Food Chemicals
Sugar free gum with sorbitol can cause bowel problems
By Sue Mueller
Jan 10, 2008 - 10:27:26 PM

THURSDAY JAN 10, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- German doctors warned Friday use of sugar free chewing gum with sorbitol could cause serious bowel problems.  Sorbitol which is not well utilized in the body is often used to replace sugar.

Two cases reported involved a man and a woman who used some 15 to 20 sticks of chewing gum a day, Reuters reported, citing the study published in the British medical Journal.

The Berlin doctors said both patients experienced chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and severe weight loss after consuming large amounts of sorbitol from chewing gum.

However, when they stopped using such sugar free chewing gum, they regained normal gastrointestinal function.

Sorbitol is widely used in food industry and directly by consumers to replace sugar in certain foods or as a weight aid because it is poorly absorbed by the small intestine and is believed to have laxative properties.

But Dr Juergen Bauditz and colleagues of the University of Berlin said many consumers never associated use of sorbitol with their bowel problems.
 
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