Why Chewing Gum Is Bad For Your Health?

Hello All!!!

I have seen a lot of celebs chewing gum during award functions 😛 It seems as though it is style statement! Do you chew gum often? If you are a regular at chewing gum, it is better you get rid of the habit as there is strong evidence that chewing gum has side effects. Have a look!

Chewing gum can increase your intake of junk food

Some people chew gum in order to reduce food cravings. It is theoretically believed that chewing gum will help one avoid eating unhealthy foods. However, research says something else. It says that chewing gum reduces hunger, motivation to eat and the quantity of food consumed. When compared to non-gum-chewers, gum chewers’ meals are less nutritious.

People who chew a minty flavoured gum are less likely to eat fruits and veggies as they would taste bitter. Gum chewers would prefer consuming junk food like chips and candy instead!

Chewing gum can affect the jaw

Chewing gum can result in jaw muscle imbalance or a more painful chronic jaw condition called Temporomandibular Joint Disorder. Overuse of a set of muscles can result in contracted muscles and pain over time.

It can cause gastrointestinal problems

When you chew gum, you swallow excess air and this can lead to bloating and abdominal pain. Also, while chewing gum, you send signals to the body that it is going to get food. So, the body gets ready for the food by secreting enzymes and acids. But food does not enter the system and this leads to bloating, overproduction of stomach acid. This affects the proper secretion of digestive juices when you actually eat food.

It damages the teeth

Sugar containing chewing gums literally bathe your teeth in sugar as you chew them. This leads to tooth decay. If you feel sugar free gum will solve the problem, you are wrong! Sugar free chewing gum has acidic flavours and preservatives that can cause dental erosion. Dental erosion is different from cavities. It is a process of de-calcification which dissolves the teeth over time.

Contains sheep byproducts

To keep chewing gum soft, a waxy substance called lanolin is added to it which is derived from sheep wool. It may not be dangerous to health but the idea of having lanolin in your chewing gum is not appetizing at all!

They release mercury from the tooth fillings

If your cavities are filled with mercury fillings, you should know that chewing gum will release a neurotoxin from the fillings and harm your body. Each time you chew(normal food), mercury vapour is released. It enters the bloodstream and causes oxidative processes in the tissues. Now when you chew gum, you are going to chew often and it can be a problem if your teeth have mercury fillings in them.

Chewing gum is linked to teen headaches

It is usually the teenagers who chew a lot of gum. The links between headaches and chewing gum have been established by a study. The study had 30 individuals between the ages of 6 and 19 who chewed gum on a daily basis. Each person suffered from either tension headaches or chronic migraine. They were made to quit chewing gum for 1 month and it was found that 19 of them found there headaches go away completely! Another 7 individuals witnessed a reduction in frequency and severity of the headaches. 26 of them started chewing gum again only to find their headaches back! The headaches have been linked to Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ) induced by chewing gum.

Presence of artificial sweeteners in chewing gum

If you feel that by chewing sugar free gum, you are doing something good for yourself, think again! Sugar free chewing gum has artificial sweeteners in it, chiefly aspartame. Aspartame is converted into wood alcohol (a poison) and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is carcinogenic in nature and is not expelled from the body via the normal filtering done by the kidneys and liver. Aspartame is linked to weight gain, cancers, tumours and birth defects.

Another artificial sweetener is sucralose (Splenda). Animal studies have shown that the sweetener is linked with a decreased count of red blood cells, male infertility, increased death rate, spontaneous abortions and enlarged kidneys.

Artificial sweeteners disturb the body’s biochemistry which makes one gain weight. And you wouldn’t want that to happen 😛

Chewing gum ingredients to watch out for

Apart from artificial sweeteners, you need to watch out for other ingredients in your chewing gum like:

• BHT
• Calcium Casein Peptone
• Titanium Dioxide

The bottom line is that it would be better to quit chewing gum as it will save you from a lot of trouble!

Do you agree that chewing gum is bad for health?

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