Chew
I’m several weeks into my second serious attempt to quit smoking, a problem I’ve written about previously. It’s going well, if you don’t count the moments when any number of subconscious triggers whiplash my mind in the direction of nicotine. These moments are daily but usually brief, for which I am thankful. However, when these moments arise, the religious fixation to reunite with my lost limb is comparable to the complicated relationship of Adam to his rib. As much as I want to sacrifice this part of me for the sake of my health and relationship, it’s still my damn rib. I feel a hole where it has left me.
As a proxy, I’ve taken to chewing gum. While I sit in an airport waiting to board my flight, I pop a “Dentyne Ice” into my mouth and then turn over the packet to read the list of ingredients. I immediately notice that I have no idea what any of these ingredients are, so I grab my phone and start to google the terms:
Aspartame
More complaints have been filed with the FDA on aspartame than on all other food additives…..combined. The FDA once published a list of 92 adverse reactions to this poison from 10,000 consumer reports. Symptoms included seizures, blindness and death.
Sorbitol
Ingesting more than 10grams of sorbitol a day can lead to abdominal pain, gas, and mild to severe diarrhea. Sorbitol ingestion of 20 grams/day (g/d) as sugar-free gum has led to severe diarrhea leading to unintended weight loss of 24 lbs in a 114 lb woman; another patient required hospitalization after habitually consuming 30g/d. Sorbitol can also aggravate irritable bowel syndrome and fructose malabsorption.
Good thing I don't eat 20 grams of gum per day.
Maltitol
Impacts blood glucose and causes gas and bloating.
BHT
The compound has been banned for use in food in Japan, Romania, and Australia. The US has barred it from infant foods. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, thinks that BHT may cause cancer.
Sucrose
The FDA reported sucralose as a possible trigger for migraine patients.
I gave up cigarettes for this? I didn’t bother to research the rest.
9 comments:
Eat a carrot stick.
If that doesn't work, light it.
Maybe try a different gum? There must be some 'natural' alternative available.
I once had a job in a factory that made the plastic bubbles for Dentyne Ice. That was the last straw in my blue-collar life.
It's really sad, actually. So many of the gums that aren't sugar-free are now adding Aspartame (nee NutraSweet before the patent ran out) to add "now, longer lasting flavor." The Wrigley's family of gums (Double-mint, Spearmint, Big Red and Juicy Fruit) all now contain Aspartame.
I emailed them a while back to complain about this, and the stock reply I got was that their focus groups preferred the flavor of their new formula that included Aspartame. I replied that they just lost a customer.
I believe that Chiclets are still all natural, and other newer brands such as Peelu and Glee are natural and possibly beneficial.
Just buy all your stuff at Whole Foods and you won't have to worry about all these scary ingredients.
Ben...
1) stop thinking about it so much
2) have you tried fondling the "missing limb" between your lips without lighting it?
3) try nuts or go to some crunchy/granola health place and get some natural type candy.
4) find another gum.
5) keep thinking how irresistible you'll be as a non-smoker.
Just remember to see the forest beyond the trees.
...and be wary of over zealous family members.
Dentyne Ice is like water in a desert compared to the crap in cigarette smoke.
Don't even worry about this.
Nicorette. Start with it, wean yourself off it.
christ! must everyone turn into a fucking puritan? im starting to feel like the bad kid in high school again. people dont wanna go to bars. everybody wants an ltr. everybodys quitting smoking. live a little, people!
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