In my 5 Things to Keep in Your Bag or Briefcase When Trying to Lose Weight post, one of the things I always keep with me (and in my desk and car) is sugarless gum. Good thing I do because not only do studies show that chewing gum helps you lose weight, but it makes you more intelligent, too.
According to an article in the October 2007 issue of EatingWell magazine, a 2002 study of 75 people* in the UK showed that gum-chewers performed better than non-chewers on a memory test. According to a Japanese study* the act of chewing gum can get your heart pumping more blood to your brain, which means more oxygen to the ol’ noodle! Maybe we should pass out gum to kids taking the SATs.
Not only does gum chewing improve memory, it could help you lose weight, too. According to a 2006 study in the journal Appetite, 60 people* who chewed gum for 15 minutes every hour after eating lunch snacked on 36 fewer calories three hours after the meal. They also craved less sweets than people who didn’t chew gum during the study. So if they did this three times a day that’s more than 100 calories saved. That could really add up over time.
While chewing gum can cause pain in people with TMJ, it does help fight cavities (if you chew sugar free gum) and bad breath. So what do you have to lose…but unwanted weight and a fuzzy mind!
Now where did I put that pack of Wrigley’s Extra?
* Please note that I do have a problem with the science behind all these studies since the research groups were so small. In my opinion, the evidence is more anecdotal than scientific. However, the findings are interesting and chewing gum can’t hurt…unless it gets stuck in your hair.
(This post originally appeared in a slightly different form at the blog, Incredible Shrinking Ladies.)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve heard a lot of claims about chewing gum, but not that it makes you smarter. If only I had known that before I took my SATs.
Maybe that’s why this really hot guy asked me if I’d lost weight even though I ate like a pig over the holidays — cuz I’d go through two sheets of gum in a day. Check out this related article about the evolution of chewing gum on the blog of the Bad Breath Expert — http://blog.therabreath.com/?p=11
I agree that chewing gum can help you concentrate. In fact, I chew a gum specially designed for this purpose. It really helps me when I have finals! It has all the benefits of regular chewing gum plus herbs like ginkgo biloba and vinpocetine. It is called ThinkGum . I’m pretty sure you can buy it off thier website at ThinkGum
This article is 100% true. Believe it or not gum actually does help you lose weight. It takes my mind of wanting to snack on sugary sweets. It tricked my body into thinking that I’m eating something, thus, I became less hungry. And as you can imagine, I lost weight. Gum may be considered a candy of sorts, but it’s surprisingly good for you.