Doctor reveals what REALLY happens to your body when you accidentally swallow chewing gum
We all know the sticky substance is difficult to digest... but does it really cling on to your internal organs?
CHEWING gum is not designed to be eaten, but could it REALLY stay in your body for seven years?
A stomach doctor has FINALLY revealed what actually happens if you accidentally swallow gum.
Speaking to BuzzFeed, gastroenterologist Dr Lisa Ganjhu, of the NYU Langone Medical Centre in New York, explained exactly what goes on in your digestive system.
Apparently, rubbery gum passes through your body just like any other type of food, but it IS harder to digest.
Dr Ganjhu said: “Your GI tract is very strong, if it can digest a tough steak it can digest gum.”
We all have the gastric movements, acids and enzymes available to break down gum – but the base does not get dissolved completely, because of its chemical properties.
It also doesn’t get dissolved into the small intestine, unlike other foods.
However, the good news is you WILL digest the gum eventually.
Busting the myth that gum would stick to your insides in the same way it would cling to the bottom of a desk, Dr Ganjhu told BuzzFeed the sticky substance will eventually pass out of the body.
The doctor added: “Once it’s in, it’ll go out like everything else.
“There is no specific time frame because everyone’s digestive system motility is different.”
Meanwhile David Milov of the Nemours Children’s Clinic in Orlando, Florida, previously told the Scientific American that colonoscopies never normally unearth gum which is more than a week old.
So gum’s similar to any other difficult-to-digest substance, and should eventually pass through your body intact.
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The gum would ONLY get stuck if it was too large to fit through the opening of your stomach, but that would require chowing down on an enormous amount.
So why are we advised not to swallow?
Dr Ganjhu added: “Chewing gum has absolutely no nutritional value, so most health professionals would advise against swallowing it.
“Gum won’t harm or kill you, but it just isn’t logical to swallow it purposefully.”
Swallowing a big wad of gum could cause you to choke, if it got caught in the wind pipe, but this is the same with any other type of food.
Overall, it’s best to chew it until it loses its flavour – then spit it out.
Why does the myth still exist?
According to Dr Ganjhu, it’s probably a simple misunderstanding of the fact that gum is impossible to digest.
People think this means it stays in your body, when really it can still be passed out whole.
She added: “It’s like the myth that you’ll grow an apple tree if you swallow the seeds.”