As exhausting as we could strive to make sure that we ingest the very best meals and drinks for our our bodies, issues can occur. (This is taking a look at you, yesterday’s jitter-inducing third latte.) However typically, such eventualities are purely unintentional. As an illustration, whereas I used to be chewing gum the opposite day, I mistakenly swallowed it down as I sipped on a glass of water. It had been years since I’d executed so, and I instantly stopped in my tracks.
Childhood rumors about gum staying in your system for seven years (or without end?) instantly got here to thoughts. This received me to considering: What occurs once you swallow gum… and is it even digestible? To decipher truth from fiction, I reached out to Peyton Berookim, MD, MA, FACG, AGAF, a double board-certified gastroenterologist on the Gastroenterology Institute of Southern California.
What occurs once you swallow gum?
For starters, the GI physician notes that gum is in a distinct class from most meals and even sweet. “Gum is a really explicit concoction of components which can be meant to make it indigestible,” Dr. Berookim says. Its constituents are precisely why you possibly can chew it for hours on finish nevertheless it nonetheless stays intact.
“Give it some thought: If it would not simply disintegrate in your mouth after repeatedly chomping down on it and being uncovered to digestive enzymes, similar to amylase, then it will not get fully damaged down in the remainder of your digestive system both,” Dr. Berookim continues. So sure—gum isn’t appropriate with the digestive system.
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Does swallowed gum ever get totally digested?
Recalling the childhood rumor of gum staying in your system for seven years after swallowing it, Dr. Berookim says that is extra of a fable than something… with one caveat.
“Our digestive enzymes can simply break down all of gum’s parts besides the gum base itself,” Dr. Berookim says. “Gum base consists of an insoluble gum base—resins, humectants, elastomers, emulsifiers, fillers, waxes, antioxidants, and softeners—sweeteners, and flavoring brokers.” FYI, he notes that gum base is strictly what makes it sticky and stretchy.
However simply because we are able to’t digest gum totally doesn’t imply it’ll keep in our techniques without end. On this level, Dr. Berookim says we are able to liken gum base to different objects we routinely ingest that we are able to’t break down—similar to insoluble fiber, watermelon seeds, and popcorn kernels. “[These] are usually not digestible, however nonetheless observe alongside the trail of the digestive system and make their means out of our our bodies,” he shares. (Cue the collective sigh of aid.)
How “dangerous” is it to swallow gum?
Whereas swallowing gum isn’t ideally suited, Dr. Berookim says that doing so accidentally is unlikely to trigger digestive misery or any palpable injury. “Some folks report a right away abdomen ache after ingesting their gum, [but] whether or not that is only a psychological response or an actual physiologic impact will not be fully recognized,” he says.
With that in thoughts, Dr. Berookim mentions that experiencing antagonistic results after swallowing gum are extra seemingly in the event you ingest a big mouthful of it. “An excessive amount of gum swallowed directly can clump collectively to kind a bigger clump also referred to as a bezoar, which is just too giant to maneuver usually via the digestive tract and might probably trigger an obstruction.”
Kids particularly require extra warning on this regard. “Because the diameter of the small gut in a baby is smaller, the danger of obstruction will increase,” Dr. Berookim says. In sum, he advises spitting out your gum as soon as it loses its taste otherwise you’re executed chewing it—nevertheless it’s not likely price stressing over in the event you gulp it down by mistake.
