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.

Comments

This is a really interesting fact-check! Especially due to the known myth of swallowing gum. After further researching, DukeHealth is a very reliable source, and it’s said that they are the 7th best University Medical Center.

Answer 1

The long lived myth that gum will be stuck in your body for several years if swallowed has been debunked and this claim further proves that the validity of this myth is untrue. The article linked to this blog post is reputable and has evidence backed up through Duke gastroenterologist, Nancy McGreal, MD. This article states that gum is flushed out with everything else in your stomach and does not cause harm to the digestive system. However, it is not wrong to believe that it is still unsafe to swallow gum as it is still indigestible for the human body and can cause side effects if swallowed too often or in big groups. This is also supported by other reputable articles, such as an article from McGill University written by Christopher Labos, MD. This article again restates the claim that this myth is debunked and untrue. 

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health/gum-and-7-year-myth

https://www.dukehealth.org/blog/myth-or-fact-it-takes-seven-years-digest-chewing-gum