More than 40% of adults worldwide are prone to obesity and are on a weight-loss journey. IF, or intermittent fasting, is rapidly taking the lead as the most popular diet for anyone trying to lose weight.
One common question experts have to encounter regarding fasting is: Can you chew gum while fasting? According to the experts, chewing gum with sugar can break the fast. However, sugar-free gum contains extremely few calories, so chewing it during a fast has little effect on insulin levels. Even with stricter fasting guidelines, no calorie intake is permitted, not even from sugar-free gum.
Does Chewing Gum Break A Fast?
Although the notion of fasting is not new, there are differences in the guidelines based on the kind of fast and the reason behind the fasting. Regular chewing gum has sugar and calories in it. A stick or two might not end the fast, but consuming more than this might. However, some fasts are stricter than others and forbid consuming any food or liquid that contains calories.
Chewing sugar-free gum will be a good option for people who cannot give up using chewing gum but are concerned about breaking their fast. This has almost few calories and no sugar, so it doesn’t trigger an insulin reaction—which people associate with ending a fast.
Does chewing gum have calories?
It is obvious that gum has calories, but its degree varies depending on the brand. There are zero to ten calories per stick in many sugar-free chewing gums. However, a stick of regular chewing gum might have up to 30 calories in it. Consuming multiple pieces of gum can break the fast, especially if it’s a stricter fasting regimen like water-only fasting.
Will sugar-free gum break a fast?
Most fasting allows the intake of very low-calorie foods and drinks. In health-related fasting, such as intermittent fasting, the body is put into a state of ketosis. In this condition, the body burns fat rather than glucose, or sugar, for energy.
Most people agree that the body will keep fasting if no more than 50 calories are consumed during the fast. In this instance, consuming one or two pieces of regular chewing gum will not break the fast. Sugar-free gums are much lower in calories than regular gum, so they certainly won’t break the fast. Nevertheless, it still depends on the gum’s brand. Since sugar-free sweeteners can have calories, the person may risk going overboard and inadvertently breaking their fast.
What are the benefits of chewing gum while fasting?
- Manage Hunger
One study indicated that chewing gum for 30 minutes during a fast increased fullness and stabilized levels of GLP-1, a hormone that suppresses appetite. Another study found that chewing sugar-free gum for an hour during a fast also decreased hunger, suggesting that gum can help eat less and avoid overindulging at the next meal.
Chewing has been shown to reduce desire and attention to food, which can help avoid breaking the fast through impulsive eating. Therefore, chewing gum can regulate hunger and reduce appetite, which is advantageous during fasting.
- Enhances Oral Health
Saliva output rises when chewing gum. The saliva guards against erosion and rotting in the mouth, especially around the gums. More saliva may also help remove the microbial buildup in the teeth, residual food, and dangerous carbohydrates that support hazardous oral bacteria.
More precisely, xylitol, which inhibits the growth of nasty oral bacteria that cause tooth decay and bad breath, is one of the most popular sweeteners in sugar-free gum. Gum that has been sweetened with xylitol has been shown to reduce oral bacteria by up to 75%. Therefore, it might be beneficial for the teeth and the fast, which allows eating sugar-free gum.
Can you chew gum while fasting?
The answer to this question depends mainly on the type of fasting an individual participates in. Some fasts, like intermittent fasting, permit foods and liquids with low-calorie counts; however, most fasts contemplate breaking when an insulin response is triggered, which can happen in the presence of sugar and carbohydrates.
What type of fasting are you in?
Low-calorie snacks and drinks are permitted during intermittent fasting as long as they don’t cause an insulin reaction. In this instance, it is acceptable to have sugar-free, calorie-free gum throughout the fasting window.
Other fasting methods, like water-only fasts and some religious fasts, like those observed during Yom Kippur and Ramadan, forbid the consumption of any food or liquid, which includes regular or sugar-free gum. Here, chewing gum is similar to having a full meal.
Is the gum regular or sugar-free?
Whether the gum is regular or sugar-free should also be considered while consuming it during fasting. Regular chewing gums frequently contain added sugars for flavor. However, that also means there are more calories.
Health-related fasts and relaxed fasting techniques allow for the consumption of one or two pieces of regular gum. However, it might be sufficient to trigger an insulin response and break the fast if the gum is consumed for a longer period, if the gum contains more sugar than usual, or if the body is sensitive to sugar.
Conclusion
Sugar-free gum has few calories and has no effect on insulin levels, so it’s unlikely to disrupt the fast. More stringent fasting regimens might forbid ingesting any calories. Furthermore, certain gum varieties contain a lot of sugar and may result in hunger, particularly if many sticks are consumed at a time.
Chewing gum can help reduce appetite and cravings, but only sugar-free kinds should be used, and moderation is advised.
