Is Swallowing Chewed Gum Healthy?

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The discussion centers around the health implications of swallowing gum versus spitting it out. It questions whether swallowing gum could provide fiber benefits for the large intestine, despite the common belief that gum contains no fiber. The Mayo Clinic is referenced, stating that swallowing gum is not harmful and does not remain in the digestive system for years as often claimed. The conversation humorously compares swallowing gum to swallowing pebbles, suggesting that while some animals, like ruminants, consume stones for digestion, humans do not share the same digestive needs. The overall sentiment is that swallowing gum is not detrimental, but the notion of swallowing other non-food items like pebbles is dismissed as absurd.
Mk
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I got ter thinkin, wouldn't it be more healthy to swallow gum after you chew it rather than spit it out? Extra fiber for your large intestine or not?
 
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Since when is there fiber in gum? So do you also swallow pebbles with the thought it mind it could be good for your intestine?
 
You will grow a rubber tree in your belly..and the branches will sprout out your ears!

Swallowing gum, dosen't seem to have any effect on us, just passes right out of us.
 
I'm assuming it is just a myth that swallowing gum will not make it remain in your system for roughly ~6 or so years...
 
So do you also swallow pebbles with the thought it mind it could be good for your intestine?
But small, round pebbles, like marbles, wouldn't be harmful would it?
 
Mk said:
But small, round pebbles, like marbles, wouldn't be harmful would it?
:smile: You're not considering it, are you? Ruminants eat stones to help them digest plants, the stones stay in their stomach all their live.
 
Not that I am, but it wouldn't, would it? Children swallow their teeth all the time (if I had a nickel for every time I heard that one!), after they fall out.

After looking up what a ruminant is, I have noticed I am not a ruminant. Does the same apply?
 

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