Chewing gum might seem like a harmless habit; it freshens breath, keeps your mouth busy, and it helps some people to
focus. But beneath the minty freshness lies a sticky reality: frequent gum chewing can come with some surprising
drawbacks.
From jaw strain to digestive issues, that innocent little wad of gum could be causing more trouble than it’s worth.
Whether you’re a chronic chewer or just pop a piece now and then, it’s worth knowing the potential cons before you
reach for your next stick.
Jaw problems (TMJ disorders)
Chewing gum can lead to symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), which includes jaw pain associated with
the chewing muscles and joints that connect your lower jaw to your skull.
Constant gum chewing puts excessive force on the two joints that connect your lower jaw to your skull joints, muscles
and teeth, which leads to overstress, imbalance and misalignment.
The muscles bring your jaw together so you can chew and move your jaw from side to side.
Usually, you chew to break food into smaller pieces that you can swallow.
With gum chewing, though, you’re chewing just to … chew. Dentists consider gum chewing to be parafunctional, or
outside of normal function.
Digestive issues
Your stomach needs time to rest from food in order to digest, but if you consistently chew gum, you swallow an excessive amount of spit, not allowing your body to properly digest.
The chewing also signals to your body that you are about to swallow food, so the enzymes and acids that your body uses to digest are activated, causing all sorts of problems.
Your body can become bloated, start to over-produce stomach acid, and lessen your ability to digest food when you actually do eat.
The artificial sweeteners in the gum can also cause diarrhoea and gastrointestinal problems.
Unhealthy cravings
Chewing gum before a meal is often recommended as a way to reduce hunger and eat less.
However, a recent study published in the journal Eating Behaviours debunks this belief.
The study shows that gum chewing not only has no effect on calories consumed, but chewing mint-flavoured gum reduces the intake of healthy food and increases the likelihood of eating junk food such as potato chips and candy.
This is due to the minty flavour of the gum that makes fruits and vegetables taste bitter.
Developing gastrointestinal problems
Chewing gum can cause you to swallow excess air, leading to bloating and discomfort.
Sugar-free gums often contain sorbitol or xylitol, which can cause diarrhoea or stomach cramps if consumed in large amounts.
The sugar alcohols used to sweeten sugar-free gum have a laxative effect when consumed in large amounts. This means that chewing lots of sugar-free gum could cause digestive distress and diarrhoea.
Additionally, all sugar alcohols are FODMAPs, which can cause digestive problems for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Chewing gum can lead to stress in your stomach and intestines. It can worsen the symptoms of IBS.
Tooth damage
In an effort to avoid the laxative effect of artificially sweetened gum, switching to sugar-sweetened gum may sound logical, but it’s fraught with its own issues.
