Gum has been a part of human culture for at least eight thousand years. Nowadays, many individuals always have gum on hand. While many of us chew gum for purely cosmetic reasons, such as eliminating bad breath or alleviating ear pain, this habit has significant health advantages. Scientific studies suggest that gum chewing positively affects cognition and physical health. Gum aids in the reduction of stress, anxiety, and depression by improving one's mood, focus, and attention. It's also helpful in alleviating the nauseous, vomiting, and dry mouth that typically accompany worry and stress.
Strengthens Teeth & Gums
Gum may help with bad breath, but can it help tooth strength? Depending on whatever gum you use, you may be able to improve your oral hygiene. Saliva helps build enamel. Thus, chewing gum is good for your teeth and gums.
Gum chewing stimulates saliva production, reducing food and germs’ acidity and protecting teeth from decay. Xylitol is an ingredient in several gums that helps strengthen your immune system, making you less susceptible to cavities. It's a win-win since teeth become remineralized and strengthened.
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Helps You Concentrate
Distractions abound in real life. We can't focus on our families, jobs, or anything else because of the constant stimulation of our phones and other electronic devices. A complete to-do list may make us feel helpless, even when giving our very all to every task. Concentration is often crucial, and it has been shown that chewing gum may assist with that.
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Chewing gum, according to a study published in 2015, provides an "alerting impact" that improves one's capacity to maintain concentration (also known as your ability to focus on one task for a long time without being distracted).
In addition to improving performance in self-reported measures of productivity and cognition, chewing gum has also been proven to reduce cognitive mistakes.
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Less Anxiety
Anxiety may have a wide range of negative effects on a person's life, including physiological, psychological, and social domains. Gum chewing is a helpful coping mechanism. Thus it's crucial to experiment with various methods.
Gum chewing has reduced stress, improved mood, and lessened weariness. Although the precise mechanism(s) through which gum chewing influences the brain remain unknown, many authorities believe that chewing itself boosts cerebral blood flow and, by extension, brain activity.
Here are some suggestions on what to do when eating sugarless gum to calm down:
- Mindful stroll
- Hang out with pals
- Get outdoors and have some fun with your animal buddies
Stress relief comes in many forms, and chewing gum is only one. You may relieve your worried nausea and dry mouth by chewing gum.
Digestion Is Better
Do you get nauseated or butterflies when nervous? Do you have nausea and stomach difficulties from anxiety? The brain and body are related. Mind and body were formerly considered different systems and were treated medically without considering mental health.
Emotional health is crucial to a person's entire health and well-being. When you're nervous, your body releases hormones and substances that interfere with digestion, according to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America. This might create gastrointestinal troubles due to a decline in gut flora, which aids digestion.
Depression and anxiety may cause indigestion, stomach cramps, diarrhea, constipation, lack of appetite, abnormal hunger, nausea, IBS, and peptic ulcers. Two-way mind-body interaction. Stomach disorders might worsen mental wellness. Chewing gum improves gut-brain communication. Chewing gum reduces anxiety and aids digestion. Chewing gum increases saliva flow, which boosts stomach acids and enzymes, while acid and enzymes aid digestion.
Helps You Quit Smoking
People who want to quit smoking often replace it with the routine of chewing gum. By keeping the mouth busy with chewing, the gum may help curb cravings for unhealthy foods in the short term.
Rather than resorting to anger or junk food to fulfill oral activity, this is a far healthier option. Just one piece of gum may divert your attention from thinking about lighting up again.
The product's reputation drove research on the effects of chewing gum on smoking as an effective tool for helping smokers quit the habit. Some studies from the late 1990s found that using chewing gum to aid in smoking cessation was successful. The theory is that the constant action of chewing would keep the mouth busy enough to lessen the temptation to smoke.
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Additional Health Benefits
A pilot trial on nausea after surgery found chewing gum was as effective as the leading anti-nausea drug, ondansetron. 75% of gum chewers felt better after 10 minutes.
Chewing gum is inexpensive, effective, and handy since it has no adverse effects. A dry mouth is uncomfortable and may lead to foul breath, tooth decay, and oral infections, making chewing, eating, swallowing, and talking uncomfortable. Sugar-free gum chewing helps dry mouth by increasing saliva production by 10-12x, says the ADA. Saliva fights tooth decay and cavities.
