If you accidentally swallow gum, don’t worry, it will be fine in a week!

When I was a child, the two most common lies I heard about "eating" were: one was that swallowing gum would get your intestines stuck, and the other was that swallowing watermelon seeds would cause watermelon seedlings to grow in your stomach.

Now that seedless watermelons are available, it seems that the problem of watermelon seeds is no longer a problem. So, where does the chewing gum we swallow go?

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

1

One of the oldest candies in the world

You may not think that chewing gum is one of the oldest candies in the world. Long, long ago, the ancients had the habit of chewing resin gum, which may be the oldest reason why chewing gum. Archaeologists have found that Indians like to chew the sap of tree trunks. Ancient Indians would mix wild honey and gum and chew them in their mouths. Mayans also like to chew chicle gum. There are also records of chewing natural chewing gum in Chinese history, such as chewing cloves. The oldest "chewing gum" to date was once found in Finland. According to research, this piece of chewing gum has a history of 5,000 years. What is shocking is that this piece of chewing gum is actually made of birch bark.

According to a survey by Statistical Science and Practice, modern commercial chewing gum can be traced back to the mid-19th century. At that time, Mexicans often chewed a kind of gum in their mouths until a Mexican general brought the gum to the United States in order to make a substitute for rubber tires. However, after many experiments by inventors, the dream of using gum to make tires was still shattered. In order not to waste the rubber, the general had to chew it himself.

Fortunately, the general's friend Thomas Adams and his son discovered an opportunity. They mixed the rubber with spices, kneaded it into shapes, and sold it in drugstores, thus opening up business opportunities. Commercial chewing gum began to develop from then on. However, the invention of commercial chewing gum is only 150 years ago , which is indeed a short history compared to other kinds of candy. However, chewing gum is loved by people all over the world for its unique taste.

Source: unsplash

2

Why can't you swallow chewing gum?

When we were children, we were told "Never swallow chewing gum". As to why we cannot swallow chewing gum, we have to start with the ingredients and preparation process of chewing gum.

Chewing gum is mainly composed of gum base, flavoring agent and softener. After chemical plasticization and softening, and then through a series of physical mixing, it can form a sugar block with gum base as the main matrix and a variety of auxiliary materials.

The human body can decompose flavoring agents by itself. Similarly, vegetable oils, glycerin, etc. can also be decomposed in the human digestive system. Therefore, only the gum base can withstand the attack of digestive enzymes and strong acids in the stomach. When we chew gum, it tastes very sweet at the beginning, but there is no taste at the end. Only a chewy thing is left. This thing is the gum base. It is a difficult to digest and very sticky substance that can provide people with the fun of chewing and blowing bubbles.

Source: pexels

The gum of the sapodilla tree is an excellent raw material for traditional chewing gum base, but modern chewing gum production mostly uses synthetic polymers to prepare gum base. Elastomers and polymer resins are two important ingredients for preparing gum base. Elastomers are elastic hydrophobic substances that can return to their original shape after deformation, so they can ensure long-term chewing ability. For example, styrene-butadiene is a common elastomer. Polymer resins can provide excellent plasticity, such as polyvinyl acetate. According to research, the higher the degree of polymerization of polyvinyl acetate, the more elastic the finished chewing gum will be.

Gum base plays an important role in the production of chewing gum by integrating sweeteners, pigments and other auxiliary materials, so its performance is the key to determining the quality of chewing gum.

3

If the gum base cannot be broken down, will it remain in the stomach forever?

You may have heard many horror stories about chewing gum after swallowing it by mistake, and you may be worried that it will stick to the digestive tract. Although gum base is indeed a substance that is difficult to digest and very sticky, our stomach and digestive tract secrete digestive juices and mucus every day. In a sufficiently moist environment, chewing gum will not stick to our digestive tract.

The gum stuck on clothes is very tenacious. It can withstand the attack of gastric acid and digestive enzymes, so it will not be digested and absorbed by the human body like ordinary food, but will be treated as waste by the digestive system. Our stomach, small intestine and large intestine will push food forward with strong peristalsis, so the gum base of chewing gum will eventually be excreted from the body like other indigestible foods, and this time usually does not exceed one week.

However, if you swallow too much chewing gum at one time, it is very likely to stick to other things in the digestive tract, causing the gum to not pass through the digestive tract smoothly, which may cause digestive tract obstruction. Young children are more likely to be at risk of intestinal obstruction when swallowing chewing gum. Since children's digestive tracts are much smaller than adults' and their gastrointestinal functions are not fully developed, it is very dangerous for young children to swallow chewing gum.

With the widespread popularity of commercial chewing gum, people have caused great environmental sanitation problems while enjoying the sweetness. The chewing gum discarded by people at will sticks to the ground, which not only destroys the beauty of the city, but also brings great inconvenience to the cleaning staff.

Nowadays, humans consume more than 500,000 tons of chewing gum every year. With such huge data, the pollution and damage caused by it are unimaginable. There is even a place in Seattle, USA that can be called the "world's most disgusting" attraction - the chewing gum wall . This wall is densely covered with millions of chewing gums chewed by tourists. Perhaps we can only use "performance art" to justify this special landscape, but who doesn't want to have a clean and sanitary public environment in life?

Gum Wall

Source | www.meipian.cn

However, scientists have now developed biodegradable chewing gum , for example, using plant protein from grains such as wheat as the sticky and elastic matrix of the chewing gum, which can be eaten directly, can be digested by the human body, and is easy to remove and degrade.

I hope everyone can keep their love for chewing gum while also being kind to our environment. Except for chewing gum that is accidentally swallowed, the remaining chewing gum should be properly discarded into the trash can.