Chewing gum: harm or benefit

The idea of ​​giving freshness to breath is not new – even in ancient times people chewed leaves, tree resin or tobacco to clean teeth from plaque and get rid of unpleasant odors.

It wasn’t until the XNUMXth century that chewing gum appeared as we still know it – with different flavors, sizes and colors.

Chewing gum is made on the basis of rubber – a material of natural origin, latex is added, which gives elasticity to the chewing gum, dyes, flavors and flavor enhancers. It seems that the benefits of such a composition are questionable, however, in some cases, chewing gum is very useful.

The benefits of chewing gum:

• Chewing gum helps with weight loss. Nutritionists have found that, in addition to distracting from food, it also speeds up the metabolism. Plus, chewing for a long time gives the brain a deceptive signal that a person is full, and this does not satisfy the appetite for long.
• On the one hand, chewing gum negatively affects short-term memory – chewing it, you can immediately forget what you were going to do. On the other hand, in the long term, chewing stimulates the improvement of long-term memory and helps to remember the forgotten.
• It helps to clean teeth from plaque and interdental spaces from food debris.
• Chewing the rubber helps massage the gums and improve blood flow.
• Long-term chewing soothes and regulates the nervous system.
• It helps to get rid of bad breath, but not for long, so there is a reason to chew it after a meal or before an important meeting.

The harm of chewing gum:

• Chewing gum, due to its stickiness, destroys fillings, while it does not guarantee protection against caries. At the same time, it loosens crowns, bridges and healthy teeth.
• Aspartame, which is part of chewing gum, is harmful to the body and provokes the occurrence of dangerous diseases.
• During chewing, the stomach secretes gastric juice, and if there is no food in it, it digests itself. This provokes the development of gastritis and ulcers, so it is very important to chew gum only after eating and not for long.
• All the chemicals in chewing gum are dangerous for long-term use.

What to chew?

Chewing gum can be successfully replaced if needed:

– To get rid of bad breath, chew on coffee beans, which are great at dealing with bacterial plaque on your enamel.

– To satisfy your hunger a little and freshen your breath, chew parsley or mint leaves. In addition, herbs contain vitamins and no harmful substances.

– You can chew tree resin to strengthen the gum muscles.

– For the child, you can make homemade safe marmalade and offer it as an alternative to chewing gum.