Chewing gum is not a thing that is swallowed, it is meant to be chewed that is why it is named as CHEWING GUM. In our gastrointestinal tract (GI), digestion begins in mouth with the secretion of saliva, the enzymes in saliva digests carbohydrates from food and through mastication it is converted into bolus , which is pushed to stomach through esophagus with the help of tongue . Through the process of peristalsis the food move through the digestive tract, and come out in the form of stools.This process occurs in case of regular food. But what happen with chewing gum? Let's see
The thing that makes a gum chew able is gum base. Formerly, it was made from latex sap but now synthetic rubber or a mixture of artificial or natural bases are used. Glycerin is used as softener to prevent it to become hard and keep it moist as well. Our digestive system cannot breakdown chewing gum in the same way as the other food.That's only because its rubber base. Gum remain unaffected by grinding of teeth and our saliva does not have enzymes to break it down, however enzymes in saliva break other ingredients in gum which is sugar and flavoring. The rubber base is immune to digestion at any point in gastrointestinal tract. It move relatively from the tract and eventually come out in our stools. Digestive tract is an active place nothing stays here for seven years. We all just digest things at different times, depends on our speed of digestion.
But the one problem is large amount of gum, if swallowed block intestine prevent stools to come out and cause constipation in children. That's the only reason , it is prohibited to swallow a chewing gum. I am not telling you to swallow gum but if it is mistakenly swallowed don't over react, accept it and wait to see it in your stools.
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