Most of the ingredients in chewing gum are easily broken down in the digestive system, including sweeteners, flavors, soft veins, and other components. The basis of chewing gum, however, is not easily digested.
Companies typically use synthetic polymers to build a chewing gum base.
Our digestion is made to digest things, and what it cannot do is transferred to the intestines and excreted through the waste.
An example of this can be seen in certain foods. For instance, if our body cannot digest corn, it excretes corn husks through waste after eating.
So if someone swallows chewing gum, it expels it out of the body in the same way.
If we swallow chewing gum, it reaches the small intestine through the esophagus; the small intestine absorbs sugars and other ingredients and transfers the indigestible part to the colon.
From there, it is discharged through the waste.
Experts say that chewing gum can be harmful to the habit, meaning that too much gum can block the intestines, especially in children.
People of all ages, especially children, should avoid this habit as it can lead to shortness of breath, and recurrence can lead to abdominal pain, chronic constipation, gas, cholera, and mouth ulcers.
