It’s Friday! YES! I know that I am really looking forward to sleeping in and taking a rest day tomorrow (and so are my shoulders- ouch!). What about you- any fun weekend plans?
In case you missed it, I shared the details regarding my preview of Frederick Restaurant Week (which starts on Monday) on yesterday’s post. That post also includes a giveaway for a $50 gift card to Downtown Frederick! Just be sure to enter by Monday, because I’ll be choosing the winner at 8pm.
And remember, if you dine in Downtown Frederick, you could be enjoying these beauties at Ayse…
Drool.
Alright, back to today. It’s time I came clean about something. I don’t think I’ve ever really talked about this on the blog before (or publicly at all), but I have had a “strange” addiction ever since I can remember. I am pretty sure that it dates back to childhood, but I honestly can’t remember when it started. Before you start thinking that I drink my own urine or lick my cat I’ll tell you that it’s nothing that extreme. Without further ado, here it is:
I am addicted to gum.
I know. It sounds really silly. And probably not like a big deal at all, but let me tell you- until I started thinking about how addicted I am, I didn’t think it was anything to be concerned about.
I chew gum all day, every day. And this is my drug of choice:
I keep packs of it everywhere: in my purse, on my desk, in my car, in my gym bag… I need to have a pack right near me at all times.
I remember always trying to convince my mom to buy me a pack or Hubba Bubba or Bubble Yum whenever we went grocery shopping when I was a kid. I also remember having a mouth full of cavities, and my dentist telling me to chew sugar-free gum instead. So, I switched. Over the years, I’ve switched brands, from anything to Trident to Orbit to Stride, and have exclusively been hooked on Extra for about 3 years. I like any kind of minty-flavor, but the “light blue” (Peppermint) is the best. Every time Extra comes out with a new “Dessert Delights” flavor, I have to try it. Even though several of them taste great, they don’t hold a candle to good ol’ Peppermint.
I buy it in 3-packs from the grocery store. I often have to make a special trip to the “regular” grocery store because The Common Market and Whole Foods don’t sell Extra brand gum. They only sell the “organic” gum that loses flavor in 5 seconds.
I didn’t really start thinking about my gum addiction until last Sunday, during the Hypnosis class. Since so much of the discussion was centered around being controlled by food, I started thinking a lot about foods (or actions) that control me. And gum definitely controls me. I chew it for many reasons: it tastes good, it keeps my mouth occupied and it freshens my breath. I almost always pop a stick of gum in my mouth when I’m done eating a meal and it keeps me from continuing to eat after I’m satisfied. More than anything, it just seems to be calming for me. I don’t even really “chew” gum- and most people don’t ever realize that I’ve got a piece in my mouth. Just having it there is comforting. And I feel uneasy without it.
You want to know something else? As much as a “label scanner” as I am, I never really bothered to look at exactly what is in a stick of gum.
Here’s the ironic thing: I am so particular about eating “real,” wholesome, organic foods and haven’t used a single packet of Splenda, Equal or Nutrasweet since I quit cold turkey back in 2009. I have been claiming to “never eat artificial sweeteners,” when it turns out: I’ve been ingesting mega doses of Aspartame – the worst offender of them all – the whole time!
And the other ingredients? I don’t even know what they are! And why is “Contains Phenylalanine” in bold print? According to the website Sweet Poison:
Phenylalanine is a hidden danger to anyone consuming aspartame. Most consumers don’t know that too much Phenylalanine is a neurotoxin and excites the neurons in the brain to the point of cellular death.
ADD/ADHD, emotional and behavioral disorders can all be triggered by too much Phenylalanine in the daily diet. If you are one in ten thousand people who are PKU or carry the PKU gene, Phenylalanine can cause irreversible brain damage and death, especially when used in high quantities or during pregnancy. Phenylalanine is 50% of aspartame, and to the degree humans consume diet products, Phenylalanine levels are reaching a dangerous peak.
It is important to learn about the ingredients within your foods, especially isolated amino acids like Phenylalanine. They are in combination within nature for a reason – they don’t belong in isolated form for the healthy human diet.
With all of these ingredients that I can’t pronounce, I would hardly call Extra gum a “health food,” which it (in my opinion) claims to be. In fact, they have a whole portion of their website linked to fitness! I completely get the idea behind controlling sugar cravings by chewing gum instead- but I don’t agree that it’s a healthy solution.
Now let me be frank here, there are plenty of things out there that we eat that are bad for us. There are far worse and more harmful things to be addicted to. Chewing a stick of gum every now and then probably isn’t going to harm you at all. But, when you go through a pack every one to two days (like I have been doing for years), you are definitely absorbing a high level of chemical crap into your body. I am certainly not going to judge anyone that likes chewing gum, because I totally get it. If you can chew gum without it having some kind of control over you, I think that’s just fine. I just know that for me, it’s about time to stop this madness and take control back.
So, I quit.
I haven’t had a single stick of gum since Sunday. And for me, that’s a huge deal. I honestly can’t remember the last time that I went for even a day without chewing gum – or really, without chewing at least 10 sticks of gum throughout the day! It hasn’t really been easy, but it also hasn’t been that hard. The times that I miss it the most are right after a meal or after my morning coffee and first thing in the morning when I head to the gym. I bought a pack of mints (made with sugar) so that I could at least freshen my breath after eating, but I think I’ve only had about 4 total over the last 4 days.
It actually feels really good to not constantly have to make sure that I have gum nearby. It also feels good to feel like I have control over gum now. I’m not saying that I’ll never chew another piece of Extra Gum again, but for now, I think I need to stay away from it altogether.
I guess this is how a smoker feels when she quits.
So, there it is. My strange addiction. Maybe you can relate- or if not, maybe this post gave you a few laughs at how ridiculous it all sounds. 
Do you have any addictions/vices? Are you a gum chewer?
I chew Extra everyday and same here–never read the fine print on the label. Uh oh.
Wow–good for you being able to quit cold turkey! That’s impressive. I chew one stick of gum a day. Right after lunch. I’ll have to look at the ingredient list on my brand–I chew Trident. Thanks for the informative post! Happy Friday!
I love gum! I have never really thought of looking at the ingredients.
Are those the Brussels sprouts? They were SO GOOD!
I have a gum thing, the only way I can keep it at bay is to just not have it around so I’m pretty good at that. If I have it I eat it like candy, each piece lasts like 30 seconds before I swallow it. My friends once bought me a giant pack of Juicy Fruit from Costco, I looked at it and just went, “yum, breakfast!” I probably ate ten packs by lunch that day. I really only stopped when I started thinking about how many calories it actually was!
Lol- Juicy Fruit for breakfast! That stuff definitely loses flavor fast, so I could see how you would go through pieces fast! Extra’s flavor lasts for hours, but I’d sometimes still “freshen up” every hour.
Not having it around has definitely kept me from chewing it!
I have a fond gum memory: every afternoon in the summer when dad would get home from work, I’d run out to his big old shop van and he’d give me a piece of Big Red. Now I only have a piece of mint flavor here and there, but I do have my own strange addiction: seltzer water. I stock pile bottles and have to be sure I have a cold one ready at all times. I limit myself to a bottle a day, but I could easily drink it nonstop all day long. I will say that thinking about this makes me realize the overwhelmingly mental component of addiction, cause I cant think of any way I could be physiologically addicted to something that’s basically water!
Lol- the memory of your dad sounds familiar. I think he used to give me Big Red too!
My dad always had the green Wrigley’s gum and it was a “treat.”
A water addiction isn’t so bad…. do you have a soda stream? You could make your own all the time!
Gah! I am such a gum chewer…after lunch and after coffee especially. Sometimes after the gym if I feel like I need to fresh up my mouth. (I don’t know why that happens after working out? I probably really just need more water.)
I know that there is nothing good for you about it, but I have actually cut back a lot a think. To be honest, I often felt like I was just using it to keep me from eating–a dieter’s trick that I didn’t need. [In fact, I'm pretty sure Biggest Loser promoted it as such.]
Yup- The Biggest Loser definitely promotes it! And I can see that it’s a good dieter’s trick- but my dependency on it just spiraled out of control. I’d like to think that I can get back to just having a piece every now and then someday.
Way to go Lauren! I used to be addicted to chewing gum too, but I quit in hopes that it would help my stomach issues. 7 years, no gum.
Did you ever hear / try spry gum. I haven’t – but my co-worker raves about it:
http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=XL-7006#.UTDf94y9KSM
Yeah, I’m not a fan. The “natural” gums lose flavor quick!
haha i popped a piece after reading this post… good for you!
I don’t know how much you chew- but I have DEFINITELY noticed that since I stopped chewing it, I never feel bloated. With your gut issues, I don’t know if that’s worth checking out or not.
I used to chew gum a lot. Not as much lately, but still here and there, especially when I need to keep myself awake.
This is a timely article for me. A couple of weeks ago I got some “Immunity” gum from KLUTCHclub. Once I started thinking about the fact that chewing this gum would help me ‘gain immunity’ (supposedly), I started thinking about the fact that all the other sugar-ey gum I’ve been chewing must have actually been putting that sugar INTO me – which never occurred to me before!
Thanks for talking about some of these ‘hidden’ ingredients. I quit diet soda recently to get off aspartame – while at the same time, I’m chewing it. How insane!
I wonder if there’s some of that ‘organic’ gum that isn’t TOO bad?
P.S. I was REALLY hoping this article wouldn’t be about you secretly eating soap. Thank. God.
Lol!! I definitely don’t eat soap. Gum is about as weird as it gets for me.
I had to stop chewing gum back in high school because I have TMJ (jaw problem) and it was a huge shift for me to make that change. it’s not even something I think about now though.
Ummm, crap. I love that gum, but the last thing i need is something killing brain cells. Good freaking grief.
P.S. Glad this post wasn’t you admitting to drinking urine
Like Heather, I also don’t chew gum because of TMJ, but I used to be addicted to Diet Coke. It was a very hard habit to break and honestly one that I am still sort of working on.
I gave up gum too in dental hygiene school. Now, I don’t really crave gum, but when I do I chew an all natural gum that tastes really great!
I could drink Diet Dr. Pepper all day long, but considering how bad it is for me, it’s a rare treat. When I was little, I was only allowed to drink one soda a week, so perhaps that’s behind it’s allure to me!
Good for you for giving up gum! I was laughing at your description of how much gum you chew because that was me…in fact anyone in my circle of friends knew I ALWAYS had gum on hand. Anyway I quit about a year ago and haven’t looked back. It was one of the best things I ever did. I realized a couple things – 1) that I wanted to enjoy the “lingering” taste of my food after eating, not cover it up (hope that doesn’t sound weird) and 2) that gum-chewing was actually making me hungier, hence making me gain weight. I think it actually stirs up your stomach acids. The one or two times that I’ve had gum in the past year, I actually feel light-headed and a bit sick to my stomach. I think there is indeed a lot of JUNK in it and I feel so much better having quit. I hope you can stick to your guns on this one…and maybe it will help you kick some of those stubborn lbs too! Good luck Lauren!!!
Wow, thanks for that comment Laura!! You make me feel like less of a freak (and I mean that in the nicest way!). Good for you for quitting! I haven’t had a piece in a 9 days, and I’m going to keep going strong! If it ends up helping with my weight loss, that would be the best thing ever. Guess I’ll have to be patient and find out!
[...] And guess what I didn’t have all day….? 10 days clean, [...]
SO glad to read this . I have know that gum is not good for me in so many ways but have really had trouble kicking the habit (even with kids in braces who cannot chew gum – I still do!). Your post motivates me to stop. My son once pulled up videos on how they make various things like gum (the sugar kind) and twizzlers etc – yikes – scary what is in this stuff!!! And it is ABSOLUTELY addictive – I am glad to know I am not the only one with the gum addiction – gives me more motivation to quit. Thanks for this post and keep up the great work
[...] the way I react (I think we all need this reminder sometimes!) Current triumphs: I haven’t chewed a single stick of gum for 11 days now, and have also been free from mindless snacking for the same amount of time! I feel [...]
Good for you! I used to be a big gum chewer, but it started hurting my jaws (and then I realized that aspartame gives me migraines…I used to be a HUGE diet soda fan!). Nowadays, I can only chew like one piece of gum every so often. Can’t even IMAGINE how my mouth would feel if I tried chewing 10 sticks a day! Ouch!