ARE YOU A CHAIN CHEWER

According to an article in Time magazine,  chewing gum has a lot of positives. Since I'm a Chain Chewer; meaning when I buy a pack of gum I have it finished off in about an hour, I thought I better find out if its okay.  Here are some findings from an article in Time.

BENEFITS OF CHEWING GUM

  • Chewing gum can boost your mood and alertness while fighting stress.There is evidence that chewing increases blood flow to the brain, which may contribute to the increase in alertness that is consistently associated with gum chewing.
  • Chewing gum seems to reduce your levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
  • Chewing gum may temporarily turn off some of your brain’s stress-elevating “I need food” alarms, and so it may help lower worry and improve calm.
  • BEWARE: Chewing certain flavors of gum at the wrong time may be problematic for people hoping to eat healthier.
  • Experiments also showed people who chewed gum frequently ate fewer meals than non-chewers—but tended to load up on calories when they did eat. While many interpreted this as proof that gum isn’t an effective diet aid.

Those people who ended up swallowing 67% fewer calories at lunchtime, compared to their midday meals on a day when they didn’t chew gum. And no, they didn’t make up those calories during the afternoon and evening.

BEST ADVICE ON CHEWING

If you’re going to chew, choose sugar-free gum. While sugar-sweetened gum is bad for your teeth, chewing sugarless gum stimulates saliva flow, which reduces plaque and helps prevent cavities. Plus, 600 research papers came to the same conclusion; chewing gum is good for your teeth, so long as you’re chomping on the sugar-free stuff.Gum may provide a quick pick-me-up if you’re feeling frazzled, unfocused or famished. And while chewing the mint varieties before meals or snacks may lead you to select less-healthy foods, a stick of sugar-free gum after a meal could protect your teeth from cavities.

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