Chew / Spitting - opinions please.....

[Karen1972]

Hiya everyone

As you know i have indulged in this pastime of late and was chatting to Jem about it over the weekend. Jem made a fantastic point which was :

How does it differ from chewing chewing gum?

The main criticisms of chew spitting are that your body gets ready to digest something when you chew so stomach acids form (could lead to ulcer) and insulin gets released (could lead to diabetes).

So how come it's ok to chew gum but not to chew anything else??

Would appreciate your opinion, we found it a fascinating subject over the weekend!!

 

[Mich]

Hi Hun!

I don't know the answer to this but I would assume that as a piece of chewing gum is quite small a minimum amount of saliva would be produced and perhaps it is so minimal that it doesn't 'send the message to the stomach' that food is on it's way?

Afterall one stick of chewing gum is alot different to large quantities of food which seem to be consumed during a chew/spit session.......

I don't know if you ever read it but Isobel posted a thread about this a while ago ..... this is the link ...... I did read through it but there is no mention of chewing gum...

http://www.minimins.com/cambridge-diet-forum/10663-research-chewing-spitting.html


Just my two penneth worth hun..... (been's as noone has replied... yet!!)

Hope chatting about this didn't put the boys off.....

Love

 

[georgiasmum]

please don't do it.

 

[MissPiggyFi]

Hiya everyone

As you know i have indulged in this pastime of late and was chatting to Jem about it over the weekend. Jem made a fantastic point which was :

How does it differ from chewing chewing gum?

The main criticisms of chew spitting are that your body gets ready to digest something when you chew so stomach acids form (could lead to ulcer) and insulin gets released (could lead to diabetes).

So how come it's ok to chew gum but not to chew anything else??

Would appreciate your opinion, we found it a fascinating subject over the weekend!!

I've heard the same criticism of chewing chewing gum, that it prepares your stomach for food, and the acid can be damaging, which is why you shouldn't chew too much gum. Not that you'd want to bother chewing chewing gum to excess lol

 

[KD]

So how come it's ok to chew gum but not to chew anything else??

I was always led to believe that it wasn't okay to chew gum, because it can lead to ulcers...acid and all that.

 

[CW Consultant]

Hi it isnt okay to chew gum.

If you really need to chew gum to freshen the mouth then you can but only for a few seconds if you really have to but its better to use a spray or brush your teeth.

Linda

 

[Mrs Depp]

I must say I'm not a fan of chewing gum and try not to let my kids have it either. As a kid I never had it regularly and when I did I'd throw it away as soon as the taste started to go (usually after about 15 seconds).

Don't know why but it makes me burp so I don't bother with it.

Saying that though, water makes me burp too but I'm not about to give that up anytime! hehe!

 

[sonkie]

I feel that the difference is you know in your head that you will be throwing the chewing gum away, its not for swallowing so you dont feel that food is on the way. Yet if I were to put food in my mouth it would register that Im about to eat and so would be expecting to swallow.

I admit to chewing gum when doing the kids tea so I dont pick and it doesnt make me feel hungry. But if I did put a bit of food in my mouth I just know that the saliva will start up and the stomach will be preparing for food.

 

[Brad0053]

I'm not sure what the difference is. However, chewing and spitting out food, apart from being fairly unattractive and exspensive would appear to me to be a form of torture and the start of a very steep slippery slope.

 

[Karen1972]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Hmmmm still not convinced that there is any danger to doing this.... I've never heard the dangers of chewing gum before lol.

I agree it's unattractive and v expensive but if it stops me putting on weight then it's an acceptable alternative to swallowing!!

Without it i'm not sure i would have got back to my goal weight.

Thanks again folks!

 

[cazmaz_irl]

I'll probably get shot down for saying this, but your thread does ask for opinions, so here goes.


I think you have a severe problem, and the fact that you think chewing and spitting is akin and in comparison to the arguement of chewing gum, convinces me off this,,hey lets start another thread asking for opinions on swallowing and vomiting up,,same thing just one stage further, food doesn't actually get into your system long enough to register, and think about it, this time you get to not only taste but actually get the feeling of swallowing,,,oh yeh thats right, everybody knows this is called Bullimia,,well chewing and spitting is just another type of Bullimia, a whole bucket of KFC and loads of burgers is not normal eating even without the chewing and spitting so put the two together and there is definitely an eating disorder involved.

If this is what you have to do then so be it, but I'm just answering the question of what my opinion is...

 

[Karen1972]

Hi Caz

Yeah of course you are entitled to your opinion.

Regurgitating food is completely on a different level to chewing food and spitting it out... and that's my opinion.

I think out of all the eating disorders, chew spitting is the least severe. Binge eating is worse cos your body has to try to digest the humungous amount of food one consumes.

I've had an eating disorder all my life - overeating, being obese, using food for emotional comfort etc.

I still have an eating disorder but i think it's the healthiest one i've ever had! And still maintains my figure!

 

[cazmaz_irl]

Hi Karen, thats grand, as you say, you asked for opinions and thats the only reason I spoke about mine,,I appreciate your response,

Cheers Caz

 

[natayou]

Hey Karen, I have no real opinion on the matter, just wondered, does it not make you feel really really hungry to have the food in your mouth and not swallow it?
isn't it really hard to spit it out? and does any ever get swallowed at all even by accident?
dont share if it makes you uncomfortable....i'm just curious
as to how it could help, i think...and obviously i'm just guessing as i have not experienced this...that it would make me worse?
thanks in advance for any reply
nat xx

ps i have heard that chewing gum can give u ulcers as well

 

[kazz]

Have to say I agree with Caz....I mean, where does one draw the line between chewing-spitting/eating-puking.....

I know you are only looking for opinions, but in my opinion, the fact that anyone would think it is ok to chew-spit would suggest that they either have or are verging on an eating disorder, other than being obese/overweight.

I dont agree that you can compare this behaviour to chewing gum, simply because of the psychological effects of it. I think its a dangerous mind game to be playing with yourself and anyone who even somewhat believes that chewing-spitting is ok does, in my opinion, need some serious help to deal with their food issues. All of us are here because we have food issues of some descripation, but I guess I would think of this as furthering the problem rather than reaching a solution.

 

[Gen]

I'm sorry Karen but I totally agree with Kazz and Caz... but I have expressed this to you before.

I hope you find a happy solution real soon

love

 

[KD]

Oh Karen

I still have an eating disorder but i think it's the healthiest one i've ever had! And still maintains my figure!

but just because your maintain, does that make it healthy? Are you really sure you have the facts?

Other people who might consider this way of maintaining/losing, might like to read this:-
The simple answer is that the calories absorbed from chewing and spitting are negligible. Since food is not exposed to digestive enzymes of the gastrointestinal tract, fats, proteins and carbohydrates cannot be digested (broken down into small pieces) and therefore not absorbed. In fact, only an invert sugar like honey, which is predigested by the bee into glucose, could be absorbed through the tongue and contribute calories.

That said, the few calories that you would absorb by actually swallowing the bite are not the real problem. The greater concern and more important question is if chewing and spitting causes weight gain. This has a potentially more damaging explanation.

There are two phases of eating that precede absorption. They are referred to the ‘cephalic’ and ‘tasting’ phases of eating. Cephalic is the suggestion of food, such as seeing, smelling and hearing about food. The tasting phase is the post-ingestive and pre-absorptive phase which would be chewing and spitting. Both the cephalic and tasting phase trigger the release of insulin, which is not a good thing if you have ever been overweight and especially if you have lost weight. Excess insulin is a dieter’s worst nightmare because it raises appetite, makes it easy to gain weight and makes it difficult to lose weight. Also the resulting hyper-insulinemia is a precursor of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and eventually diabetes.

You write, “I don’t chew and spit too often, but I do it occasionally.” If you get too close to the fire you will get burned. “I smoked marijuana but did not inhale,” said former President Bill Clinton. Can you be a little bit pregnant? These statements are reminders that you can’t fool Mother Nature and if you get too close to the edge of the cliff you will fall. We have learned from the gastric bypass surgical patients that ‘chewing and spitting’ is inappropriate and has the strong possibility of progressing to an eating disorder.

Chewing and spitting may seem like a reasonable compromise for getting the benefits of tasting without the negligible contribution of calories, but it is an inappropriate behavior that may very well have negative and health threatening consequences.

Dr. Carson

 

[bondgirl]

Hi Karen

Since having my gastric bypass I'm actually unable to swallow large amounts and in the first week or so found this extremely difficult(the cravings) I had read about your chewing and spitting and how it had helped you.....I chewed n spat a muffin needless to say it had the same effect and I was tempted to do it again....then I thought about how I'd just gone through major surgery to eliminate my battle with food....I knew I wouldn't really be damaging my body but what terrified me was the thought that I would be transferring my food addiction to chewing and spitting and that I might actually become scared of eating especially if I got the same joy from chewing and spitting......I never did it again.

You have come so far and you will maintain because you can do it, my dietician said that when food is removed people often need to address the food issues they have in order to be completely free of the hold food has on people with various eating disorders.

I know you don't see it as damaging at the moment but maybe you could look into some kind of counselling to rid yourself of any food related issues you may have.

Either way you are still incredibly gorgeous and really do inspire others to succeed in their weight battles

love

 

[Kate]

Only because you are specifically asking for opinions.

Try to take a step back and think about what you are saying. You're actually trying to argue that eating-disordered behaviour is okay if it gets the results you want. Doesn't that worry you? Is maintaining your weight really all that matters? I can promise you, there are much easier and more satisfying (and less harmful, mentally and physically) ways to maintain your weight.

 

[CelticChick]

Try to take a step back and think about what you are saying. You're actually trying to argue that eating-disordered behaviour is okay if it gets the results you want.

That hits the nail on the head really. I agree that you should think about seeking some help, go and talk to someone before it gets out of hand completely. We are all here trying to develop healthy relationships with food and our bodies but that is definitely not the way to go just to fit into a certain size clothes.