Where has all the sugar gone?

Have you noticed that it is virtually impossible to buy chewing gum WITH sugar anywhere in the world anymore? Panama, Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland…they all sell gum with aspartame or saccharin. Even in Mauritius, one of the world’s top sugar cane growers, I noticed they used artificial sweetener in their gum. Sad, to say the least.

It used to be that sugar-free gum was a US specialty because Americans were obsessed with fitness (like the two extra calories make a difference) and their teeth. Not anymore.

Nowadays, it is virtually impossible to get a piece of gum without aspartame/NutraSweet anywhere in the world. Not because it is so much better for you, but it is so much cheaper to produce. This really blows for me because aspartame gives me an instant headache. Not fun, especially when you travel.

Chatting with the biologist about water bottles (yesterday) brought us to the topic of sugar as well. He feels much more strongly about the use of artificial sugar than drinking water with leeching chemicals. He said:

“If you really want to worry about your health, don’t use anything that has artificial sweetener in it which includes all diet drinks and foods as well as most over the counter medicines. Sugar has been part of man’s existence for thousands of years and until we got modern was never a problem unless we used too much (as we do in the U.S.). I am very afraid of aspartame (NutraSweet) and the neurological damage it does since it is in millions of products used daily. “