We have all heard the horror story our parents or tutors told us as children, if you swallow too much chewing gum it'll be stuck in your intestine for hundreds of years. I found myself wondering, why do we have chewing gum? How does it benefit us? Is it as dangerous as we are told? Here is where I will be discussing just that.
Sugar-free gum is recommended by dentists as chewing it after meals can prevent the bad bacteria from damaging your enamel after eating, by neutralising acids. This occurs as chewing stimulates eating, which makes the mouth naturally produce more saliva, and saliva, if you didn't already know is very good for our teeth due to it's ability to combat bacteria. It is generally accepted that chewing gum is completely safe as long as it isn't swallowed over a long period of time, and you stick to the daily intake written on the packaging. What you need to watch out for is chewing gum with artificial sweeteners, as these are the ones that can play havoc with our teeth, causing the adverse affect to sugar-free gum.
Be aware that chewing gum containing Methanol (usually mint-flavoured gum), can break down into two very toxic substances, formic acid and formaldehyde. Which can cause the body digestive issues, and even contribute to developing diabetes.
Overall, chewing gum is not a healthy habit by any means, but as long as it's used in the right way, and doesn't contain any sugar, it can actually be beneficial for your mouth. Anything in excess is bad for you, so I would recommend only taking what you absolutely need, many experts suggest using one regular pack of gum a day at the most.
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