Secretes Behind Chewing Gum You Need To Know

 

What is Chewing gum?

Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating.

 

Its texture is reminiscent of rubber because of the physical-chemical properties of its polymer, plasticizer, and resin components, which contribute to its elastic-plastic, sticky, chewy characteristics.

Chewing gum is a soft, rubbery substance that’s designed to be chewed but not swallowed.

Chewing gums have the following basic ingredients

·         Gum. This is the non-digestible, rubbery base used to give gum its chewy quality.

·         Resin: This is usually added to strengthen gum and hold it together.

·         Fillers. Fillers, such as calcium carbonate or talc, are used to give gum texture.

·         Preservatives. These are added to extend shelf life. The most popular choice is an organic compound called butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT).

·         Softeners. These are used to retain moisture and prevent the gum from hardening. They can include waxes like paraffin or vegetable oils.

·         Sweeteners. Cane sugar, beet sugar, and corn syrup are popular sweeteners. Sugar-free gums use sugar alcohols such as xylitol or artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.

·         Flavorings. Natural or synthetic flavorings are added to give gum the desired taste.

Most chewing gum manufacturers keep their exact recipes a secret. They often refer to their specific combination of gum, resin, filler, softeners, and antioxidants as their “gum base.”

Note: All ingredients used in the processing of chewing gum have to be “food grade” and classified as fit for human consumption.

Health benefits of chewing gum

1.      Brain function

A review about the cognitive advantages of chewing gum by Onyper et al. (2011) found strong evidence of improvement for the following cognitive domains: working memory, episodic memory and speed of perception.

However the improvements were only evident when chewing took place prior to cognitive testing. The precise mechanism by which gum chewing improves cognitive functioning is however not well understood. The researchers did also note that chewing-induced arousal could be masked by the distracting nature of chewing itself, which they named "dual-process theory", which in turn could explain some of the contradictory findings by previous studies.

They also noticed the similarity between mild physical exercise such as pedaling a stationary bike and chewing gum. It has been demonstrated that mild physical exercise leads to little cognitive impairment during the physical task accompanied by enhanced cognitive functioning afterwards.

Furthermore, the researchers noted that no improvement could be found for verbal fluency, which is in accordance with previous studies. This finding suggests that the effect of chewing gum is domain specific.

The cognitive improvements after a period of chewing gum have been demonstrated to last for 15–20 minutes and decline afterwards.

 

2.      Dental health

Sugar-free gum sweetened with xylitol has been shown to reduce cavities and plaque. The sweetener sorbitol has the same benefit, but is only about one-third as effective as xylitol. Other sugar substitutes, such as maltitol, aspartame and acesulfame K, have also been found to not cause tooth decay.

Xylitol is specific in its inhibition of Streptococcus mutans, bacteria that are significant contributors to tooth decay.Xylitol inhibits Streptococcus mutans in the presence of other sugars, with the exception of fructose.

 Xylitol is a safe sweetener that benefits teeth and saliva production because, unlike most sugars, it is not fermented to acid.

Daily doses of xylitol below 3.44 grams are ineffective and doses above 10.32 grams show no additional benefit. Other active ingredients in chewing gum include fluoride, which strengthens tooth enamel, and p-chlorbenzyl-4-methylbenzylpiperazine, which prevents travel sickness. Chewing gum also increases saliva production.

 

3. Food and sucrose have a demineralizing effect upon enamel that has been reduced by adding calcium lactate to food.

Calcium lactate added to toothpaste has reduced calculus formation.

 

One study has shown that calcium lactate enhances enamel remineralization when added to xylitol-containing gum, but another study showed no additional remineralization benefit from calcium lactate or other calcium compounds in chewing-gum.

 

4.      Gum chewing is regarded as a helpful way to cure halitosis (bad breath).

Chewing gum not only helps to add freshness to breath but can aid in removing food particles and bacteria associated with bad breath from teeth. It does this by stimulating saliva, which essentially washes out the mouth. Chewing sugar-free gum for 20 minutes after a meal helps prevent tooth decay, according to the American Dental Association, because the act of chewing the sugar-free gum produces saliva to wash away bacteria, which protects teeth.[47] Chewing gum after a meal replaces brushing and flossing, if that's not possible, to prevent tooth decay and increase saliva production.

5.      Chewing gum can also help with the lack of saliva or xerostomia since it naturally stimulates saliva production.

Saliva is made of chemicals, such as organic molecules, inorganic ions and macromolecules. 0.5% of saliva deals with dental health, since tooth enamel is made of calcium phosphate, those inorganic ions in saliva help repair the teeth and keep them in good condition. The pH of saliva is neutral, which having a pH of 7 allows it to remineralize tooth enamel. Falling below a pH of 5.5 (which is acidic) causes the saliva to demineralize the teeth.

6.      Use in surgery

Several randomized controlled studies have investigated the use of chewing gum in reducing the duration of post-operative ileus following abdominal and specifically gastrointestinal surgery.

A systematic review of these suggests gum chewing, as a form of "sham feeding", is a useful treatment therapy in open abdominal or pelvic surgery, although the benefit is less clear when laparoscopic surgical techniques are used.

Chewing gum after a colon surgery helps the patient recover sooner. If the patient chews gum for fifteen minutes for at least four times per day, it will reduce their recovery time by a day and a half.

The average patient took 0.66 fewer days to pass gas and 1.10 fewer days to have a bowel movement.

Saliva flow and production is stimulated when gum is chewed. Gum also gets digestive juices flowing and is considered "sham feeding".

Sham feeding is the role of the central nervous system in the regulation of gastric secretion.

7.      Stomach

Chewing gum is used as a novel approach for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). One hypothesis is that chewing gum stimulates the production of more bicarbonate-containing saliva and increases the rate of swallowing.

 After the saliva is swallowed, it neutralizes acid in the esophagus. In effect, chewing gum exaggerates one of the normal processes that neutralize acid in the esophagus.

 However, chewing gum is sometimes considered to contribute to the development of stomach ulcers. It stimulates the stomach to secrete acid and the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes that aren't required. In some cases, when consuming large quantities of gum containing sorbitol, gas and/or diarrhea may occur.

 

Other health benefits of chewing gum include: 

·         Burning calories. You may burn 11 calories per hour that you chew gum. Over time, these add up. 

·         Improving your memory. Chewing gum boosts blood flow to your brain, which may help improve your memory. 

·         Fighting sleepiness. If you feel tired, chew some gum to stay alert.

·         Eliminating nausea. If you feel sick, the saliva production from chewing gum may help you feel better. This is especially true for motion sickness and morning sickness during pregnancy. 

 

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