Gum chewing is big business and nowadays, most of it is sugar-free. It contains nutrasweet, which can be dangerous for some people. The biggest argument against gum chewing, besides the synthetic sweeteners is the fact that there is a neurological connection between your jaw and your pancreas.
Your body’s enzymes are like gold. They take part in every body function. Your body makes enzymes from the food you eat and from chemical reactions in the body. You actually needs two quarts of digestive juice to digest a meal. That juice contains vital enzymes.
If you chew anything, including gum, your pancreas gets the message that food is coming down the chute. It will start producing enzymes to digest it. Scientific studies done by the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia suggest that chemical irritations that produce the sensation of taste on the tongue, signal the digestive system which enzymes to produce and release. If those enzymes are not available when they are needed, then swallowed food can go rancid or rotten in the gut and cause digestive discomfort, gas, bloating, belching and gastric reflux. In extreme cases diarrhea and/or vomiting can occur.
Since gum chewing provides no food, the enzymes will be totally wasted. Since the “taste” of gum is sweet , all of the enzymes in the amylase group that digest carbohydrates will be dispensed to digest the incoming sweet. This throws the body’s biochemistry totally out of balance and is a really poor waste of precious enzymes. At the next meal, when carbohydrate is eaten, there may be a depletion of amylase that will upset the digestive process.
That is the major reason that gum chewing should be off the list for everyone, including kids. If you chew gum and you have digestive problems, you will now understand why. If you don’t have digestive problems yet, consider that you may as you age if you are a regular gum chewer.
