Need something to chew to get your ears to pop after a change in elevation? Or maybe you just want to taste something sweet while you work on homework or grind through another workday. In all these cases and more, a stick of gum could be just the ticket. But is gum gluten-free?
Gum is typically gluten-free. Most brands of gum don’t contain gluten, and gum bases are usually made of rubber rather than any wheat-based flour. However, some brands of gum still use gluten as a flavoring or binding agent, so you have to be careful about which types of gum you choose. Wrigley’s, Trident, and Glee Gum are all certified gluten-free.
Today, let’s take a closer look at chewing gum and break down which brands of gum are really gluten-free and safe for folks with celiac disease.
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Wheat Flour and Gum
If you’ve ever removed a stick of gum from a package and found a white dusting on the surface, that might be wheat flour. The wheat flour may not even be intended to be on the gum, but it could have gotten there due to cross-contamination from a shared factory environment.
That said, some gum producers also use wheat flour intentionally to change the texture or flavor of the gum product. Because of this, some gum brands are not gluten-free. You’ll be happy to know that most popular sugar-free gums are indeed gluten-free since they don’t use wheat flour during any part of the process.
To compensate, many gum producers will use xanthan gum or guar gum, either of which is a suitable substitute binder that compensates for the lack of gluten and keeps gum chewy. As an added bonus, both xanthan gum and guar gum are totally vegan, so feel free to chow down on chewing gum with these ingredients if you are following a vegan diet.
Gum Nutritional Information
Ultimately, it can be tough to determine whether one type of gum or another is really gluten-free. This is because many manufacturers can be pretty cagey about whether or not their gum products include gluten – especially when it comes to an ingredient called “gum base”. Most modern gum producers make a gum base with synthetic ingredients, but not all.
To that end, let’s take a look at some of the most popular gum brands. Specifically, let’s see if they are gluten-free or if you should look elsewhere for chewing gum.
Is Extra Gum Gluten-Free?
Extra Gum is a subsidiary brand of Wrigley’s, which is possibly the most popular gum brand in the world. Lots of their gum flavors are sugar-free, making them great for folks who want something tasty to chew on without consuming extra sugar or tons of calories. But are they gluten-free? Let’s find out by examining the ingredients of Extra’s Spearmint gum flavor.
Its ingredients are:
- Sorbitol
- Gum base
- Glycerol
- Natural and artificial flavors
- Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate
- Aspartame
- Mannitol
- Acesulfame K
- Soy lecithin
- BHT
- Artificial colors
Nutrition facts (per 2.7 g):
- 5 cal
- 2 g carbohydrates or 1% DV
At the time of this writing, Wrigley’s has claimed that each Extra Gum stick is gluten-free. The gum and its base, they say, are not made from gluten or wheat. So far as we can tell, folks with gluten sensitivities should be fine if they choose to chew Extra Gum.
Is Mentos Gum Gluten-Free?
Mentos provides gum sticks and mints for folks who want to keep their breath fresh or give their mouths something to do. Mentos are noteworthy because the gum’s primary ingredient is xylitol, which is supposed to reduce the risk of tooth decay. But let’s look at other ingredients to determine whether it is really a gluten-free gum choice.
For our examination, we’ll use one of Mentos’ main flavors: Fresh Mint.
Its ingredients are:
- Xylitol
- Sorbitol
- Chewing gum base
- Mannitol
- Glycerin
- Maltitol syrup
- Maltodextrin
- Artificial flavors
- Rice starch
- Aspartame
- Acesulfame K
- Coconut oil
- Sodium carboxymethylcellulose
- Sucrose fatty acid esters
- Soy lecithin
- Green tea extract
- Carnauba wax
- Sucralose
- Xanthan gum
- BHT
- Blue Lake 1 and Blue 1
Nutrition facts (per 2 g):
- 5 cal
- 1 g carbohydrates or 1% DV
As with Wrigley’s, Mentos claims that the chewing gum base used in its gum products is also gluten-free. Therefore, you should be safe if you try Mentos gum – with the sole exceptions of Mentos Spearmint Gum and Mentos Choco. So long as you avoid these two gum flavors from Mentos, there’s no need to worry about their gum upsetting your stomach.
Is Trident Gum Gluten-Free?
Trident is another popular gum brand, and many of its gum sticks are sugar-free to cut down on calories and excess sugar. That said, this gum brand also uses an abstractly-named gum base, which can make it hard to determine whether it’s truly appropriate for a gluten-free diet. Let’s look at Trident’s Spearmint flavor to take a deep dive.
Its ingredients are:
- Sorbitol
- Gum base
- Xylitol
- Glycerin
- Natural and artificial flavors
- Acesulfame potassium
- Aspartame
- BHT
- Mannitol
- Soy lecithin
- Sucralose
- Yellow 5 Lake
- Blue 1 Lake
Nutrition facts (per 1.9 g):
- <5 cal
- 1 g carb
- 1 g sugar alcohol
Like many other gum manufacturers, Trident’s gum products don’t have a gluten-free label. That said, the company has said that each gum product regardless of flavor is gluten-free and sugar-free. Once more, you’ll have to take the manufacturer’s word on this since we can’t know for certain what comprises the gum base at the heart of each gum stick.
Is 5 Gum Gluten-Free?
Let’s check out one more popular gum brand: Wrigley’s 5 Gum Spearmint Rain flavor, specifically. This gum and its overall brand are popular thanks to its sugar-free composition and relatively minimal ingredient list (at least compared to other types of gum). But is it gluten-free? Let’s find out…
Its ingredients are:
- Sorbitol
- Gum base
- Glycerol
- Natural and artificial flavors
- BHT
- Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate
- Aspartame
- Mannitol
- Soy lecithin
- Artificial colors
- Acesulfame K
Nutrition facts (per 2.7 g):
- 5 cal
- 2 g carbohydrates or 1% DV
Because 5 Gum is also manufactured by the broader Wrigley’s gum company, these gum sticks are also supposedly gluten-free.
Healthy Gluten-Free Alternatives to Gum
As you can see, it’s more common nowadays to find gluten-free gum than it is to find gum containing gluten. However, lots of gum choices aren’t particularly healthy or are, at best, simply nutritionally neutral. You can do better and find several healthy gluten-free alternatives to gum; let’s examine some of those alternatives now.
Neuro Gum
Neuro Gum is a new and revolutionary gum product that acts like a kind of energy drink and chewing gum in one. Neuro Gum Energy & Focus is a special gum formulated with natural caffeine, B vitamins, and even L-theanine, all of which are known to boost mental endurance and energy. As a result, you might be able to use this unique gum product to focus on a test or get through the afternoon slump at work. Naturally, this gum is also gluten-free, sugar-free, and is vegan as a bonus!
Its ingredients are:
- Caffeine
- L-theanine
- B vitamins
- Sorbitol
- Gum base
- Natural flavors
- Calcium stearate
- Spirulina
- Sucralose
- Stevia
- Monk fruit
Nutrition facts (per 2 pieces of gum):
- 4 cal
- <1 g carbohydrates
- <1 g sugar alcohol
- 4 mg vitamin B6 or 70% DV
- 12 mcg vitamin B12 or 200% DV
PUR Peppermint Gum
PUR offers a variety of healthy gum alternatives that are vegetarian, vegan, sugar-free, soy-free, and even non-GMO in addition to being gluten-free. Even better, all the ingredients used in their Peppermint Gum are plant-based, so you know that each gum you pop doesn’t contain harmful animal-based or synthetic ingredients.
Its ingredients are:
- Xylitol
- Gum base
- Gum Arabic
- Natural flavors
- Carnauba wax
- Tocopherols
Nutrition facts (per 1 piece):
- 10 cal
- 2 g carbohydrates or 1% DV
Simply Gum Peppermint
Simply Gum offers natural gum flavors thanks to a handful of organic ingredients, so it’s great for folks wanting to put only good things in their bodies. Because of this dedication, Simply Gum’s Peppermint and other gum flavors are also gluten-free. But you may wish to try these just because of their unique and tasty flavors.
Its ingredients are:
- Organic raw cane sugar
- Natural chicle base
- Natural peppermint oil
- Organic vegetable glycerin
- Organic rice flour
Nutrition facts (per 1 piece):
- 3 cal
- 1 g carb hydrate or 1% DV
- 1 g sugar or 2% DV
Final Thoughts
All in all, gum is a mixed bag when it comes to gluten-free ingredients. You should always do research before buying a new kind of gum, but you’re generally pretty safe if you choose sugar-free gum from the brands mentioned above. Luckily, it seems like the gum industry is leaning more away from gluten and wheat flour than toward those ingredients. So, it may become even more friendly to folks with gluten sensitivities in the future!
Related Questions
What brands of chewing gum are gluten-free for sure?
At the time of this writing, only a handful of chewing gum brands have come out to say that products are certified gluten-free. These brands include Wrigley’s, Trident, and Glee Gum.
What is gum base made of?
That would be gum base: a mysterious ingredient that is usually made from synthetic rubber (yes, you read that right) plus some natural and artificial materials. Lots of gum makers will also add softeners to the gum base to prevent gum sticks from becoming too hard over time. At least the gum base is not usually derived from wheat!