Chewing gum is something that millions of people do every day. It’s one of the biggest businesses in the world. If you don’t believe that just look at the business history of Wrigley. The Chicago Cubs play in Wrigley Field and the company owned the team for a long time. Owning a major league baseball team is a very costly endeavor. Most people use gum for many reasons. Maybe they are trying to quit smoking or cut down on their food intake. It’s all about keeping the mouth busy and your mind off of the things you are trying to avoid. That doesn’t mean it’s good for you though. Long term gum chewing can lead to several other problems. What you may indeed be doing is trading one issue for another. You’ll find out in a few minutes about all of the bad things that can come from chewing gum for a long time. Most of them you might already know but I’ll bet there are a few you never even thought of before. Before you buy that next pack of gum you should think about a few of these things. Maybe you’ll put it back on the shelf and find something else to purchase instead.A study was conducted of 30 young people chewing gum and the effects it had on them. It consisted of people aged six through nineteen years old. Each chewed gum daily and each suffered from migraine headaches. When they went one month without the gum nineteen people saw their headaches completely go away. Several started chewing again days after the study ended and their headaches came right back.
Lots of people use gum to reduce their food intake. It does work but then what happens is the food intake they do get is usually lower quality food. This could be because of the flavors in gum. They make vegetables taste bitter. Is that a calculated move by gum companies?
If you chew your gum more on one side than the other you are at risk of developing TMJ. Long term gum chewing can also cause tooth aches, ear aches and headaches.
When you chew your gum you may not even realize that you are bringing in more air into your body than you normally would. That can be a major contributor to suffering from IBS. There are no reports of Mr. Obama suffering from that though, that we know of.
Don’t think that you are safe from tooth damage because you only chew sugar-free gum. That’s a very common misconception. Just like diet soda isn’t all that much better for you, sugar-free gum falls into the same category.
Most gums have lanolin in them. That’s a waxy substance that comes from sheep wool. It helps it stay soft for your chewing pleasure. It’s not bad for you but it’s not very enticing.
For those that have Mercury fillings you should be aware of this: “…chewing gum has been shown to increase the release rate of mercury vapor from dental amalgam fillings… The impact of excessive chewing on mercury levels was considerable.” This came from a dental study so it should be taken seriously.
Gum is filled with plenty of artificial sweeteners. After all, you wouldn’t want to chew on sheep’s wool would you? Since it is in your mouth the ingredients are directly absorbed into your body through the inside of your cheeks and when you swallow. Read the ingredients on your next pack before you open it. You may think twice before buying it.
Besides the fact that when you step on a piece of gum it makes a mess of the bottom of your shoes, gum can also make a mess of the inside of you. After reading everything that you have just read, are you now thinking twice about buying that next pack of gum? If not you should be.
This photo makes chewing gum look so enticing doesn’t it? Before you do so though you should check out the long term effects of gum chewing. They may not be worth it!
