Sneaky Chewing Gum

Today was a bit of an eye-opener. Dozing off in class, I popped a piece of gum in my mouth to keep me alert. To distract me from my boredom, I spent some time studying my pack of gum.  And… *GASP*… aspartame was a part of the ingredients! Someone like me, who is fully aware and against aspartame, is consuming it! I always make sure not to consume diet beverages or anything else that might contain aspartame, but clearly that is not enough. Just because it doesn’t have Splenda or No Sugar Added popping out in the label does not mean that it doesn’t contain aspartame.

I chew Orbit gum on a regular basis, and even though I’ve been writing about the fact that many kinds of gum contain aspartame, I never thought that the gum I chew would have it! The fine print “sugar-free” on the package is easily overlooked. They emphasize that it is dentist recommended for your teeth because it is sugar-free… they don’t, however, mention what they have replaced the sugar with. That answer is in the fine-print ingredients on the back of the package. ASPARTAME!

This angers me. Even the people who know about aspartame’s dangers are still being tricked into consuming it. If only the FDA would ban aspartame, then we wouldn’t have to worry about it. So many products are putting it in their foods because it will reduce the calorie count, something that is very commonly looked at when making purchase decisions. If people could only know about the dangers this artificial sweetener is causing to their bodies maybe they would be willing to consume those few extra calories, or opt for healthier choices.