I’m not a big gum chewer, but I like to keep a package in my purse for post-lunch ick-breath, boredom, and for my husband. One thing I hate about gum? The artificial sweeteners. I try to avoid them–not just for health reasons, but mostly because I hate the taste. But gums made with sugar are usually too sweet and cloying for me. What’s a girl to do?
Evidently I am not the only person with this concern because now there’s PÜR Gum. Aspartame haters rejoice! Not only is PÜR free of aspartame, but it’s free of sugar too–instead, it’s sweetened with Xylitol. The awesome thing about Xylitol is that it helps fight cavities and plaque, making this much better than chewing with sugary gum which has the opposite effect on your oral health. PÜR Gum is also gluten free, nut free, non-GMO and completely vegan.
PÜR Gum comes in four flavors: Excitemint, Peppermint, Pomegranate Mint, and Spearmint. For this review, I was able to try Peppermint, Pomegranate Mint, and Spearmint–no Excitemint for me! Because of my general dislike of non-sugar sweeteners, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the Xylitol and I worried about getting that yucky chemical aftertaste that I so hate, but I was quite pleased with the flavor of PÜR Gum. The Pomegranate Mint was my favorite–the two flavors were a perfect compliment to each other. Fruity and minty!
That said, there was something I didn’t like about this gum–the texture. I found it to be oddly rubbery and not as soft as I’d have liked. When I got the gum, it was crushed in the blister packs and had been traveling to me from Canada for several weeks in the heat of summer, so I fully admit that this may be the reason for the texture issues.
If you don’t mind the texture, PÜR Gum is a great alternative to other products made with aspartame and sugar. And since it contains Xylitol, it’s especially good for children who sometimes don’t do the best job with brushing their teeth and flossing. (Obviously, this isn’t a substitute for good oral care, but it is a useful reinforcement!) PÜR Gum is available in over 2000 health and food stores across North America and it retails for $1.49-$1.99 for a pack of nine pieces–find a retailer near you by using the store locator on the PÜR Gum website.
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*Kiersten received samples of the above product (free of charge) to facilitate this review. All opinions are those of reviewer only.
2 Responses
This sounds pretty good and there seem to be a lot of flavors.
The only thing that concerns me is if people chew it too often, they may get diarrhea as Xylitol is used for constipation.
Oh yes, that is a concern!