calorie content of gum?!
for example, if the label says it's 5 calories:
if i swallow my gum, am i consuming more than 5 calories?
or, if i don't swallow my gum, am i consuming less than 5 calories?
also, another question: i know that the calorie content on labels of foods already subtracts the calories you burn by digesting the food. but for gum, does it subtract the calories you burn by chewing the gum?
i'm just curious.
Answers:
For the gum. It is not assuming that you swallow the gum. However it does not really matter too much in terms of if you chew it for a long time or if you swallow it. A neat little experiment if you are ever interested is to get a piece of gum (un-chewed) and weigh it. Then chew the gum for five minutes or so and then weigh it again. It will actually weigh less because your body has digestive enzymes in your mouth that start the digestion process before you actually ingest the food. As far as the calories listed in other foods, no it does not take into account the calories it takes to digest the food. The method of calculating calories in foods only determines how much energy (or calories) that food gives off. I hope this helps!
by chewing it, it is five calories