Chewing gum can aid recovery

Hi Janice,

just wanted to say you're probably not imagining that sorbitol makes you hungry.

Don't ask me to find it now, but I have heard tell of a study that found that people who drank/ate things with artificially sweeteners actually were likely to go on to consume as many calories / more calories from other foods than if they'd had a sugar-sweetened product in the first place.

The reason was that sweet flavours (however created) prime the body to expect calories, and once it's primed, it just keeps on consuming until it gets the calories it's expecting.

I'm not a scientist and I'm just remembering fragmentary factoids I overheard a year ago, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think that was the theme.

Best,

Darkstar

Interesting about the aspartame. I'm giving it up starting next Monday so I'll see if I notice any difference. (Not sleeved yet.)

Gum is one of the big no-no's in my plan. Another one of those things I can live without if I have to. But a friend who had R-n-Y was able to start chewing again after a few months. Her doctor "confessed" (he said the blanket answer is no, don't do it) that it's really another person to person thing because everyone chews differently. Some folks swallow a lot of air when they chew (I guess mainly people who chew open mouthed, especially if talking and chewing at the same time) and others don't. It's another no-no I fully intend to try after a few months and see how it works out for me. I'll give it a try on a day when if I putt-putt around the house it won't bother anyone but the dog!

That's interesting, but I wonder how/why?

Chewing gum blows me up.Ay first I thought it made me hungry.Now I understand that gives me gas, so I have something tiny to eat or some liquid and it goes away.......

Wish I could chew gum but unfortunatley the aspartame that they use to sweeten the gum makes me hungry as a bear. Everytime I chewed sugar free gum I got that tummy rumbling, starving feeling. Someone on another WLS board told me it was the aspartame so now I don't consume anything that has aspartame in it. Just wanted to share my experience in case others are affected by the aspartame too.

Janice

Interesting. I had some yesterday and I usually never eat gum but I needed to chew something. I'll be sure to have some for post op.

Cinni

Thanks for the tip- am off to buy some- but will have to hide it from daughter who still has a habit of sticking any which place.

Well, Steph, I appreciate that - I chew gum on and off all day. It helps with the need to chew, especially in the puree stage, and also there's a new flavour out by Mentos (berry/lime) which is lovely and sweet that helps my cravings for sweet things - and it's sugar free, so no guilt, too!
Gee, if it aids recovery, I wonder where I'd be now, without it? LOL
Chris

I just came across this article and I remember reading on one of the posts about whether it was okay to chew gum after surgery. Well here's your excuse now!!

British researchers say that chewing gum can speed patients' recovery after surgery.

The study, to be published in the August issue of Archives of Surgery, showed that those patients who chewed gum three times a day for 45 minutes at a time after colon surgery had faster recovery times than those who didn't.

Sanjay Purkayastha says chewing gum could also help patients recovering from stomach surgery.