Chewing Gum: Good Or Bad?

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History of gum

Chewing gum is regarded to be among the oldest candies produced by humans. Prehistoric people were known to have chewed on tree resin lumps. The early Greeks had chewed on mastic, a type of resin formed on a tree growing on Chios island, Greece. Chicle created from sap of sapodilla tree was chewed by the Mayans. Tree sap combined with bee’s was chewed by the early American colonists. The fact is that people always preferred to chew, since it help them to clean their teeth and sweeten their breath.  It was in 1848 that the first ever commercial gum got produced by John B. Curtis. Chewing gum did not have much flavor until late 1870’s. It was an employee at Fleer Corpn. Walter Diemer, who in 1928 had found accidently the prefect formula to create the modern bubble gum.

What is chewing gum?
The chewing gum is regarded to be a cohesive, soft substance that is designed to get chewed without actually swallowing it. It is for more than 100,000 years that human beings have been using chewing gums in various forms.

Basic ingredients
The modern chewing gum is considered to be prepared from natural latex/plastic, corn syrup, softeners and flavorings. Larger bubbles are produced by longer polymers because of increased intermolecular forces. They can be found in numerous attractive colors and shapes. Majority of the chewing gum manufacturers tend to keep their recipes a complete secret.

Are the ingredients in chewing gum safe?
The different ingredients used in chewing gum are considered to be completely safe. Rather, strong evidence has been found by researches conducted on its usefulness. There has been noticed good improvement in the various cognitive domains like episodic memory, speed of perception and episodic memory.

Chewing gum can be a helpful tool in losing weight
People can take chewing gum as an alternative for any unhealthy snack and fill up their so-called hunger. The chewing act does offer some satiation, without actually increasing the overall calorie count. Care should be taken to ensure that a sugar free chew gum is not increasing the sugar levels in the body.  
Chewing gum could help protect your teeth and reduce bad breath
If the person is plagued with horrible breath, then he/she is advised by the health experts to chew gum regularly. Effective chewing gum is to contain the following elements for eliminating bad breath:
  • Xylitol
  • Zinc Gluconate
  • Oxygenating Compounds

With the right ingredients present in the chew gum, bacteria existing in the mouth is likely to be found quickly and eliminated immediately.

Other health benefits
  • Improved brain function
  • Better dental health, strengthening of the tooth enamel, increases saliva production
  • Used in surgery
  • Helps in treating GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)

Side effects
Swallowing chew gum is known to have resulted in several complications requiring immediate medical attention. It is better not given to young children. Otherwise, it is completely safe to be used.

Which chewing gum should you choose?
When purchasing a chewing gum, one should take a wise decision to buy sugar free gum, whose ingredient is Xylitol, a sweetener, which tastes good and is natural and a wonderful alternative to saccharin.

Conclusion: According to history, chewing gum has been used for a long time to refresh the mouth and to enjoy numerous benefits. One should use only sugar free, Xylitol based chewing gum to derive its benefits.

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