I guess I am addressing this question to Jini, but I would imagine that others following the IBD Remission Diet would also be interested in the answer.

On p. 36 of "The IBD Remission Diet" book, it specifies that the only allowable chewing gum is Wrigley's brand regular Spearmint or Juicy Fruit, but when I purchased these two gums, these were the listed ingredients:

Juicy Fruit: Sugar, gum base, corn syrup, dextrose, natural and artificial flavors, glycerol, aspartame, softeners, sucralose, BHT (to maintain freshness).

Spearmint: Sugar, gum base, corn syrup, dextrose, natural and artificial flavors, softeners, acesulfame K, BHT (to maintain freshness).

Why are these gums allowed with these artificial sweeteners/ingredients and is there a reason why we can't use more natural gums without artificial sweeteners instead?

Yikes! You're right, those list of ingredients are horrific!

You know, those were the gums my GI told me were okay on the diet, and because I rarely chew gum, I didn't even think to check the ingredients!

So yes, definitely, you want to find a more natural gum if possible, or just do without and chew gummi bears instead. As brands change formulas all the time, see my Holistic Health Shoppe for which brand of gummi bears are okay:

http://www.HolisticHealthShoppe.com

Thanks for noticing that and bringing it to my attention!

Jini