Intermittent fasting is a popular way to shed some pounds. It’s a great way to pursue a healthy lifestyle even when losing weight might not be the ultimate goal. However, intermittent fasting can get slightly daunting, especially if you’re new to the course of fitness. Here’s how: eating over strictly controlled periods can make you super-hungry. Subsequently, hunger evolves into stress and affects everything that you do throughout your day, especially if you’re a parent, employed, or in the worst-case scenario, both. Moreover, the bigger question which looms is: can you chew gum while fasting?
People chew gum for a thousand reasons. Some of them may include stress relief, morning breath, dry mouth, teeth protection, etc. Surveys depict that nearly 48% of Americans used chewing gum in the year 2020. So why wouldn’t anyone use gum? It saves you from a variety of situations. Are you feeling anxious? Pop open a chewing gum. Are they having trouble concentrating at work? Chew some gum. Have they encountered a colleague with bad breath? Offer chewing gum. Piece of advice: Never refuse a mint-flavored chewing gum when someone offers. It’s for the greater good.
Chewing gum is one way to counter all the problems associated with intermittent fasting. It releases the stress that comes with hunger, and most importantly, it tricks your mind into believing that you have food. But, as lovely as it sounds, does it break the fast? Read further to find out.
Does Chewing Gum Break a Fast?
If you chew gum that contains sugar or artificial flavorings, it can throw off your fast. However, if the gum has no ingredients to dissolve and enter your stomach, you don’t have to worry about disrupting your fasting period! So if you’re wondering whether can you chew gum during Ramadan, as long as it contains nothing that can get into your stomach and break the fast, you should be fine. But if in doubt, it’s always best to check with your religious leaders or fasting experts. They’ll be able to advise and help you find the right type of gum to chew during Ramadan that won’t break your fast. However, you can always add juices to your diet as an alternate form of energy source. Drinking fruit juices, like orange juice or apple juice, will ensure your body is still receiving the nutrients it needs to stay healthy during fasting periods. So, while you may be tempted to chew gum, it’s important to remember that your health should come first. Most importantly, during a fast, incorporating diet cranberry juice into your diet can serve the same purpose as drinking other fruit juices. The unsweetened variety of cranberry juice, in particular, is packed with essential vitamins and minerals for a healthy lifestyle.
If Sugar Is The Problem, Will Sugar-Free Gum Help?
On average, there are approximately 2 grams of sugar in a single piece of gum. Exclude sugar from the gum. What do manufacturers use to make it taste sweet? The answer: artificial sweeteners. They’ll only take away the carbohydrates that come with the 2 grams of sugar. But then again, 2 grams barely add anything to body weight.
Nonetheless, what we should be concerned about is the insulin response. Artificial sweeteners can produce an insulin response as good as the one generated by sugar. Sugar-free chewing gums will only fool you into believing that you’re not putting up weight. They’re a scam.
Why Would One Want to Chew Gum In The First Place While Intermittent Fasting?
People tend to chew gum during fasting for a variety of reasons. Primarily because you want to keep your mouth working, it’s mainly psychological, and the incentive behind chewing gum during fasting differs from person to person. Some people may use it as a means to pass the time, something to keep them occupied. Other people use it to divert their focus from eating. What’s common among all these people is that they’re all unaware of the damage that comes along with the seemingly tiny, harmless piece of chewing gum.
The Good News
It’s not like chewing gum while intermittent fasting is a sin. It does take away the purpose but on a microscopic level. It’s not like you’ll chew a piece of gum and suddenly gain a whole kilogram. Of course, it’ll break your fast but won’t make a significant difference. Go for it if it’s the only thing that keeps you going with fasting. Some people tend to fast for long hours with the help of chewing gum. If that’s the case with you, pull out all the stops. Even so, avoid large quantities of gum in a day. While you’re at it, observe for a couple of weeks if your body and chewing gum work well with fasting. If you aren’t achieving your weight loss goals, you might want to omit the gum usage.
Can Chewing Gum Reduce Double Chin?
Double chin is the worst form of weight one can put on. While other body mass can be disguised using different clothing patterns, double chins are difficult to conceal. Thankfully, there are a few effective ways to get rid of double chins. One of them includes chewing gum. Regularly chewing gum can be a sort of workout for your face structure. It’s a gradual process, but you can notice the difference within a few weeks. After that, your double chin will diminish, and your jawline will hopefully get prominent.
Pro Tips for Intermittent Fasting
So what if you were planning to chew gum to pull through with this practice? There are other ways to overcome the difficulties that come with intermittent fasting. Some of them are listed below:
1. Take Professional Advice
Everything you read online isn’t always true or accurate, or it could be something that’s not suitable for you. Therefore, it’s always recommended to consult with a professional on the subject before making decisions that affect your physique and, more importantly, your mental health. In this case, a professional would be either a dietician or a nutritionist. Both would counsel you better regarding what kind of diet plans your body can cope with.
2. Drink Gallons of Water
We can’t emphasize enough the gravity of staying hydrated. Drinking water makes your brain believe that you’re having food even when you’re not. Furthermore, water has more physiological benefits than psychological ones. For starters, it’s 100% calorie-free. Water can also help you burn calories. You are drinking cold water signals your body to warm up. You might become restless for a minute or two and get your body moving to stimulate the body temperature. It’s the reason why people prefer cold water during workouts and long walks. Besides that, water helps the body to filter out toxins in the form of urine. It also prevents constipation which has been proved to be a cause for gaining weight in some people.
3. Keep Yourself Occupied
It will get challenging to resist the urge to eat if you keep thinking about food. Instead, find something better to do with your time. Ideally, an employed person won’t have enough time to think about food but read a book when you’re at home doing nothing. There are a lot of other things you can do. Sort your wardrobe, watch a good show or go for a walk. Find something you love to do, and it’ll take you into another dimension.
4. Be Consistent
All good things to those who wait. Make this your mantra and stick to it. Pin it to your walls, read it every day. How your body responds to intermittent fasting varies from individual to individual. The results can be immediate or very gradual, but they’ll happen. You’ll pull through. All you have to do is keep going—partner with someone too fast with you if you find it challenging to do challenging things alone. You are having someone else could be a driving force for you. Likewise, you could be their inspiration if they’re at the brim of giving up. Additionally, you could celebrate your transformation together. And while you’re at it, don’t gain all that you lost over a single night of partying!
Final Verdict: Can you chew gum while fasting?
Even though chewing gum does break a fast, it doesn’t significantly affect your diet. If you absolutely cannot cope with hunger without chewing gum, it’s okay to proceed with it during fasting. However, since it brings about an insulin response, it’s best to avoid or limit your intake. A few weeks of testing will prove the hypothesis. Lastly, do not remain under the misconception that sugar-free chewing gums will not do you any damage. Certain artificial sweeteners have the same capacity to trigger insulin response as sugar. Keep your dietician in the loop to avoid indulging in unhealthy practices based on the information you find online.
