Since giving up smoking in October I have been chewing copious amounts of sugar free gum to try and stop me eating all manner of rubbish. Can it cause problems with the diet or am I ok to continue with it. I dont want to start smoking again and I dont want to gain anymore than the 1/2 stone that Ive already gained. Any advice/comments gratefully received!!

In the grand scheme of things, it shouldn’t hurt. The book even recommends it. However, we will see in the near future what the verdict is about the effect sweeteners have on blood sugar levels. I don’t like gum myself as sweeteners make my teeth more sensitive and the gum pulls on one’s fillings! Sometimes though, you have to choose the lesser of two evils. If you need something then gum is a good no cal substitute. One final point, at the start of the diet most people don’t know how they will cope with so few calories. But I have observed many people who say they are not actually hungry a couple of weeks in. This is because carbs and particularly sugar give us false feelings of hunger. Once we stop eating them, we realise that we really don’t need to eat as much food as we used to. I understand, chezza, you have the added layer of quitting smoking in all this too. More power to you, you’ve made massive changes to your lifestyle. At this stage, if you want the gum, have the gum. If you have blood sugar issues you might notice if it affects you or not. If it doesn’t, keep the gum. wishing you continued success.

Thanks for that Janet. Good luck to you too!

I stress that I am no expert, but I read something about chewing gum some years ago which has stuck in my memory.

The burden of the article was that chewing gum can be a problem for some people. It said that when you chew, it stimulates the digestive system to produce the acids which will digest the food it is about to recieve. As no food arrives, then the acid is floating about in your digestive system with nothing absorb it. The result is damage or irritation to the digestive tract.

I have no idea if this is true or not, but it made sense to me and I haven’t chewed gum since.

Yes Stringbreaker, that makes perfect sense to me too. I don’t like gum for many reasons including this one.

I caught something on the radio the other day talking about recycling used chewing gum into a plastic substance and using it in some industrial setting for something or other – that made me pretty sure I didn’t want to eat any ever again.

Hi, I’ve started chewing gum at night when I want something sweet! Only thing it’s done for me is give me a sore jaw and bloated belly! But I haven’t had anything sweet for 3 weeks now, seem to have overcome my habit and can now walk down confectionary and biscuit aisles without a care!

I’ve been using it on and off for 5 months, no problems & I would prefer it than stuffing a cake in my mouth. Its all about what works for you.

I eat gum most days at work, it stops me wanting other nibbles. Customers often offer me biscuits and if my mouth is minty I’m less tempted lol. My losses do seem a bit slower than many (17 lbs in 8 weeks) but I doubt that’s about the gum. It doesn’t seem to cause me any issues.