Chewing Gum Does Not Take Years to Leave Our Intestines

Question

In an effort to stop chewing gum from being swallowed by kids who were to impatient to spit it out, parents told them that it would be stuck in their stomach for years if they swallowed it. However this seems to be challenged by health professionals who think it gets wiped away with all the other food in our intestines in a regular amount of time.

Answer 1

This blog claims that gum cannot get stuck in your stomach for seven years, and that this is a myth most likely started by concerned parents. I believe that this claim is most likely true. Firstly, the article appears to be reliable - although it is outdated (published in 2013), the source is Duke Health, which is Duke University's health system and which as the website states, "incorporates the health and health research programs within the Duke Global Health Institute as well as those in schools and centers across Duke University." Duke is a well-known and esteemed ivy league school, and widely known for its reliability. Additionally, the article's claim is largely backed by Dr. Nancy M. McGreal, who is a gastroenterologist and is an expert on the digestive system. She is board certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics. Here is her page: https://www.dukehealth.org/find-doctors-physicians/nancy-m-mcgreal-md. Dr. McGreal explains that while the stomach can't digest chewing gum, it isn't harmful and it won't get stuck in your stomach. I also searched "can gum get stuck in your stomach" on Google, and found multiple articles corroborating Duke Health's claim, including from mayoclinic.org and health.clevelandclinic.org, which were written more recently than the Duke Health blog (2019 and 2022). Both are organizations and both feature answers from certified medical professionals. With all of this in mind, I believe that it is true that gum will not stay in the stomach for long, and definitely not for seven years.

Comments

This is a relatively sound fact check by providing other sources that back up the original claim that chewing gum does not stay in one's intestines for several years, and while I appreciate you giving background on the source such as Duke University's prestige, it is not; however, a recognized member of the Ivy League, though it is still a fairly exclusive school.

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This is a really good fact check that goes into depth about the myths of how long it takes for gum to digest. I like how you provided multiple articles in order to back up your claim. Something else that I like is how you pulled specific facts from the article in order to support the claims. The articles also look very high-quality, in other words they look like articles that do a good job of backing up your claim.

Answer 2

This claim that chewing gum does not stay in your stomach for years is true. According to Mayo Clinic, while we cannot digest gum, it does move quickly through the digestive system. This claim is a result of parents instilling in their children that it would get stuck to stop a choking hazard. 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/indigestion/expert-answers/digestive-system/faq-20058446

Answer 3

Contrary to popular belief, chewing gum does not take seven years to leave the human bodies digestive system. In reality, it is usually in an out within a couple days. It is true, however, that the gum doesn't really digest, but rather stays intact as it moves through your system.

DukeHealth

MayoClinic

Answer 4

The claim that chewing gum does NOT take years to leave our intestines is true. According to the Mayo Clinic, chewing gum moves through the digestive tract smoothly and is not digested, but does not stick to the stomach or intestines. The original myth was most likely propagated by parents to stop their kids swallowing gum.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/indigestion/expert-answers/digestive-system/faq-20058446

Answer 5

After researching the effects of swallowing chewing gum, I found the claim “chewing gum does not take years to leave our intestines” to be true. In other words, the myth that gum will stay in your body for years after swallowing is false. The initial source posted along with the claim is a blog post from Duke Health, the Duke University Health System. Usually, blog posts are not reliable sources but since this one is from a prestigious University, it is most likely trustworthy. 

 

Next, I looked into Nancy McGreal, MD, who is the gastroenterologist referenced in this article. She is no longer working with Duke Health, but I was able to find her LinkedIn profile. She has been working in Gastroenterology since around 2009 and has attended many highly ranked universities for her educational journey.  

 

To further fact check, I googled the question behind the claim, “Does chewing gum take years to leave our intestines?” I found an article from Mayo Clinic, a non-profit medical center as well as a source recognized by News Detective to be reliable. This article states that if swallowed, chewing gum will move through your digestive system and will be excreted in your stool. 

 

I then looked at an article from McGill University’s Office for Science and Society which clearly states that gum will pass through your digestive system within 24-48 hours. 

 

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health/gum-and-7-year-myth#:~:text=The%20widespread%20fear%20that%20chewing,together%20and%20formed%20a%20blockage

 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/indigestion/expert-answers/digestive-system/faq-20058446

Answer 6

This claim is infact true. Chewing gum does not take years to leave our intestines (specifically 7), but they are unable to be digested - since the base of chewing gum is made of rubber. Which is where the precautionary tales of swallowing gum most likely comes from, and in certain cases it can block the intestines of frequent gum swallowers, especially young children. Mayo Clinic, trusted and highly cited by physicians, goes into further detail on this myth. Mayo Clinic

Answer 7

The claim that gum takes years to digest is false. The Mayo Clinic explains that while the body cannot digest gum, it does not stay in the stomach for years. Instead, it moves through the digestive system relatively intact and is eventually excreted in stool. Various credible sources support this, including the Cleveland Clinic, which states that while swallowing gum is generally harmless, it is not recommended. Consuming multiple pieces in a short period could potentially lead to intestinal blockage.

Sources:

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-happens-when-you-swallow-gum

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/indigestion/expert-answers/digestive-system/faq-20058446