Is Chewing Gum a Helpful Weight Loss Method?

Many people have believed that chewing gum is a helpful weight loss method. Is there any proof behind that? The truth is that chewing gum that is sugar-free can be a great habit for helping you to lose weight. When you have a mint or flavorful taste in your mouth, you may even be less likely to eat unhealthy tasty treats. The research is somewhat lacking in regards to this weight loss method but there are some things you should know so you can make your own logical decision on whether this habit is something you want to use. There are studies that show a reduced food intake when you are chewing gum regularly.

Less Calories

Consider how many calories you are having when you always grab for a second serving or even a third serving of food at a meal. Those calories are going to add up. Now consider how many fewer calories you are having if you just have one serving and then you have a piece of gum afterwards. The numbers are majorly different. If you want to have fewer calories, just grab a piece of gum, instead of a second serving of food.

Reducing Cravings

Many people have chewed gum to reduce their cravings for unhealthy snacks. This has worked for most those who have tried it. This theory generally works for a couple of different reasons. The taste of gum can fulfill your sweet cravings for some time so you can get distracted from the cravings you have. Chewing the gum can also help you to get rid of the taste you are craving in your mind.

Weight Loss or Regulation

The weight loss you want to achieve or even the regulation of weight you want can be achieved and chewing gum could help you with this. There have been studies done that show this relation with chewing gum. In many of these studies, for most participants who chewed gum around 1 ½ hours each day were able to lose more weight than those who hadn’t chewed any gum. However, it should be noted that those who lost more weight were not already overweight or obese at the beginning of the study.

Decrease of Hunger

Studies have also been done regarding hunger that people have. During these studies people were told to chew one minty-tasting gum and one fruity-tasting gum. Some study participants only had one type of gum and others had both types of gum. Those that were chewing both types of gum reported feeling a decrease in their hunger than those who only chewed one type of gum.

Drawbacks of This Weight Loss Method

You may want to know if there are any drawbacks of this weight loss method as you would want to know with any other type of method for losing weight. There are many sugar-free gums that are created with sugar alcohol.  These have calories but they fewer calories than sugar gum. Additionally, sugar-free gum may have flavorings that are artificial which some people have sensitivities too. You could talk with your doctor about the concerns you have about this type of gum. Having too much sugar-free gum could cause negative laxative effects on your digestive system. Additionally, when you chew gum, you swallow air more often, which means more stomach discomfort, gas and bloating too.

Possible Method for You

You may be wondering whether this is the right weight loss method for you. There have been studies that show this could help with weight loss. However, that is mainly due to curbing cravings and reducing hunger. You won’t get major weight loss just by chewing gum. If you want to reduce food cravings, hunger and lose some weight, you may want to try chewing gum. If you have any concerns regarding this weight loss method, you can speak with your doctor or a nutritionist about this method.