• Question: I just swallowed my bubblegum... what does that do to you ?

    Asked by beckiisheehan to Alan, Caspar, Diana, Murray, Sarah on 24 Mar 2011.
    • Photo: Diana Drennan

      Diana Drennan answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      probably not much, I used to do it all the time…..some people say it sticks around for like 7 years in your gut, but it actually digests along with your other food just fine. The biggest danger from gum is choking on it.

    • Photo: Caspar Addyman

      Caspar Addyman answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      hopefully nothing.. but don’t make a habit of it.

    • Photo: Sarah Thomas

      Sarah Thomas answered on 24 Mar 2011:

      It is true that your stomach can’t break down chewing gum like it can other foods. Chewing gum has five basic ingredients – sweeteners, corn syrup, softeners, flavors and gum base (the part that puts the “chew” in chewing gum). The first four ingredients are soluble, meaning they dissolve in your mouth as you chew. Gum base doesn’t. And although it isn’t meant to be swallowed, if it is, it simply passes through your system, just like popcorn or any other form of roughage. It starts traveling down your esophagus, into your stomach, enters the small intestine, and makes its way to the large intestine. This normally takes only a few days. (Not 7 years!!)

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