You undoubtedly have a lot of questions if you’re new to intermittent fasting and trying to lose weight. I frequently receive the question “does chewing gum break a fast?” from my clients. This can be divided into two main questions: Does gum with sugar break a fast? and Does gum with no sugar break a fast?
I’m going to explain down all you need to know about chewing gum and intermittent fasting today so you can activate your body’s natural fat-burning processes and lose weight.
It can be difficult to understand what you can and cannot consume while fasting.
You could specifically wonder if chewing gum will end your fast.
If you’re fasting, should you chew gum? This article examines the evidence in more detail.
There may be a lot of new questions that come up when fasting. Does chewing gum break a fast is one of them.
The response is that it depends on how stringent you want to be about keeping a fast.
Technically, you could end your fast with just one calorie. However, a 20–30 calorie threshold can be acceptable for those who are new to fasting or who follow a more modest version of the practise.
It entails that you can drink green tea, black coffee, lemon water, or occasionally even coffee that has been flavored with stevia or a tiny bit of almond milk.
How about chewing gum though? Let me explain why here is where things can become a bit sticky.
Chewing Gum Has Calories
The majority of gum varieties often have some calories.(Trusted Source)
For instance, a stick of sugar-free gum has only 6 calories while a stick of ordinary chewing gum has roughly 11 calories.
Any calorie intake technically breaks your fast for more stringent fasting regimens like water fasts. This is especially true if you choose a gum variety that has a lot of sugar or if you chew many sticks of gum each day.
In fact, certain varieties of bubble gum can have up to 30 calories per serving, which add up rapidly if you consume a lot of it during the day.
Chewing a stick or two of sugar-free gum every day won’t likely have a substantial impact on your fast, though, as many other varieties have incredibly low calorie counts.
Intermittent Fasting’s Importance In Managing Insulin Levels
The amount of insulin in your body increases when you consume a typical diet, which includes carbohydrates. When you don’t eat, your pancreas has a chance to restore normal insulin levels after the surge caused by eating previously.
Studies have revealed a link between weight gain and insulin surges. This is because your body stores fat when your insulin levels are high, and it burns fat more efficiently when your insulin levels are low. This explains why people find intermittent fasting to be so appealing. Low insulin levels can be maintained by fasting.(Trusted Source)
Why is this significant, you might be wondering. It does, however, directly relate to the next query.
Does Chewing Gum Break A Fast?
Like lemon water, a piece of gum only has 10–12 calories, which is insufficient to break a fast. Gum, on the other hand, can have up to 5 grammes of sugar in it, which could affect your fast. If you are having multiple sticks of gum then a very good chance it can break your fast.
Why is that so?
Well, one of the main causes of increases in our insulin levels is sugar. It stops the body from going into the ketosis state, which is when fat is burned.
Chewing gum won’t interfere with your fasting schedule in terms of calories. The gum’s sugar content, however, can produce an insulin spike that will cause you to exit ketosis.
Therefore, it is preferable to forego the chewing gum if you adhere to strict intermittent fasting.
A piece of chewing gum is acceptable if you set a 20–30 calorie limit for yourself during the fasting time.
Does Sugar Free Chewing Gum Break A Fast?
This is the reasonable follow-up query given the abundance of sugar-free chewing gums on the market. Sugar-free choices must be acceptable if sugar is the issue, right?
Unless you routinely monitor your blood sugar levels, that is. The issue is that artificial sweeteners are found in sugar-free gum.
Unfortunately, even artificial sweeteners can raise insulin levels in certain people. Although not everyone experiences it, there is no true way to know unless you routinely check your blood glucose levels. Which is quite a tough and time-consuming thing to perform from the comfort of your home, just so you can chew some gum.
Conclusion
Since sugar-free gum has extremely few calories and barely any impact on insulin levels, it is unlikely to cause you to break your fast.
However, more stringent variations of fasting can forbid ingesting any calories at all. Additionally, if you chew several sticks of gum throughout the day, some varieties of gum contain a lot of sugar and may cause you to lose your fast.
If you decide to chew gum to help control your appetite and cravings, make sure to stick to sugar-free flavours and use it sparingly.
