Chewing Gum Ingredients

Made of artificial latex or chicle, chewing gums with their colorful colors and flavoring are a favorite of people around the world. In fact there are more than 1,000 varieties of gum manufactured and sold in the Untied States. They are not only available in a variety of flavors like mint, cinnamon and fruit flavors, but are also available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. For example, my favorite gums were the gum balls shaped like small balls and coated with sugar and the bubblegums that you could blow bubbles with (The liking part does not extend to the bubblegum getting plastered on the face after bursting). In addition to this, there are the center filled gums, the cut and wrap gums, stick gums and the spaghetti gums. While the coloring and the flavoring may differ in some way, the basic chewing gum ingredients remain the same.

List of Chewing Gum Ingredients

Gum Base: It is the gum base in a chewing gum which makes it all chewy. The International Chewing Gum Asscociation defines it as "made of a combination of food-grade polymers, waxes and softeners that give it the texture desired by consumers and enable it to effectively deliver sweetness, flavor and various other benefits, including dental benefits". This ingredient is therefore used for binding all the ingredients together for a smooth, soft texture. It is believed that the use of synthetic gum base materials can provide longer-lasting flavor, improved texture and reduced tackiness. Previously, the usual gum base used was the latex sap of the sapodilla tree known as the chicle. In addition to this, other natural gum bases used were sorva and jelutong. Beeswax or paraffin wax has also been known to be used as a gum base. In recent years the natural gum base slowly gave way to the synthetic rubber gum base or a mixture of the artificial and natural base.

Sweeteners: Sweeteners such as pure powdered cane sugar, beet juice, sugar and corn syrup are used in the production of sugar-sweetened chewing gums. Several types of high-intensity sweeteners along with some artificial sweeteners are used to deliver a long-lasting, but noncaloric taste to this form of candy. They include:

• Sorbitol
• Xylitol
• Maltilol
• Acesulfame K
• Aspartame

Preservatives: To maintain the freshness of the chewing gums, certain food preservatives are used to retain the flavors and help it last long.

Flavorings and Colorings: The flavor ingredients in chewing gums give them a long lasting, high intensity and high quality flavor. The most popular flavors for chewing gums come from the mint plant. The most commonly used flavors in chewing gums are peppermint, fruit, spice essences, cinnamon, spearmint and menthol. These chewing gum flavors are synthetically created and perfected in the lab.

Softeners: To keep the chewing gum soft and flexible, glycerin and other vegetable oil products were used to retain the moisture.

Chewing Gum: Health Effects

Increases Stomach Acid: Doctors have discouraged the consumption of chewing gums as the process of chewing gum over a long period of time believed to stimulate the stomach to produce acid to abnormal levels.

Dental health: One of the chewing gum benefits is that it freshens the mouth and throat and also fights tooth decay. Sugar-free gum sweetened with xylitol and sorbitol has been shown to reduce cavities and plaque by stimulating the production of saliva which helps starve the microorganisms and the plaque acid in the mouth. In addition to this it is also believed that calcium lactate in the chewing gums can increase recalcification. Certain chewing gums also have the ability to whiten teeth and to prevent stains from forming. However, you need to be aware of a sugary gum which can degrade the enamel quality.

Carcinogens: One of the chewing gum health issues is related to the cancer inducing ingredients present in various types of gums. It is believed that most chewing gums are sweetened with aspartame. The effects of intake of aspartame over a long period of time has been closely linked with cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders and birth defects.

Other chewing gum health problems include chronic constipation, abdominal pain, gas, and mouth ulcers. Also certain flavorings like liquorice may cause high blood pressure.

Irrespective of all these health problems posed by the chewing gum ingredients, these candies continue to be a favorite among people the world over. In fact one interesting chewing gum fact is that these candies are probably the oldest ones known to man. For example, the history of chewing gum and bubble gum includes evidence that ancient Greeks chewed on a gum made from a resin found in the bark of the mastic tree to get relief from stress. Similarly, even today people believe that chewing gum increases memory, reduces stress and even aids concentration.