Is anything we eat healthy?

Cooked up on March 16, 2012 in Mouth Full

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I’m really getting disgusted with all the things I read and see about the foods we eat. It’s unfortunate that companies out there care more about their bottom line than the health of their consumers. Times are a changing though and it seems we consumers are getting smarter and beginning to pay more attention to the ingredients in the things we eat.

There are many helpful health related resources out there to learn what’s good and what’s bad. One website I’ve began following is called Small Bites. Today they helped answer the following question I asked: I’ve recently started to wonder about all the bad ingredients used in chewing gum. Could you enlighten us on what to look out for? Do you have any suggestions for better alternatives?

Here is their response:

“Most commercial chewing gums contain sweeteners (either natural, artificial, or sugar alcohols), artificial flavors, controversial additives like butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) — banned in some countries — and that ever-so-vague ingredient: “gum base”.

The biggest brands’ gum base is made from petroleum-based polymers (yes, it is also what plastic bags and rubber tires are made from).

While the amount of aspartame in a stick of gum is significantly lower than that of diet soda (a stick of gum contains 6 – 8 mg, while a 12-ounce can of Diet Coke offers 180 mg), many people — myself included — aren’t too keen on chewing on a combination of artificial sweeteners, artificial additives, and polyethylene.

Some companies sell real chewing gum; that is to say, the gum base is made from chicle (a gum sourced from Sapodilla trees), rather than synthetic polymers. The most widely available brand I’m familiar with is Glee Gum.

PS: the average American chews 300 pieces of gum a year. And, for those of you curious about exactly how most commercial chewing gum is made, here is a short-and-sweet summary.”

Thanks Small Bites for answering my question!

Do you have any health related websites you like to read? Please share them with us in the comments!