7 Reasons Why You Should Stop Chewing Gum

Some of us are addicted to chewing gum daily. This is because many of us believe the mint or flavour in the gum help to prevent mouth odour. While this is true as there are positive benefits of chewing gum, there are also the negative sides that you should never ignore. This post is about the harmful impacts of chewing gum.

Health Tips: Adverse Effects of Chewing Gum

1. It makes you feel hungry

Chewing gum can stimulate your hunger pangs, thus increasing your desires for food. So, if you want to avoid feeling hungry, do not eat gum immediately after consuming food. This can also help put your weight in check.

2. It causes tooth damage

If you chew gum that contains sugar, you are exposing yourself to tooth decay. Also, sugar-free gums have the same effect as they still possess risks to your teeth. This is because sugar-free gum has acidic flavours and preservatives that may lead to tooth damage.

3. It leads to excess strain on your jaw

Jaw muscle imbalance can be triggered if you chew gum on one side of your mouth more than the other. To prevent this jaw strain or pain, you should chew gum on both sides.

4. It causes headaches

Young people who chew gum are more vulnerable to headaches and severe migraines. This is because jaw strain can result in headaches.

5. It contains artificial sweeteners that are linked to cancer

Like earlier stated, it makes no difference whether you chew gum that contains sugar or not. This is because sugar-free gum has artificial sweeteners which are usually used to replace sugar. The most common one is aspartame which is a harmful ingredient that has been linked to cancers, brain tumours, weight gain and birth defects.

6. It can result in farting

Chewing gum allows too much air into your body. This can result in bloating which will let you fart very often.

7. It doesn’t prevent bad breath

Persistent bad breath is a symptom of digestive problems or excessive tooth decay. You should deal with the root cause of the problem rather than chewing gum to mask it. Once you stop chewing it, the halitosis will still remain.

I hope this helps, stay healthy.