34. PROPER LADIES DON’T CHEW GUM

I went shopping with my neighbor and her two teenage daughters this week. When we got in the car, the girls immediately asked their mother for gum. She pulled a package from her purse and each one took a stick, unwrapped it and started chewing vigorously. Of course, they offered the gum to me, but I refused.

Gum chewing is probably unattractive to anyone except those who enjoy the habit. Many years ago, Emily Post said, “Proper young ladies should never chew gum in public because watching someone chew gum is, as older generations say, like watching a cow chew its cud.” Possibly chewing gum is more acceptable today, but it seems to me her advice is relevant in that it seems improper to chew gum in church, in meetings, at job interviews and in school. 

I remember a dear family member who truly enjoyed chewing gum. When she left the house to drive to work, she always popped a stick of gum in her mouth. Perhaps she liked the sweet smell the gum gave to her breath or maybe the gum calmed her to face the work world. Her habit might have been harmless at that time, but today there are serious problems related to gum.

The Food Babe gives two damaging results of chewing gum. First, when we chew, a signal goes to the brain that food is on its way. The digestive organs create enzymes for digesting food. Weeks and years of this process overtaxes the body and it becomes impossible to create the amount of enzymes that it once made.

Secondly, constant chewing can cause wear and tear on the jaws, bringing on TMJ, a dysfunction of the muscles of mastication. The jaws were made to masticate at least three meals a day, but more than this can damage the cartilage.

Thomas Corriher writes on The Health Wyze Report that the “ingredients in gum travel into the blood stream faster and in higher concentration than food, because they are absorbed straight through the walls of the stomach.” Then the report claims that gum is the most toxic product in the supermarket intended for internal use.

I was amazed to read the ingredients on gum wrappers and discover about 14 chemicals that are in most gums: sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, xylitol, aspartame, gum base, BHT, titanium dioxide, artificial and natural flavoring, acacia, acesulfame potassium, calcium casein peptone-calcium phosphate, candelilla wax, sodium stearate.

The first four named above are used as sweeteners that can be dangerous to diabetics, plus cause abdominal pains and diarrhea for anyone.

Next on the list is aspartame, which is perhaps the most harmful chemical used. It is linked to 92 illnesses including fibromyalgia, anxiety, memory loss, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Most are familiar with this chemical because it is widely used in food.  

Gum base is the foundation agent for chewing gum, which is a term used to generalize ingredients that are never published. It seems like we might be chewing on rubber and plastic.

Another chemical with a scary warning is BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), a preservative that has been linked to cancer and can cause liver and kidney damage.

Titanium dioxide, is so cancerous that external skin contact is enough to cause cancer.

There are several other chemicals listed, but checking the harmful effects will prove that not one of them is good for the human body.

A careful look at the side effects of the chemicals in gum should call for a commitment from every informed gum chewer: “ENDED—MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH CHEWING GUM!” 

LENTIL BURGERS
8 oz cooked lentils
2 T chicken seasoning
1 t oregano
1 t curry
1 clove garlic minced
1 large carrot grated
1 large onion chopped fine
1 large potato grated
1/3 c sunflower seeds
1/3 c flax seeds ground in coffee grinder
1 c rolled oats
1/4 c rice flour
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Add more liquid
or more flour as needed. Make into round patties
1/3 cup size. Place on a sprayed baking sheet and
bake about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Turn after
10 minutes.