How Long Does It Take to Digest Gum

Let's start this article with a recent incident. Last week, I had gone to my friend Mike's house for dinner. Mike Green stays with his parents and has a younger brother, Steve. I went a little before dinner time, just to have a chat with everyone along with a couple of drinks, before we began to eat. During this fun little, before-dinner drinking session, we saw Steve come running into the living room, where the rest of us were present. He took a moment to gather his breath, and exclaimed, ' Mom! I swallowed my gum by mistake!'. Mrs. Green stood up from her seat, quicker than I could bat my eye lids. She kept her glass away, and shrieked in an anxious tone, ' Oh my God! It will take seven years for the gum to get out of Steve's body! What are we supposed to do?'. Mr. Green, who was so far, only staring at Steve in disbelief, also jumped from his seat and retorted to his wife, 'That's not possible. Gum cannot be digested at all by our bodies. It is going to be in there forever!' Eventually, we all rushed to a doctor.

From the story above we realize the two different myths, doing rounds regarding gum swallowing and digestion. Some assume it takes seven years to digest, while others think it stays in forever, as gum is indigestible. Sadly, both are untrue. Although the second one is partially true.

Can you Digest Gum?

Gum is no food, and that is precisely the reason why you cannot digest gum. Every chewing gum is made up of, about or less than, 30% gum base. This gum base is either synthetic or natural, and possesses a certain rubber-like quality, rendering it unfit for digestion. Apart from the gum base, chewing gum also contains a variety of other components. Glycerin is used to keep the chewing gum moist, while presence of vegetable oil derivatives maintains softness of the chewing gum. Also present are, artificial colorings, corn syrup or saccharin, preservatives, artificial sweeteners and sugar. Other than the gum base, all other ingredients of a chewing gum are digestible and broken down by the stomach and intestines of the body. Since the gum base is resistant to saliva, digestive acids along the digestive track and even stomach acid, it cannot be broken down and digested. It therefore passes directly through the colon to the anus, and gets removed from the body like any other waste product.

The paragraph above explained how you cannot digest gum. So, if you have accidentally swallowed gum, there is no point in knowing the time to digest gum. When you swallow gum, it directly passes through the digestive system intact, and gets eliminated from the body along with other waste. The human body takes about 24 to 48 hours to throw away any form of undigested food in the form of feces. This is exactly the time taken by the body to excrete, accidentally swallowed gum. It should be noted that gum comes out exactly the same way it has been swallowed, as it unharmed by any digestive acids or enzymes along the digestive path.

There are some instances where young children accidentally have swallowed lots of gum over a period of time and are plagued with gastrointestinal problems and also constipation. So although swallowing gum is harmless to the body, overdoing it can lead to serious disorders.

So, the next time you are in a 'sticky' situation, you don't need to panic. For one last time, you cannot digest gum and in case you swallow it, it shall pass out of your body within 24 to 72 hours.