When I was a kid, I loved to chew bubble gum. I remember becoming quite proficient at blowing very large bubbles at summer camp one year. From then on, chewing bubble gum became a favorite childhood pastime of mine.
While chewing gum once in awhile is certainly not a cause for concern, chewing gum every single day as a habit definitely can be detrimental to health. As I covered in detail in a previous post The Sticky Truth about Chewing Gum, habitual gum chewing wastes valuable digestive enzymes and can contribute over time to TMJ and other jaw problems among other issues.
Fortunately, there is a very healthy and enjoyable option to aspartame or sugar laden gum.
Even xylitol gum should be avoided on a regular basis as xylitol is produced by the heavily industrial process called sugar hydrogenation, the long term health effects of which are unknown. Xylitol also contributes to gut imbalance/yeast problems, exacerbates acid reflux, and can trigger seizures in susceptible individuals.
So what to chew?
In this video, I show you what we chew in our home when we just want something sweet and tasty to chomp on - honeycomb!
Have you tried chewing honeycomb before? If not, check out the honeycomb we like to chew as I describe the benefits you get from enjoying this age old practice.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
This is very helpful info because I use to chew gum a lot I had to stop due to upset stomach and sugar content in regular gum.
The great thing is that the honeycomb completely dissolves and you swallow it bit by tiny bit within about 15-20 minutes so you don’t chew too long contributing to those TMJ and jaw issues that chomping on gum constantly can lead to over time. Chewing on honeycomb has a built in safety mechanism so to speak so you don’t absentmindedly end up chewing longer than is healthy for your jaw.
Since I gave up sugar and artificial sweeteners, gum is the one thing I miss the most. Thanks for the suggestion!
It is terrible for your jaw!
Alot of gum contains some latex…I know b/c I am allergic.
Tammy Koenig – you should read this!!
What a great idea! And so simple!! Now I’ve got to buy some honey with the comb intact!!!
Thanks for the great idea.
DaeRae\’s last post: Personal Challenge! Sprouted Hummus.
Apparently we are ahead of the game on this one. After tending our bees, my daughter loves to chew “honey gum”
This is also a good idea if you feel the need to snack in front of the tv.
What about xylitol in toothpaste? What do you use for toothpaste Sarah? Even Earthpaste has xylitol in it…and I thought I was doing good!
I learned a lot on this post!
mmmm honeycomb…..thanks again!!:)
I am chewing gum as I am reading this! I don’t chew alot of gum though!
DEAR SARA,TODAY I HAD A UTILITY WORKER TELLING ME ABOUT REMOVING MY OLD METER AND REPLACING IT WITH A SMART METER I REFUSE AND HE RES PONDED THAT HE WILL COME BACK . WHAT D I DO REGARDING HIS MATTER .I REMEMBER YOU HAD AN ARTICLE REGARDING SMART METERS
Smart meters are anything but smart as they emit constant radiation within close range to our bodies. I just attended a very troubling lecture on the dangers of electromagnetic radiation exposure which has spiked dramatically due to cell towers, cell phones, cordless home phones and smart meters.
Here’s one resource that gives information on how to deal with your utility company to opt out (see her various articles on the subject):
http://www.non-toxicnurse.com/the-dangers-of-smart-meters-hit-home/
Check out the information on EMFs on this website:
http://www.intentionalenvironment.com/
Share these two position papers of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine with your utility company and neighbors:
http://aaemonline.org/AAEMEMFmedicalconditions.pdf
and
http://aaemonline.org/emfpositionstatement.pdf
I also encourage people to write a letter of concern to their local freebie neighborhood newspapers (and include some of the info above) so it can get published and spread the word about the threat of smart meters.
But wait! There’s more!
I just discovered an excellent short video on Smart meters and a PDF on how to opt out:
http://www.intentionalenvironment.com/smart-meters
Here’s an interesting bit of info from the PDF -
“The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified radio frequency
radiation as a possible carcinogen, putting it in the same class as lead and DDT.”
(Gotta go get some honeycomb now – yum.)
Maria, check back shortly for a reply I posted with some good info on how to handle this situation. It includes some links so it needs to be approved by Sarah first.
Thanks, Sarah!
THANKYOU , BETH I’LL BE LOOKING OUT FOR YOUR’S AND SARAH’S REPLIES
My Mom used to buy this for us when we were young, and I loved it so. Didn’t realize that you could actually swallow it after the honey was all chewed out. I think I’ll be trying this again!
With a new new 6-wk-old baby and a toddler at home, I recently found myself chewing gum as a stress reliever!!? (Really don’t know how that came about cause i’m not a smoker!!!) The flavor of the orange ’5′ gum just calms me; and Everytime I pop one in my mouth, I think about how ba this is for my stomach…but I do it anyway out of frustration! :/
Is this ‘allowed’ on GAPS? My husband LOVED chewing gum before he started GAPS, and misses it a lot-it always helped with his food cravings. He would be thrilled to have another option!
I imagine you get a good dose of sucrose & fructose with the honey that comes attached to the comb. Not so good for folks with insulin resistance, NAFL, weightt issues. Seems like it would fuel the sugar cravings. I like to chew fennel seeds, typically something done by people from India. They often have a sugary coating on it but just plain old fennel seeds work just as well. They take a while to chew, clean out your mouth and breath.
Several years ago I bought comb honey at a farmer’s market, really looking foward to chewing the comb. Imagine my horror when I bit into it and tasted paraffin! Many beekeepers do not allow the bees to make their own comb, instead they give them combs made with a mix of beeswax and paraffin. And of course many keepers will be dosing their hives with antibiotics. So be careful and know your source!
Wow, good to know!
Perfect timing! My son just asked me yesterday if it was okay to chew honeycomb. He hates gum, by the way, but my other son loves gum. I do remember chewing it as a girl since we kept bees. I’ll have to find a beekeeper, I guess, and ask if he/she would save it for me. Where do you get yours?
D Bundy\’s last post: Salvaging a Botched Schedule
I chew an Xylitol gum, I had a few dental issues that it’s helping me reverse.
I love this post! When I was young growing up in Quebec, my father was collecting fir tree sap from my grand-father’s farm. And we loved chewing on the resin, it was also very good for a soar throat.
Can anyone tell me who to contact to get onto ButterBuddies? I registered for it just after I joined WAP 2 months ago – I know it is a separate log-in from WAP, and I have my log-in info – I registered for ButterBuddies and got log-in info and an email from them, but could never log-in. Webmaster hasn’t replied to a couple emails, I called WAP HQ…Not having BB kills alot of the reason for joining WAP. Anyone know who to contact? I’m disappointed in the lack of response.
Destiney Marsh Fischer You can reverse the dental problems with diet and skip the gum that will cause other problems. Xylitol is unfortunately only a band-aid approach for fixing the root cause of the dental issues.
I now wonder if it is the xylitol that makes me nauseated whenever I chew gum. It has the same effect on my son.
I exclusively chew gum when flying to help my ears from popping and getting terribly stopped up- is the texture of honeycomb similar enough to gum to use it for this purpose? (I hope the answer is yes, so I be that weirdo with honeycomb at the airport)
Thanks for this info. Any suggestions for a healthy “peppermint” gum alternative. I am a dance teacher and occassionally when I feel a little naseous while teaching will chew peppermint gum to help ease my stomach…Peelu…which has xylotal…..any ideas on a better alternative for such a situation? Thanks
We. especially the young ones, have always ate and chewed the honeycomb and resin we call luban in Arabic (its very similar to frankincense but sweeter and less bitter than frankincense). We have done so because we are originally from Yemen, but now I can appreciate the benefits that go with it, thanks for the post!
Sarah, you’re a genius!
My daughter is 4.5 years old and is just getting interested in gum. We are well into healing her cavities (caused by early allergies + organic, gluten-free SAD diet) and have always steered a wide path around conventional sweets. I told her today that we’d look into making gum for her to try, but I wasn’t looking forward to that experiment. Enter honeycomb! I can’t wait to hit the farmers’ market tomorrow.
Thanks mama. <3
Sarah, you’re a genius!
My daughter is 4.5 years old and is just getting interested in gum. We are well into healing her cavities (caused by early allergies + organic, gluten-free SAD diet) and have always steered a wide path around conventional sweets. I told her today that we’d look into making gum for her to try, but I wasn’t looking forward to that experiment. Enter honeycomb! I can’t wait to hit the farmers’ market tomorrow.
Thanks mama.
Jennifer @ 20 something allergies and counting…down\’s last post: Shepherd’s Pie Recipe (dairy-, grain-, and gluten-free)
For those of you looking for a fresher-tasting version, chew fresh whole mint leaves! you do have to spit them out after a while and (check your teeth in the mirror for any green left behind,) but it is really a great alternative. I did it all the time as a kid!