I wonder if it's possible to be addicted to gum. Perhaps as part of some kind of psychotic oral fixation.
This morning, I bought two 12-piece packs of Trident's new "Very Berry" sugar-free gum. It's now six hours later and all but one piece has been chewed until it's devoid of flavour and then spit into my sticky garbage can. That's 23 pieces of gum. That's a piece every 15.7 minutes.
And this is a regular occurance too. Paul is not impressed.
My jaw hurts. Really, it aches.
But. I. Can't. Stop. Chewing.
Dammit, I just noticed that it's full of aspartame.
Problem solved. Apparently aspartame can be addictive. At least according to this guy. Now, he's likely just some Internet quack, but the following does make me pause:
ASPARTAME CAN UPSET BRAIN CHEMISTRY
Once you understand a bit about the chemistry of aspartame, you'll see why it can cause so many problems.
Aspartame is comprised of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartic acid acts as an "excitatory" neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, in the brain, stimulating neurons to fire. Problems can arise when aspartic acid is out of balance with "inhibitory" amino acids that calm things down. Phenylalanine also easily enters the brain, where it is transformed into neurotransmitters that can further interfere with normal brain function.
This is a likely reason why aspartame lowers the threshold for seizures, mood disorders, and other nervous system problems. This altered brain chemistry may also be responsible for the addictive nature of aspartame. Some patients report that getting off diet soda takes more willpower than giving up cigarettes!
See!?! I have a PROBLEM!
1 comment:
No, I'm not amused. But, this does lead to two interesting comments.
1)If you try to quit chewing gum, will you start smoking?
2)If I can quit smoking, I'm sure you can at least cut down on the gum. At this rate, you'll wear your teeth down to nubbins!
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