When you were younger, did your mom ever tell you that chewing gum could end up spending seven years in your stomach?
Well, as you suspected, she’s wrong. But there are some things about gum that you may not know.
Contrary to popular belief, there are some parts of gum that you can digest. For example, the sweetners and the flavoring. The gum base, however, cannot be digested. It’s insoluble, like seeds or skins of fruits, so it can’t be digested and instead passes through your digestive system.
But however comical/frightening the image is of a wad of bubblegum sticking to your stomach lining the same way it sticks to shoes or a sidewalk, that isn’t really something you need to worry about. Gum may take longer than some other foods to get through your body, it won’t be because it’s sticking.
On that note, there’s nothing inherently bad about swallowing gum, unless you have digestion issues. Things like Crohn’s disease or diverticulitis could be agitated by swallowed bum. Rare cases of gum swallowing could lead to cramping and constipation, but these issues are temporary.
But aside from these risks, you’d have to be swallowing a huge amount of gum to see digestive troubles.
Chewing gum in general isn’t bad for you, either. It can help you concentrate, activate your salivary glands to make your breath smell better, ease heartburns, and even remove bacteria from your mouth in a manner similar to flossing. That is, of course, if your gum is sugar free.
So don’t listen to those old wives’ tales. If you swallow the odd piece of gum here and there, you’re no worse off.
