What Happens To Your Body When You Chew Gum?

Find out below what happens to your body when you eat gum and what you can do to prevent possible damage in the short to medium term.

Chewing gum may seem harmless. However, this is not entirely true. Of course, in the end it all depends on the frequency of our consumption and our personal hygiene habits.

This is not to create an alarm, but to be aware of what happens to the body when you eat chewing gum. Often we use this to relieve stress, reduce hunger or just out of habit.

When eaten, or chewed, its sweet taste and supple consistency can be addictive. Therefore, we will tell you what are the pros and cons of including it in your daily routine.

Chewing gum, advantages or disadvantages?

Chewing gum should not be harmful if we brush our teeth after chewing it. With good oral hygiene, this shouldn’t become a problem.

Chewing gum helps many people relax, have fun and deal with stress. It can also be a method to reduce cravings that appear in the afternoon. Let’s go through them in detail:

The benefits of eating chewing gum

1. Optimal concentration

Chewing gum affects the levels of cortisol in saliva. This hormone is responsible for the production of stress, which is reduced by around 16%. And by reducing stress, the mind relaxes and thus has a greater capacity for concentration.

2. Loss of appetite

Chewing gum is often thought to help trick the stomach to avoid constant eating. Especially for foods that are not very nutritious, such as sweets and soft drinks, among others.

3. Disappearance of heartburn

Chewing gum increases the production of saliva. In this way, solid and liquid foods pass more easily through the esophagus. This therefore helps neutralize the acids that move in it.

Those that taste like mint, or eucalyptus are especially recommended, as the fruity flavors can be unpleasant and cause stomach pain.

Cons of eating chewing gum

1. Too much sugar means weight gain

Like any other candy, chewing gum is made with refined sugar, additives, and other chemicals. This makes it a very unhealthy treat which, when chewed frequently, can increase the binge eating of foods with low nutritional value and in exaggerated amounts.

2. Beware of aspartame!

Aspartame is one of the sweeteners used in making “healthy” sugar-free chewing gum. This ingredient contains a substance known as phenylalanine, which is harmful to anyone who suffers from phenylketonuria, an inherited disease that affects the brain.

3. It is a dangerous laxative

Sugar-free chewing gum contains sorbitol, a laxative which, if swallowed too much, causes chronic diarrhea and stomach pain. German gastroenterologist Jurgen Bauditz recommends consuming no more than five grams of sorbitol per week.

4. It causes pain in the jaw

The correct closure of the jaw can be altered if a piece of gum is chewed with great force. It is possible that this could cause temporomandibular damage (the joints that work when you open and close your mouth).

5. Cavities, tartar and others

The sugar in chewing gum will remain soaked in the teeth, which helps bacteria in the mouth to build up and cause cavities and tartar, among other oral diseases, to appear.

For this reason, dentists do not recommend chewing them. If you do, you should brush your teeth immediately after throwing it out.

6. Contains by-products derived from sheep

Chewing gum contains lanolin, a substance that comes from the wool of sheep. She is waxy, and it is thanks to her that the chewing gum is elastic. Although it has not been considered harmful to health, it has not been proven to be otherwise.

We must not forget that chewing gum also has its positive side when you know how to take advantage of its benefits. The important thing, as all nutritionists say, is not to chew it too much and know that it can harm us to take the necessary action.

Remember that at the end of the day, you decide how to proceed. Chewing gum does exist, but we decide how to chew it.