Chewing gum
Gum has been used for chewing for thousands of years in various forms. Gum is a soft and chewy material manufactured to be chewed and not chewed. The original gum is made from tree sap, while the current gum is manufactured from synthetic rubber materials, although the ingredients vary according to the manufacturer; A basic rule. Gum in general has many benefits; however, it may sometimes be harmful to health for various reasons.
Ingredients of chewing gum
The gum contains many ingredients, as follows:
- Gum Base: It is a rubber and non-digestible substance used to give chewing gum the chewable strength.
- Resin or gum: It is a substance used to hold and strengthen gum.
- Fillers: These are substances used to give gum appropriate textures, such as calcium carbonate or talcum.
- Preservatives: Used to increase the shelf life of chewing gum.
- Material: It is used to keep the moisture of gum and tooth without harshness.
- Localities: The most common are sugar cane, sugar beet, corn syrup, sugar-free gum is used in the manufacture of Xylitol, or artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame.
- Flavoring materials: It is added to give flavors to the gum using either natural or synthetic materials.
The benefits of chewing gum
Chewing gum has many benefits, including the following:
- Reduce stress and enhance memory: A study found that chewing gum during short-term memory tests showed a 24% better performance, 36% more memory tests The study found chewing chewing gum for two weeks reduced stress, especially in terms of academic burden. Chewing gum was associated with low levels of stress hormone, cortisol.
- Weight reduction: Chewing chewing gum is a useful way to reduce weight, because gum is sweet and low calorie at the same time. It gives the person that sweet taste without spoiling his diet, and reduces the feeling of hunger. This prevents eating too much, but the results are mixed and mixed. On this subject, which calls for further studies.
- Protect your teeth and get rid of bad breath: Sugar-free chewing gum contributes to the prevention of tooth decay, unlike sugar-containing chewing gum, because sugar feeds harmful bacteria in the mouth, harming the teeth. Chewing chewing gum increases the flow of saliva after meals, helping to remove both food residues And harmful sugars that feed harmful bacteria.
- Prevention of ear infection in children: Some studies suggest that chewing gum containing xylitol can prevent the prevention of middle ear infections in children.
- Helping to Quit smoking: Nicotine gum helps people quit smoking.
- Helping intestines recover after surgery: Studies have shown that chewing gum after surgery has accelerated healing.
- Mitigation of GERD: Chewing chewing gum increases the acidity of the esophagus. Chewing increases the production of saliva and swallowing more as a result. This contributes to the acidification of the person’s mouth faster, and the person likes to choose sugar-free chewing gum and avoid mint chewing gum; Symptoms do not relieve them.
Effects of chewing gum side
Chewing chewing gum also has useful aspects, it also has unwanted side effects, the most important of which are:
- diarrhea: Sugar Alcohols, which are used to sweeten sugar-free chewing gum, cause diarrhea when consumed in large quantities, and sugary alcohols cause digestive problems for people with irritable bowel syndrome.
- Dental Problems: Sugar chewing gum causes tooth decay over time, because harmful bacteria in the mouth digest that sugar.
- Headache: Recently chewing chewing gum has been found to be persistent with migraine headaches and tension headaches; other studies are needed to confirm this relationship, but scientists are advised to suffer from migraines by reducing gum chewing.
- Jaw problems: It has been suggested that continuous chewing can cause temporomandibular disorder, which results in pain when chewing.
- Industrial Additives: Some types of chewing gum contain small amounts of dangerous ingredients; however, because of their small amounts, they do not pose a danger to human health. These include titanium dioxide, which is added to the food to whiten and give it a soft touch, and aspartame Aspartame); an industrial substrate is added to sugar-free foods.
- Health problems caused by nicotine gum: Although nicotine gum has the effect of quitting smoking, it may cause unwanted symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, headache, panic, irregular or rapid heartbeat, skin rash and itching. Although these symptoms are rare and uncommon ; However, a person should visit the doctor as soon as they appear. Oral inflammation, pimples, irritability, vomiting and sore throat are common symptoms and do not usually require medical intervention.
- Children swallow gum: If the baby swallows several small amounts of it in a short period of time, it can block the gastrointestinal tract, often forming the blockage if chewing gum is swallowed with strange objects such as coins or with substances not Digestion: It is worth mentioning that swallowing a piece of chewing gum by chance is never harmful.