"Pur" Gum - Sugar-Free and Aspartame-Free

I have never been a huge gum chewer. I suffer from TMJ (Temporomandibular joint disorder)which makes chewing gum, among other things, very complicated and painful. The farthest I normally get into any given piece of gum is chewing it just long enough to dissolve the crunchy flavorful outer layer, probably in an emergency effort to get rid of garlic breath. As a general rule, on top of avoiding regular white processed sugar I also avoid the "Diet" fad sugar substitutes, most notoriously Aspartame. Whereas the FDA claims that it is safe for human consumption (a verdict of which I am not thoroughly convinced) it is one of the many things that can cause the pain in my body to increase*. Therefore, my last piece of regular chewing gum was... maybe six months ago? And before that? Maybe another couple of months before, and I must have been pretty desperate, too.

So, why am I posting about this gum, you ask? Good question. The truth is, I am happy to have the option. Also due to sugar and sugar substitutes a lot of candies and breath mints are a no-go for me as well, so it really makes me happy to finally have something stashed in my knapsack for bad breath emergencies. It is Swiss made, and they are proud of it (it is written several times on the tiny package - exhibit A, tiny white cross, bottom right corner) and it has a really short ingredient list, which always makes me smile. It only takes up one line on the packaging! It may have the shortest one I have written up yet.

Ingredients: Xylitol, gum base, natural flavors, gum arabic, white tea extract, carnauba wax, tocopherols.

*For more information about how Aspartame can affect Fibromyalgia pain levels please see the study I have linked to on the My Personal Restrictions page.

Also, for anyone who is Diabetic please read http://www.aspartame.org/aspartame_faq7.html#22 (a pro aspartame visa-vi Diabetes piece) http://www.dorway.com/betty/diabetes.html (an anti-aspartame visa-vi Diabetes piece) Please do the research, consult your physician - make informed dietary decisions.