Never swallow chewing gum, it sticks to your stomach" is a sentence we probably all grew up with. Swallowing chewing gum is dangerous - is that true?
Chewing gum (with xylitol) cleans teeth and freshens breath. Moreover, chewing gum adapts perfectly to surfaces and sticks practically everywhere, usually to jeans, under tables or on the pavement. So it's only logical that parents warn against swallowing chewing gum.
People are always saying that chewing gums stay in our gastrointestinal tract for years and form lumps because they are not digested. But what is really true?
That is wrong. As a rule, chewing gum passes through the gastrointestinal tract normally without causing any problems. In rare cases, when several pieces of chewing gum are swallowed and there is a tendency to constipation, it can lead to intestinal obstruction in children, experts say. The chewing gum is for the most part indigestible -and it travels through our digestive system just as undigested.
Traditional chewing gum consists of the basic ingredient "gum base", which in turn is largely made of plastic, i.e. petroleum. Sugar, flavourings and/or sugar substitutes are also added.
With natural chewing gums like TREE GUM, the basic ingredient is natural biodegradable chewing mass made from tree resin. Conclusion: Traditional plastic chewing gum ends up as non-degradable plastic waste in the sewage system (or nature) and degrades into microplastics - but TREE GUM is 100% biodegradable.
