Are Mentos Bad For You

Mentos candies or gums are basically known for its powerful reaction with diet coke. In addition to using them for explosions, however, some people snack on mentos as they provide a sweet crunch without too many calories. However, candies do not have a healthy nutritional profile, so it is best to eat them only as a topical treatment.

Types of Mentos.

Mentos have varieties of mint. Mints are the company’s more popular products and available in different taste like strawberries, cinnamon, green apples and mixed fruits. Mentos gum comes in peppermint, red fruit-lemon, watermelon or tropical taste.

Nutritive Value of Mentos.

Eating mentos candy is much less dangerous than using diet coke. The original mentos mint roll contains 10 calories, 2.5 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of sugar and negligible amounts of fat and sodium per mint without protein.

Nutritional facts are similar to other varieties of mints, although mini mentos contain about 40 calories per serving, 10 grams of carbohydrates and more than 7 grams of sugar.

Are Mentos Bad For You

A piece of mentos can enhance your mood, save you from hurting a colleague with post-lunch breath, or give you little refresher your mouth needs. But did you know that chewing mentos has many health benefits? Here are some:

Burn Calories Just By Chewing.

Certainly, you burn only 11 calories an hour by chewing a stick of gum, but for several hours, and you can shred an extra 50 calories from your day.

Read Now: GOLO Diet: A Diet for Weight Loss

Keep Your Teeth Healthy.

As long as it is sugarless, chewing gum for 20 minutes after eating can help to protect your teeth by removing the debris and increasing the flow of your saliva. Your saliva strengthens the enamel of your teeth as it contains phosphate and calcium.

According to American Dental Association chewing gum can prevent cavities.⁽¹⁾

Thin Your Waist.

According to a study by the University of Liverpool, chewing gum can reduce your craving a little, which can help you to make better food choices.⁽²⁾

On an average, gum chewers in the study shred 36 fewer calories than those who had not chewed gum. It doesn’t look so impressive, but if you lose 36 calories from your diet every day, its good.

Memory Improvement.

Due to chewing gum increases the blood flow to your brain. This has many positive effects including improving your memory.

In his research, Professor Andrew Sholay found that chewing a glue stick can improve your short-term memory by up to 35 per cent. But be careful: Chewing it too long can reduce your short-term memory.

Reduce Depression.

According to a study during 2011 claims that chewing gum twice daily for two weeks reduced anxiety, depression, fatigue and other mental illnesses in patients.

Fight Drowsiness.

If you struggle to be cautious at work, the simple measure you are looking for can be chewing gum. A study has shown that chewing gum can fight against sleep. Anything with mint flavour is the most effective glue to fight against afternoon yawning.

Read Now: Insomnia: Causes, Diagnosis and Home Remedies

Reduce Resentment.

If you suffering from acid reflux, chewing gum can help you in lowering acid level in the body. This acid can help to reduce reflux and resentment.

Remove Nausea.

Sugarless mint or all types of ginger gums can soothe stomach upset, morning sickness or motion sickness. However, mint and ginger are natural home remedies for nausea. If you are looking for small ways to improve your health, try chewing a stick of gum instead of eating sweets.

Older Men Benefit The Most.

Scientists have claimed that chewing gum affects many physical functions in men and women of all ages. They also stressed that male participants were most likely to benefit the most.

This study has shown that chewing gum while walking increases the length of the journey and increases energy consumption, especially in middle age and older men.

Many people have the habit of chewing gum to breathe fresh air or to avoid the craving for sweets.

To Reduce Stress.

Another study has claimed that chewing gum is very effective to reduce stress as it increases the flow of oxygen to the brain and reduces the natural production of the stress hormone – cortisol in the blood, thereby reducing stress.⁽³⁾

Read Now: 11 Super Food to Reduce Stress Level Within A Few Weeks

Reduce Nervousness.

Chewing gum not only relieves stress but also reduce anxiety or nervousness. So chewing gum can reduce stress before each exam or before an important interview or meeting.

Calming Throat.

After eating, especially high fat foods, some of you will experience resentment or gastro esophageal reflux. This condition not only causes discomfort to the body but can also result injury and esophagus. All you have to do is chew gum after eating, which will positively reduce the above symptoms.

Improve Digestive System.

Benefits of chewing gum ultimately help you to improve your digestive system. Researchers have shown that chewing activity can help to improve digestion, stimulate gastric acid secretions and digestive enzymes, so digesting food will be done well and effectively.⁽⁴⁾

Today there are lot of brands of chewing are available in the market such as: Mentos Chewing Gum, Happy dent, Xylitol and Dentine.

*Note when chewing mentos or gums:

• Make sure it’s sugar-free candy so that your teeth are not damaged.
• Do not chew candy when hungry. Because chewing produces acid secretion in the stomach and if the stomach is empty these acids will destroy the stomach layer, causing ulcers.

Bottom Line.

Although mentos can sometimes fit into a healthy diet as breakfast, they are not found in any of the main five food groups that MyPyramid.gov recommends: non-fat dairy, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean proteins.

Mentos high in sugar and simple carbohydrates are classified as foods that provide nutritional benefits, but it will not negatively affect most people to chew mint once or twice.

+4 Sources