Is Chewing Gum Dangerous?

[Guest guest]

Is Chewing Gum Dangerous?

 

" What's the truth about swallowing chewing gum? Does it harmlessly pass, or is

ingesting non-food products in general a terrible idea? "

 

-- Rob Campbell

 

(Published 10/10/1997)

 

Most everyone has swallowed a piece of gum inadvertently. After all, chewing gum

magnate William Wrigley Jr. had to sell quite a bit of it to accrue his $1.9

billion fortune. I read in Sports Illustrated that the average baseball team

chews 300 pieces of gum just in the course of one game. So I don't think there's

much to worry about here. Your body will get rid of the gum. People have

swallowed all sorts of things, and so long as they're not jagged-edged or

otherwise physically obstructive, they just pass on through.

Now, sugar-free gum can cause problems. Ingestion of large amounts of hexitols,

sorbitol and mannitol, which are used as sugar substitutes, can cause diarrhea.

These chemicals are not absorbed, but pass into the small intestine and colon,

where they drive a bowel purge. It only takes about 10 grams of sorbitol to

stimulate this effect.

The journal Lancet reported a confusing case in which a 32-year-old flight

attendant complained of being plagued for seven years by diarrhea and abdominal

pain. After three days of analyzing her blood and liver biochemistry, serum

vitamin levels, stool content, abdominal health and so on, the doctors

questioned her further and learned that she had been chewing about 60 sticks of

sugar-free chewing gum a day. That adds up to about 75 grams of sorbitol daily.

Aha! She stopped, and was well. Avoid these products if you have irritable bowel

syndrome, colitis or other intestinal ailments.

Many sugar-free gums also use aspartame (brand name Nutrasweet), which, as I've

noted several times on this program, is an additive to be avoided.

The biggest problem related to gum chewing has to do more with your mouth than

your digestive system. As you chew, you're coating your teeth with sugar, which

makes a nice medium for the build-up of dental plaque and the proliferation of

bacteria.

So, go easy on the chewing gum -- sugar-free or not. And yes, try not to swallow

it.

 

 

 

 

 

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