Did you know that chewing gum can aid in digestion? Chewing gum, especially mint or cinnamon flavors, can increase saliva. Increasing saliva can help you digest and neutralize stomach acid, reducing the symptoms of acid reflux. Some chewing gum is made with digestion-aiding ingredients like bicarbonate, something your pancreas (normally) naturally produces to help manage stomach acid.
After you eat, you can help your body improve digestion by selecting a chewing gum that cleans your teeth and reduces the risk of bacteria and cavities, or a gum that creates a gel lining in the esophagus and the stomach to prevent symptoms of acid reflux.
These are my top picks for the best chewing gum for digestion, each based on what symptoms you want to target.
Topic Contents
My Top Picks for the Best Chewing Gum for Digestion:
When it comes to improving digestion, in order, I would recommend:
1. Reflux Gourmet Gum
Reflux Gourmet is my favorite chewing gum for digestion, hands down.
Why is it my favorite? It helps aid digestion not just by increasing saliva production, but it also contains alginates, which are designed to block any acid reflux and soothe the esophagus. This can help encourage better digestion and prevent unwanted symptoms of things like acid reflux or heartburn after eating.
It is one of the only chewing gums for digestion that is natural in its reliance on bicarbonate. Bicarbonate is a compound that your pancreas naturally produces to help aid digestion after your meals, so chewing gum like Reflux Gourmet that contains bicarbonate is another way to help digestion and take the load off your pancreas.
The higher levels of saliva production lead to more frequent swallowing, and this helps relax your lower esophageal sphincter, which helps clear your throat and prevent any clogs, reduce risks of acid reflux, and stimulate gastric juices to prevent bloating and gas after digestion.
Technically all chewing gum has this potential but what makes this brand stand out is the fact that it uses alginates which forms a smooth film to reduce irritation or inflammation in the esophagus and in the stomach lining, and that it relies on all natural sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, to neutralize bad odors and give you fresh breath, whiten teeth, and boost overall digestive health.
Other ingredients include aloe vera, which helps as a natural anti-inflammatory agent, as well as ginger and celery root, which both respectively promote digestive health.
Who It’s Best For: Those who want help managing acid reflux and digestion.
Why It Stands Out: Active ingredients of bicarbonate and alginates; created by doctors; the only gum that aids digestion and acid reflux.
2. Simply Gum
Peppermint and cinnamon oils are highly efficacious in aiding digestion. These are not only the most popular flavors, but they also work really well for increasing saliva.
However, both oils can also cause issues with those who have acid reflux, so if that’s you, Simply Gum is my second choice.
Simply Gum gets its name from its simple ingredient list. Like Reflux Gourmet, it uses limited, natural ingredients, with flavors that aren’t restricted to mint or cinnamon. Some of their natural flavors include:
- Coffee
- Ginger
- Maple
- Fennel
This gum uses natural oils and extracts with plant-based sweeteners and a natural gum base derived from tree sap and not from plastic like some of the more common chewing gums you see in the grocery store.
Who It’s Best For: Those who want a variety of flavors.
Why It Stands Out: The ingredient list is simple, natural things that everyone can pronounce, and it includes a natural, tree sap-derived gum base and not plastic.
3. Underbrush
Underbrush is a popular brand not just for aiding digestion but for remineralizing your teeth. It is marketed as the first remineralizing chewing gum designed to clean and whiten your teeth, as well as help increase your oral health by giving essential minerals that are needed to repair tooth enamel.
Like Reflux Gourmet, Underbrush offers a berry flavor alternative to peppermint and cinnamon oils if you are looking for something to help with digestion, but you also have symptoms of acid reflux from time to time.
Their product list includes many natural minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc, all of which help repair holes in the teeth, so you get gentle cleaning while also encouraging better saliva production to help with digestion.
Who It’s Best For: Those who want to repair their teeth with remineralization.
Why It Stands Out: It helps remineralize your teeth, especially if you have damage from tooth decay, and is the only one that helps remineralize your teeth while aiding digestion.
4. Stevita Hum
Steering away from unwanted sugars, Stevita Hum is a sugar-free pack of chewing gum that can help with digestion. It was created as a natural, sugar-free, and artificial sweetener-free gum with many flavors, including bubble gum, peppermint, and fruit flavors.
It uses stevia xylitol as the sweetener, not cane sugar (the same “plant-based” sugar alternative that Reflux Gourmet and Simply Gum use).
Who It’s Best For: Those who want help managing digestion with a sugar-free alternative.
Why It Stands Out: It uses a natural sweetener instead of a sugar-based sweetener, so you don’t have any artificial sweeteners or sugars.
5. Spry Fresh
Finally, there is Spry Fresh. This is another gum that is very good at increasing saliva production, which helps aid digestion, release the gastric juices that you need to reduce bloating or gas, and neutralize things like acid reflux symptoms.
Like many of the others, it uses natural Xylitol as the sweetening agent, so you don’t have to worry about cane sugar, and it comes in many flavors such as licorice, bubble gum, fresh fruit, green tea, and a variety of mint flavors.
I like this one because it’s easy to find on Amazon and comes in a range of flavors.
Who It’s Best For: Those who want their gum shipped via Prime.
Why It Stands Out: This stands out for its range of flavors and easy accessibility.
The Final Verdict
Overall, chewing gum, no matter the type, can offer some basic benefits in terms of aiding digestion, not least of which are increased saliva production, increased production of gastric juices, and overall soothing of the esophagus and stomach lining.
However, the type of chewing gum you choose is very important because of the additional benefits you might get on top of these baseline benefits. My top pick is Reflux Gourmet Gum because of added bicarbonate and alginates, which have a ton of benefits for both aiding in digestion and combating reflux.
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