight 8oz. glasses of water every day to stay properly hydrated. If you are going to exercise, make sure not to drink too much water right before your workout because this creates a sloshy feeling that can make the belly swell. Drink about 16oz of water an hour before your workout, but sip water throughout exercising.

2. Avoid Gum and Carbonation

Carbonated drinks like soda, beer, champagne, or anything that fizzes can promote gas in the abdomen. A lot of carbonated drinks contain sugars or artificial sweeteners like aspartame, which does not get metabolized and causes bloating. When it comes to chewing gum, bloating can occur because you tend to swallow a lot of air during the act. Furthermore, when you chew gum you send your body physical signals that food is about to enter. The enzymes and acids that are activated when you chew gum are therefore released, but the food they intended to digest isn’t there. This can cause bloating, an overproduction of stomach acid, and can compromise your ability to produce sufficient digestive secretions when you actually do eat food. Sometimes chewing gum is a nervous habit that just needs to be broken. If you are bloated from either carbonation or chewing gum, try drinking peppermint tea or lemon water. These are both kind to the stomach and can help relieve bloating.

3. Choose Potassium & Magnesium

By eating potassium-rich foods, you can help balance the fluid in your body and decrease bloating. Magnesium-rich foods help to relax your intestines, making it easier for things to move through your digestive tract. It’s best to eat avocados, mangos, bananas, raw nuts and seeds, dark leafy greens, asparagus, tomatoes, and cantaloupe to incorporate potassium and magnesium in your diet. If you have a lot of water weight, avoid water-rich fruit like melons, apples, or pears. If you have gas, however, these water-rich fruit can help provide relief from symptoms.

4. Fill up with Fiber

Bloating can be a result of constipation, which can be remedied by eating fibrous foods. In addition to increasing your fiber intake, take a 15-20 minute walk every day to promote digestive movement. Sometimes a diet that is too high in fiber can lead to constipation, especially if you drastically changed from a low-fiber diet to a high-fiber diet. If you get constipated from fibrous foods, you can use the other techniques in this list to help relieve bloating. Good sources of fiber include apples, blackberries, lentils, pears, lima beans, dark leafy greens like spinach or kale, bananas, broccoli, raspberries, kiwis, figs, or artichokes.

5. Get Your Yoga On

Yoga can be very beneficial in helping to reduce bloating, but it all depends on the poses. Because yoga helps to relieve tension in the body, it can promote healthy circulation and movement in the body. There are 6 yoga poses that help decrease bloating more than others. Downward Facing Dog, Revolved Chair Pose, Supine Spinal Twist, Revolved Wide-Legged Forward, Revolved Side Angle Pose, and Half Lord of the Flashes are the poses to practice. They involve torso rotation and spinal relaxation.

No one likes to feel bloated, so deflate that bubble in your stomach with the above tips. Let us know if these tips helped you.

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Did you know that on Thanksgiving, the average American consumes an extra 4,500 calories? That’s the equivalent of 15 McDonald’s cheeseburgers. Needless to say, the holidays are designed for weight gain. There are just too many parties, too much booze, and if you’re unlucky enough to be located outside of SoCal, too many cold, cuddly days where Netflix marathons beat out actual marathons.

That being said, gaining holiday weight doesn’t have to happen. With a little planning and a little sacrifice, you can emerge on the other side of the holidays unscathed. Below you’ll find 14 tips that will keep your hunger in check throughout the day.

Exercise in the Morning

Exercising in the morning supports better behavior throughout the rest of the day, according to a study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Using MRI scans, researchers found that when people worked out in the morning, they weren’t as tempted as those who didn’t do a morning workout. In other words, better willpower throughout the day. And this sort of makes sense, right? You don’t want to waste all your good gains when you work out.

Eat Breakfast

The day of Thanksgiving, it’s important to keep your regular eating habits beforehand. That way, when you finally arrive to the party, you won’t be absolutely starving. Consider having a high-protein, healthy breakfast that will sustain you well past your Aunt Arlene’s Frito Cheese Dip appetizer.

Chew Gum While Cooking

A 5 star chef may consider this a cardinal sin, but if you’ve got your recipe down pat, consider chewing gum (or brushing your teeth) while cooking. It’ll help you avoid the temptation of licking the batter and otherwise sampling too much.

Dress Your Best

Wearing great clothes, especially formfitting ones, makes it easier for you to stay conscious of how much food you’re putting into your body. It’s harder to engorge on chips and dip when you’re clothes are keeping you looking oh so fine.

Serve Something Healthy

You might not be able to control what other people are bringing to Thanksgiving, but by bringing a healthy dish, you’ll at least have one course to fall back on. Consider a green salad with lots of high potassium fruits like strawberries and banana.

Avoid Soda

Soda is one of the worse ways to “spend” your daily calories. A can of pop doesn’t do anything to make you feel satiated so just skip it. It’s a simple way to avoid hundreds of calories with hardly any effort. Consider water with lemon or – if you must – soda water with lemon. Not a fan of lemon? Try cucumber, cranberries, or even a slice of ginger instead.

Avoid Alcohol

Just like soda, alcohol contains a lot of empty calories. If you can avoid it during the holidays, not only will you be saving yourself a loop or two on your belt, you’ll also not get so tipsy that you say fuhgeddaboudit and dive into the chips and dip.

Use the Smallest Plate

This trick is surprisingly effective at keeping your calorie count down throughout the day.

Cover Your Plate with Veggies

Think of your plate like a lotto scratch card. Cover it first with vegetables and then “scratch” them away by eating them. Once the clean, empty plate appears, you can then return to the buffet and eat the heavy stuff. Remember, it takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal that you’re full. Spending those 20 minutes on healthy foods will help you slow down before you start shoveling in the good stuff.

Avoid Whites

Bread, pastries, mashed potatoes, rice — these simple carbs are just like soda: they don’t really give you any bang for your caloric buck. Instead, consider whole wheat breads, sweet mashed potatoes, and brown rice. If you absolutely must have something white, opt for cauliflower or garlic.

No Food At the Table

Everything should be served buffet or restaurant style. Doing so means that when everyone sits down, that second (or third or fourth) roll isn’t within reach, it’s back at the buffet line. Forcing your guests to (gasp!) stand for seconds, may encourage them to think twice.

Chew Slowly

Eating slowly serves many purposes: it calms you down, makes you feel less hungry, and gives you space to enjoy your food, which means you’ll need less of it to feel satisfied (e.g. 1 slice of pie instead of 2). Like we said before, you get full before your brain gets the signal, so the slower you eat, the better.

Walk it Off

We’ve all heard that turkey makes us sleep, but did you know that this idea is actually a myth? Recent studies have confirmed that it isn’t the turkey that puts us into a food coma, it’s the carbs. Avoid your after-dinner slump by heading out on a brisk walk. It’s refreshing, improves digestion, and gives you a little space from all those mashed potatoes that are still tempting you on the counter.

Skip the Leftovers

Engorging on Thanksgiving Day is bad enough, but we compound the damage by having pumpkin pie sitting around the house for the next five days. Avoid keeping leftovers at your house at all cost. It’ll keep you from being tempted.

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Yes, beware of toothpaste! Commercial brand toothpastes, that is!

Toothpaste

Commercial brand toothpastes contain caustic and toxic ingredients known to affect physical health. There’s a reason why if it’s ingested in large quantities that the consumer is directed to call a poison control center.

Many commercial brand toothpastes contain ingredients such as sodium fluoride, propylene glycol, sodium laurel sulfate, sodium saccharin, polyethylene, Blue Lake #1, D & C Red #30 Lake, and FD & C Blue #1 Lake.

Sodium fluoride (aka Flouride) is a toxic chemical used in rat poison. Teeth do not require fluoride, but fluorine. Fluoride is not a mineral or element, but fluorine is. Fluorine helps prevent tooth decay. Organic fluorine is found in Black Walnut Hulls and Miswak (Peelu), although in very low concentrations.

Propylene glycol is an industrial agent. It is commonly used to keep products moist and is also used in car antifreeze solutions and de-icing solutions for cars, airplanes, and boats.

Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) is a surfactant and detergent commonly used in engine degreaser, garage floor cleaners, and car wash soaps. It’s also used clinical testing as a primary skin irritant.

Sodium saccharin is another ingredient in rat poison. In toothpaste, it’s a sweetener.

Polyethylene is PLASTIC.

Blue Lake, FD & C Lake, and all the Lakes are petroleum-derived dyes and known carcinogens. They are used in your toothpastes to give them color.

Sugar alternatives are commonly found in oral hygiene and toothpaste products. They don’t outright use sugar because toothpaste is supposed to fight against the damage of sugar so they use artificial sweeteners instead.

Natural Toothpaste or Tooth Powder Products

There are good alternative brands of toothpaste on the shelves of good health food stores such as Whole Foods Market, Trader Joes, Wild Oats, Natural Grocer Stores (Northern California), VP Discount Health Stores, Nature Mart (Los Angeles, CA), Erewhon (Los Angeles, CA), New Frontiers (Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona), Sevenanda (Atlanta, GA), and Simply Wholesome (Los Angeles, CA) just to name a few.

Good alternative brands of toothpaste include:

• Ayurveda
• Nature’s Gate
• Peelu
• Tom’s of Maine

Even with these alternative brands, it’s important to read the labels because many natural brands also add fluoride.

Herbs are great for tooth powder purposes. Peelu brand makes a great tooth powder, if you can tolerate the taste. Other herbs that make excellent tooth powders include White Oak Bark, Clove, Black Walnut Hull, Neem, Bayberry, Goldenseal, Witch Hazel bark, and Cranesbill.

Toothbrushes

Toothbrushes can be harmful if you use the wrong type or size for your teeth or gum condition. Use a toothbrush with very soft bristles. You can also use a towel to clean your teeth. Simply wet the towel and add a little herbal tooth powder to the towel and start brushing and polishing.

Healing Tooth Problems Naturally

For strong and healthy teeth, make sure you get optimal amounts of calcium phosphate, especially if you are pregnant. A developing baby can cause a pregnant woman to lose calcium, which is why many females experience problems with their teeth after pregnancy.

Essential oil of Clove is known to provide relief from tooth pain. Apply a few drops on to a Q-tip and apply to the toothache. This is just a temporary remedy until you can get yourself to a dentist, preferably a holistic dentist (if you can find one).

Many dental problems can be resolved through diet changes including plaque build up, sensitive teeth, gingivitis (bad breath), and stained teeth.

Tooth whiteners are toxic and potentially harmful to your health. Nothing whitens teeth better than Carbon, a/k/a Activated Charcoal. Though a tasteless black substance, this stuff whitens teeth and removes plaque at the same time. The substance is very powerful and also helps to maintain a healthy mouth pH balance.

Dietary Intervention

Eliminate meat, dairy products, refined grains and starches from your diet. Eliminate processed foods or greatly cut back on them. Processed vegan products are better than actual meat-based ones.

Consider going all raw (at least for purposes of healing). As raw foodism may be too strict for many, consider becoming a vegan. Eating fruits and vegetables are great for the teeth and gums. Strawberries are especially good to eat as they clean the teeth. Biting into a strawberry is one of the best things you can do for your teeth and gums.

Drinking vegetable juice and swooshing the juice around in your mouth is also healing for your teeth, gums and mouth.

Cilantro is good stuff if you have or had mercury filings in your mouth via teeth. Mercury leeches and eventually makes it way to the brain, which causes a host of problems, but cilantro can help detoxify the body of mercury.

Alkaline water is the best water you can drink for healing and health purposes. Always drink at least half your body weight in water. For example, if your total body weight is 160 pounds, you should drink at least 80 ounces because half of 160 is 80.

Stop chewing gum. For breath freshener, try Miswak (Peelu) sticks, Neem sticks, and/or Licorice sticks – all Nature’s toothbrush sticks..

Switch from drinking coffee to drinking coffee alternatives such as brands like Teeccino, Pero, and Cafix. Coffee alternatives are made from dried herbs, seeds, and fruits. Teeccino brand tastes good!

If you’re drinking coffee for that caffeine high, switch to herbs containing bio-active caffeine such as Yerba Mate, Kola Nut, Green Tea, or Guarana. The caffeine in these herbs is bio-active (alive) and not harmful on the body nor are they addictive.

If you use baking soda to brush your teeth, make sure the baking soda is ‘aluminum free.’

Make Your Own Mouthwash

Avoid using commercial mouthwash and gargling agents that contain toxic ingredients such as ALCOHOL (which has been implicated in cancer of the throat), PROPYLENE GLYCOL, SODIUM SACCHARIN, D&C and FD&C color dyes (petroleum), and SODIUM LAUREL SULFATE.

You can also make your own mouthwash using these guidelines:

• Base 1: Blend warm water, sea salt, and a few drops of tea tree oil
• Base 2: Blend warm water, sea salt, and hydrogen peroxide (3% variation, not 35% food grade variation which should be avoided for this purpose).
• Add essential oils to either base such as Clove, Tea Tree, Wintergreen, Spearmint and Peppermint

Clove and Tea Tree give your mouthwash antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antimicrobial properties and activities.

Gargling with a little hydrogen peroxide (top or cap full) is great for oral hygiene purposes, especially in cases of internal canker sores (oral herpes) and periodontal disease. If you suffer from or experience bleeding gums, gargle with hydrogen peroxide and a little sea salt which will help the bleeding to subside.

You can add a little vegetable glycerine to your mouthwash to make it a little sweet tasting. You can also add liquid chlorophyll to your mouthwash solution as well – gives it a nice green color.

Root Canals

And remember, there is no herbal alternative to a root canal. Herbs can’t replace surgery.

If you have a major dental issue, by all means seek the help you need and require. You can deal with the injection of drugs later on.

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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.

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.

Most Americans don’t have a clue that they are habitually chewing gum due to tension. They have been trained that something must always go into the mouth, that they must always be chewing or chomping down on something. Many people have an oral fixation but are totally oblivious and unconscious of this fact.

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.

Solutions

If you must chew gum, you should purchase the product from a health food store with moderately safe ingredients, brands such as:

• Peelu
• Glee Gum
• Spry, and
• Xylichew

They are made with far better and safer ingredients than the common commercial brand gums.

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