Does Chewing Gum Break Your Fast?

Gum containing sugar can interrupt your fast. Yet sugar-free gum has very few calories, so it usually doesn’t significantly influence insulin and most people can chew it while fasting. Some stricter fasting protocols, however, forbid any caloric intake, including sugar-free gum.

Knowing what’s allowed during a fast can be puzzling.

One common question is whether chewing gum ends your fast.

This piece examines the evidence to help you decide if chewing gum is acceptable while fasting.

Gum has calories

By and large, most gums contain at least some calories.

For instance, a stick of regular chewing gum offers about 11 calories, whereas a stick of sugar-free gum provides roughly 6 calories (1, 2).

For more rigid fasting methods like water-only fasts, ingesting any calories technically ends your fast. This is especially relevant if you chew many pieces of gum daily or pick a gum that’s high in sugar.

Some bubble gums, for example, may contain as much as 30 calories per serving, which can add up quickly if you chew several pieces over the course of a day (3).

Still, because many gums are extremely low in calories, popping a stick or two of sugar-free gum each day is unlikely to meaningfully affect your fast.

Summary: Most gums contain calories. While chewing multiple pieces of sugary gum can break your fast, a stick or two of sugar-free gum probably won’t have a major effect.

Chewing gum can reduce hunger

Chewing gum has been found to reduce feelings of hunger and appetite, which can be particularly useful during fasting.

In a small study, chewing gum for 30 minutes while fasting increased feelings of fullness and helped stabilize levels of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone that suppresses appetite (4).

Another trial found that chewing sugar-free gum for an hour reduced hunger during fasting and led to a smaller food intake at the next meal (5).

Chewing has also been shown to lower appetite and decrease focus on food-related cues, which may help curb impulsive eating (6).

Therefore, chewing a stick or two could help blunt hunger and make it easier to adhere to your fast.

Summary: Chewing gum may help reduce hunger and appetite, which can be helpful while fasting.

Gum has minimal impact on insulin

Insulin is the hormone that moves glucose from the blood into cells to be used for energy (7).

Fasting lowers insulin levels. This is more pronounced if you enter ketosis, a metabolic state where the body burns fat instead of carbohydrates; longer fasts can induce ketosis (8, 9).

Some people attribute many metabolic benefits of intermittent fasting to periods of ketosis (10).

One study reported that chewing sugar-free gum for 30 minutes did not alter insulin levels in 12 fasting participants (4).

Additional research indicates that chewing gum may not change insulin or blood glucose, suggesting it may not technically break a fast.

For example, a study of 59 pregnant women with gestational diabetes found that chewing gum after a meal didn’t affect blood sugar levels (11).

Still, this might not apply if you’re chewing many sticks or selecting gums loaded with added sugars.

Summary: Some studies indicate chewing gum may not raise insulin or blood sugar, suggesting it might not break your fast.

The bottom line

Sugar-free gum contains very few calories and has minimal effects on insulin, so it’s unlikely to end your fast.

However, stricter fasting approaches may disallow any calorie consumption. Also, certain gums are high in sugar and could break a fast, particularly if you chew multiple pieces in a day.

If you opt to chew gum to manage hunger and cravings, choose sugar-free options and use them sparingly. For more on related topics, see does cbd oil expire.

Just one thing

Try this today:Read this article for more details on possible benefits and side effects of chewing gum, along with ingredients to watch for.