Chewing Gum – Side Effects, Benefits, Hystory

Chewing Gum – Side Effects, Benefits, Hystory:

Although it is commonly consumed nowadays, it is very harmful. It contains harmful ingredients and substances that can sicken or even kill us.

Furthermore, chewing gum is considered to be the most toxic product intended for human consumption.

In the old days, it was made from tree sap. Now, unfortunately, it is full of harmful ingredients and chemicals.

Gum is made from synthetic polymers, such as styrene-butadiene rubber and vinyl acetate. It contains 60% sugar, 20% corn syrup 20% rubberized materials.

People don’t eat chewing gum, so they don’t pay too much attention to its ingredients.

They assume that there is no reason for concern. In fact, the ingredients enter the bloodstream much faster and in higher concentrations than normal food, because they are absorbed directly through the mouth’s walls.

History

People have been using gum for millennia, but only recently has it become a mentholated plastic mass, full of preservatives and other chemicals.

Ancient Greeks chewed “mastiche,” a gum made from the resin of a tree called mastic, Mayans chewed “chicle” gum, the milky latex of the sapodilla tree, while the North American Indians used spruce sap, passing down their habit to those who have settled in that region.

At the end of World War II, chemists learned to produce synthetic rubber, which eventually replaced the natural rubber from the basis of chewing gum.

Today, the ingredient called „gum base” is actually the abbreviated name for a soup of potentially toxic ingredients.

Benefits of chewing gum

  • After eating, chewing gum influences the production of gastric juice, which helps the digestion process. However, it’s not indicated on an empty stomach!
  • Gum is useful on the plane, the lift, and the cable car, because as a result of repeated movement of the jaw, the pressure in the middle ear is relieved.

The discovery stating that this type of gum makes you smarter is an innovation. It says it can improve children’s academic achievements.

This was revealed during a study conducted by American researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the University College.

Students with this “hobby” have had better results in mathematics because gum determines them to focus better and helps them relieve stress.

Side effects of chewing gum

  • Those who are chewing gum several times a day run the risk of disfiguring their facial muscles, wearing down their teeth, and disordering their salivary secretion.
  • By stimulating saliva, the secretion of gastric juice, consisting of hydrochloric acid that plays the role of facilitating food digestion, is also stimulated. Excessive chewing, over 20 minutes, can cause gastritis and gastric ulcers. The gastric mucosa is seriously irritated if we are chewing gum on an empty stomach. The same prolonged chewing causes fatigue of the temporomandibular joint. So, arthritis, joint pain, and strange noises when opening the mouth are to be expected.
  • Dental work detachment or damage.
  • Artificial sweeteners (such as – Sweet’N Low (saccharin), Equal (aspartame), and Splenda (sucralose)) in the composition of chewing gum slow down the development of children and can cause nervous system disorders.

Here are some substances the chewing gum contains: artificial flavors, gum base, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, xylitol, acacia, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, BHT, calcium phosphate, candelilla wax, sodium stearate, titanium dioxide.

These substances can cause diseases such as allergies, hormonal disorders, liver disorders, liver, and intestinal diseases, hepatobiliary disorders, digestive system disorders, nervous disorders, increased cholesterol levels, tumors, and cancer.

Environmental effects

It will not disappear soon, and this can be harmful both for our health and for the environment because the current gum is not a biodegradable one.

Most local authorities consider this product a factor that causes dirt, instead of an enemy of the environment. It is certainly unpleasant to see a lot of gum thrown on the ground, and in 1992 in Singapore, it has become such a problem that gum was banned for more than a decade.

The ban was partially lifted in 2004. Since then, a gum with therapeutic effects that strengthens tooth enamel (the hardest biological substance in the human body), as they claim, is now allowed in the country.

Healthy alternatives

In fact, is it worth sacrificing our health in order to fight bad breath, if there are many healthier alternatives? They include parsley, mint, rosemary, tarragon, and cloves.

Do you use lots of chewing gum? Now that you know its harmful effects on your health, do you think you could replace it?

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References

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24266501_Effects_of_chewing_gum
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19356310

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