A recent communication from the British Medical Association warns against the intake of too much Sorbitol, an artificial sweetener
Sugar-free chewing gum is supposed to be good for us, it is supposed to help our dental higiene and reduces decay. Two recent cases highlighted by the British Medical Journal demonstrate that it is better not to consume too much of the artificial sweetener this chewing gum contains.
In what sounds like an episode of the medical drama, "House", two patients with chronic diarrhoea, stomach pains and severe weight loss are adnitted to hospital, but no explanation can be found for the symptoms until they are interrogated about their dietary habits.
Eventually both admit to consuming large quantities of sugar-free chewing gum, and, in one case, sweets as well. This meant that their intake of Sorbitol, a popular artficial sweetener with mild laxative effects, was way over a sensible limit.
Products containing sorbitol usually have small print somewhere on the packaging warning of possible laxative effects, and small quantities don't usually cause any problems, but just go steady out there!
