"You A Gum Chewer?...You May Want To Rethink Your Gum Chewing Habit."

"You A Gum Chewer?...You May Want To Rethink Your Gum Chewing Habit."
Layne Kilpatrick

"You Are Chewing The Exact Ingredients In Tires & Glue With A Hefty Dose Of Plastic."

"The US FDA Allows Gum Manufacturers To Hide 100s Of Chemicals Within 'Gum Base' On Ingredient Labels."

Some of the substances used in common chewing gums include styrene-butadiene, polyethylene & polyvinyl acetate—compounds found in tires, plastic bags & wood glue, respectively.

Most chewing gum today contains synthetic chemicals & plastics as part of its "gum base".

Modern synthetic gum bases include:

Polyethylene: A common type of plastic used to make items like plastic bags & milk jugs.

Polyvinyl acetate: A plastic used in wood glue.

Styrene-butadiene rubber: A synthetic rubber used to manufacture car tires.

Paraffin wax: A petroleum byproduct.

Major gum manufacturers like Wrigley don’t disclose these chemicals, instead choosing to hide them behind the vague term “gum base.”

But now you’ll know that whenever you see the term “gum base” on a pack of Doublemint, you might as well be chewing on a set of Michelin tires & washing it down with a thick glass of Elmer’s glue.

The FDA allows manufacturers to list "gum base" as a single ingredient rather than disclosing each of its individual components, which includes synthetic plastics & rubbers. The specific formula for a brand's gum base is typically a trade secret.

FDA regulations on gum base is basically no regulation at all:

A "food additive" category: The FDA classifies "chewing gum base" as a food additive that may contain any number of individual substances.

Undisclosed formula: A manufacturer can use any ingredient they coin as GRAS, Generally Recognized As Safe. It is 100% legal to have hidden materials in their proprietary gum base formula without listing them individually on the chewing gum's ingredient label, as long as they are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) or approved food additives.

Consumer advocacy: This practice has drawn criticism from consumer advocates who argue that the GRAS designation is overly vague & allows companies to hide potentially harmful chemical additives from the public.

Natural Chewing Gum Alternatives:
SIMPLY GUM: A widely available and well-known brand of natural, plastic-free gum. It is made with natural chicle, organic cane sugar & natural flavors. Simply Gum is also free of aspartame & other artificial sweeteners.
THE HUMBLE CO: This brand offers a sugar-free, biodegradable gum made from natural ingredients.
NATHAN & SONS UNDERBRUSH CHEWING GUM: This gum is handcrafted from natural tree saps like acacia, chicle & spruce. The company emphasizes that its gum has a different, sap-based texture compared to conventional plastic gums.
CHEWSY: A plant-based, plastic-free & sugar-free chewing gum. Chewsy uses a biodegradable, natural gum base & is sweetened with xylitol.
WELDENTAL: This brand is noted for both its plastic-free gum formula & its packaging. The gum comes in plastic-free packaging, such as cardboard tubes & uses a plant-material eco-bag for refills.

👇UCLA Finds Plastics In Chewing Gum👇
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/bursting-your-bubble-chewing-gum-releases-microplastics-into-your-saliva-ucla-research-shows
👇What Chewing Gum Is Actually Made From👇
https://theconversation.com/chewing-gum-is-plastic-pollution-not-a-litter-problem-251662
👇Microplastics Are Plaquing Up Your Arteries👇
https://nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2309822
Speaker: @hormonespecialist