Expert: Joanne - 4/3/2007

Question
Hi, i was diagnosed with anorexia and recently developed a habit of chewing out foods that i like eg: chocolate, chips, ice cream whenever i have a craving. I was wondering does it cause weight gain? On most days i don't eat at all but on some days either one or two meals only but i chew and spit out a lot of food. I also exercise 4 to 5 times a week. If you are not eating but you chew and spit out food, can this contribute to weight gain and are you absorbing a lot of the calories? I have read that honey can be absorbed through your tongue but what about chocs and biscuits? I rinse my mouth every time i chew and spit so can this eliminate the food? Thanks for your time if you can reply to this.

Answer
When you chew food, there is an enzyme in the saliva that breaks down starches and sugars into smaller sugars that the body can absorb and use.  I doubt the chewing itself is causing you to gain weight, but there is a chance that you are swallowing saliva and taking in some of the sugar that will be mixed in with that - but that sugar is almost negligible and I doubt would cause you to gain weight!

Maybe you need to go and speak to the team that made your diagnosis and make sure they are aware of the chewing and spitting and ask them more of any possible outcomes from it, plus they need to know about this in order to help treat you!

Hope that helps a bit, and please feel free to come back with any other questions you may have!

Best Wishes
Holly