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Sugar Free Gum Without Artificial Sweeteners or Colors? It Exists!

April 5, 2011   50 Comments

Sugar free gum is a great tool for helping you lose weight. AND, chewing a piece of gum (instead of a cookie) can help you relieve stress.

Aspartame Free Gum

If you grab some gum when you feel the desire to eat, you will give yourself a chance to become aware of your hunger. Are you hungry or do you just want to chew on something?

The problem is that the big commercial sugar free gums (Orbit and Extra) use aspartame, which many of us want to avoid. The Center For Science in the Public Interest has a nice review here aspartame about the potential adverse health effects of aspartame.

What to do?

Snack Girl is on the case with two different gums that don't include aspartame or artificial colors (see the article F.D.A. Panel to Consider Warnings for Artificial Food Colorings, March 29th, 2011).

Both Pür Gum and Glee Gum offer an aspartame and artificial color free choice.

gleegum

Of course, they are using another chemical to make up for their lack of sugar - xylitol. Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar substitute found in many fruits and vegetables and it is "tooth friendly".

You can't eat a lot of it because it may cause diarrhea when you have over 65 grams of it - but the piece of gum you are chewing will only have 2 grams. You will be fine if you stick to 20 pieces of gum per day.

Unlike aspartame, xylitol isn't man-made and hasn't been implicated in any cancer causing studies.

Pür gum comes in a couple of different (and yummy) flavors, pomegranate mint, spearmint, and peppermint.

Glee Gum is all-natural, gluten-free chewing gum with no artificial coloring, flavoring, sweeteners nor preservatives. Glee Gum is the only gum in North America made the old-fashioned way using chicle. Chicle is a natural tree sap harvested sustainably from the rainforests of Central America.

All chewing gum used to made with chicle, but today most gum is made entirely from synthetic stuff. Glee Gum uses chicle because it is an eco-friendly way to help conserve the rainforest.

Glee Gum has a sugar free version made with xylitol and they have gum that will put you back a mere FIVE calories with sugar in it.

For example, their cinnamon flavor has sugar, glucose, gum base, rice syrup, natural cinnamon flavor, gum arabic, red beet color, resinous glaze, beeswax and carnauba wax and it is five calories for 2 pieces. Check out Glee Gum's store locator to find it near you.

Both of these gums are great options but they are not ubiquitous. I could not find an aspartame free option at my local Stop & Shop so you are going to have to go out of your way to get your hands on these brands of gum.

Do you want to avoid asparame laden gums?

These products were received for review consideration. No other compensation was provided.

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First 20 Comments: ( See all 50 )

I have seen Glee Gum at my local natural food store, but it is quite expensive. I have to applaud them for making an all-natural chewing gum. I hate aspertame!

I love Glee gum! I actually get headaches from fake sweeteners. My doctor's advice: don't eat them! It's hard for me to find gum w/out fake stuff.

Glee is sold at Whole Foods and Trader Joes (so not out of your way per se if you live near one of those stores!)

Doesn't Trident use Xylitol in their gum? I remember the dentist mentioning it to me. I avoid the Extra's and Orbits but ususaly allow the kids to chew on Trident? Maybe I am wrong on this one :)

There's also Spry gum - http://www.xlear.com/xylitol-gum.aspx

comes in several different flavors and uses xylitol...it loses flavor a little quicker than most gum but definitely another aspartame-free option and it's sold at Whole Foods and other natural health food stores, I believe...

I haven't chewed a piece of gum in over 2 years because of the aspartame. I have always hated it though when my breath needed a freshener. Thanks for sharing these options!!

We are big gum chewers... I like Trident, it is made with Xylitol. My son chews Trident too and the dentist said it is good for your teeth. The dentist gives out xylitol suckers to the kids after their check ups. This is an interesting post though. Thanks!

I just bought a pack of a new gum at our health food store yesterday. It is called treehugger gum and it is a bag of gumballs for .99! Ingredients are cane sugar, dextrose, gum base and then natural flavors.... you can read more about it at www.treehuggergum.com

My kids love it and it looks like gumballs.

5 flavors come in each bag.

Sara

http://cookwith5kids.blogspot.com/

never heard of it and don't remember seeing anything like it @ my whole foods market. too bad u don't have any free samples.

Beware that xyllitol is harmful for your pets. I chew the Spry gum myself, but am very careful about not leaving it around. I don't think my dog would like it anyway- he's more into spoiled meat!

I LOVE PUR Gum! Have tried Spry too and it's great. Will be excited to find some "Glee" gum and give it a go too. Thanks for this one Snack Girl :)

I can't tolerate Xylitol. I bought some mint gum online with xylitol. It was very expensive. It gives me horrible gas and a stomach ache, even one piece. It's good for your teeth, so that's a shame.

I wish there was gum with Stevia. Love it!

I've tried Spry and Glee Gum but the flavor only lasts for like 2 minutes (whereas Extra lasts for like 20 minutes or more). You also can't blow bubbles with Glee Gum and Spry. I'll check out the Treehugger and Pur gum (if I can even find them). If not, I guess I'll just stick to Extra gum till I find a better alternative that's as pleasing.

Be very careful with Trident. Go here to read what else is in their gum. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/phenylalanine-000318.htm

It's something called PHENYLALANINE and it scares me because I have been chewing this gum for years. Somehow it's related to ASPARTAME which is also in their gum. Thanks for listing the other gums. I will be checking them out as I recently discovered some health issues I have been having may be aspartame related.

Because I have Celiac I read the ingredients in everything. I am also allergic to Aspartame. I could not believe how many gums they are now making with aspartame in them! You will be as surprised as I was when you read the ingredients on your favorite gums. I am so glad to find there are gums made without aspartame.

I looked through lots of major maker gums and found that for some reason Dentyne Fire Spicy Cinnamon contains no Asparatame / Nutrasweet, i.e., PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE Lots of names for one toxic ingredient. All Dentyne's other gums do. You can verify by looking here: http://www.dentyne.com/NutritionalInformation.aspx

I've bought it for quite a while as I can't afford more natural gums.

There is a gum made with stevia.Google it.

one of the major problems with Crohn's Disease is the lack of nutritional intake due the inability to take in a variety of foods that often hurt the individual. Vitamingum, being aspartame and sugar free and, fortified with 12 essential vitamins helped my son a lot. Those who suffer from this debilitating disease can actually benefit from chewing this gum because it is rapidly absorbed through the mucus linings and tongue.

For those who think Trident is "healthy" because it has no aspartame, it still has Acesulfame K and Sucralose (Splenda) in it. I am sorry if you think that makes it healthy just because it has xylitol in it as well. Do more research, especially if it will affect your health.

Hershey Company makes Sugarless Bubble Yum with no aspartame in it. Commonly found and enjoyable to chew.

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