Gum is bad?  Even 0 calorie, no sugar gum?

  Yup! Some studies suggest that our brain and body don’t know the difference between 0 calorie sugar and real sugar, so when we pop gum in our mouths, our brain begins the digestive process.

  This is called the Cephalic phase of digestion, where our stomach turns up the production of gastric juices to prepare for the arrival of food, our blood sugar levels go up and we release insulin.  This is how people can gain weight on 0 calorie artificial sweeteners.  In other words, its a confusing state of affairs for your mind and body!

This is still something that is being studied and Mark’s Daily Apple did a pretty good piece on this stating that even if there is no insulin response, the gastric juice production and affect on our gut flora along with dependency on sweets is a good enough reason to give it up.

Click HERE if you want a break down of why we are always talking about insulin.