Why does chewing gum go hard

Chewing gum also stimulates saliva production, which helps fight off nasty plaque and certain gums containing the sweetener xylitol have actually been reported to fight cavities.

With all these benefits associated with chewing gum, is there any reason not to do it? Actually, there can be. When we chew gum, we exercise our jaw muscles — and similar to any other muscle group in the body that gets overworked, constant and aggressive gum chewing can tire these muscles and cause painful spasms in our jaw, neck and head, which can lead to the development of a condition called temporomandibular dysfunction or TMD.

TMD occurs when the temporomandibular joints, which are located on either side of our head, become misaligned due to physical stress or degeneration of cartilage in the jaw, which act as shock absorbers for us when we chew.

Chewing gum is one of the most common ways to cause this type of damage. TMD affects over ten million Americans. But a recent study published in the journal Eating Behaviors debunks this belief.

The study showed gum chewing not only had no effect on calories consumed, but chewing mint-flavored gum reduced the intake of healthy food fruit and increased the likelihood of eating junk food such as potato chips and candy.

Researchers believe the minty flavor of the gum gave fruits and vegetables a bitter flavor. Try sipping a cup of green tea before a meal to curb your appetite instead, which can even help you lose weight. Go gluten-free, don't eat egg yolks, and over 20 more of the worst diet tips ever. Many people end up with contracted muscles of the jaw, head, and neck, which can lead to headaches, earaches, or toothaches over time.

Eat an apple instead, which satisfies the urge to chew and reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease at the same time. In addition to swallowing air, artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol and mannitol can cause diarrhea in otherwise healthy people. It doesn't sound too bad until you find out it's a yellow waxy substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of sheep.

Known as "wool fat," lanolin is harvested by squeezing the sheep's harvested wool between rollers. Unsavory indeed. If you ask several people whether chewing gum is good for your health or detrimental to it, you are likely to get several different answers. This is because chewing gum is a mixed bag when it comes to your dental and overall health. The reason for the rates being higher in the Middle East is the presence of a cultural tradition where small merchants routinely hand out chewing gum in place of small change.

However, your teeth and gums are still exposed to these ingredients, and you do in fact swallow many of the flavor ingredients as the gum is chewed and the flavor causing ingredients are extracted by the chewing process. Your mouth lining is also very absorbent, and many of the ingredients are able to be absorbed directly through them. A great deal of sugar-free gum is sweetened with a common sugar substitute called Aspartame.

One study which appeared in the Life Sciences Journal concluded that Aspartame may help create formaldehyde in the body, which is a known carcinogen. Some people claim to have experienced side effects such as headaches, dizziness and mood swings after consuming Aspartame, though the FDA and American Cancer Society have not issued any official warnings about it except for people who lack the necessary enzyme to break it down.

The tempromandibular joint, or TMJ, is the place where your jawbone attaches to your skull. TMJ disorders result from the muscles which control this join becoming fatigued or unbalanced. While most gum chewing does not cause TMJ disorders, people who develop a regular gum chewing habit can experience muscle fatigue which places them at risk of TMJ disorders.

Aggressive gum chewing or lopsided chewing chewing only on one side of the mouth both increase the risk of developing TMJ disorders, as these behaviors are more stressful on the TMJ area than others.

Chewing gum on a regular basis as a habit can also lead to excessive wear on the tooth enamel, and even lead to changes in your bite alignment. Specifically, the upper molars may spread apart gradually, while the lower molars begin to gradually drift backward leading to an overbite.

If the behavior continues and is left unchecked, these changes can eventually lead to the need for orthodontic care to correct them.