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24-10-2016

The unexpected benefits of chewing-gum (provided you choose the right kind)

Chewing gumLong confined to the sweet shelf, chewing gum is now emerging as a pharmaceutical product. Flavours and colours are making way for health virtues on chewing gum packaging, with the firm support of certain health professionals. So, should we see this as a new opportunity to improve our health, or is it just another clever manoeuvre by opportunistic manufacturers? Let’s decipher the data.

Humans have been chewing gum for longer than you think

In 2007, an archaeology student discovered the remains of some old chewing gum dating back 5000 years. Made from birch bark, the teeth marks of its ‘chewer’ were clearly visible. This discovery confirmed the hypothesis that Neolithic man used to chew gum, though it did not explain why: were our ancestors, as Professor Trevor Brown believes, taking advantage of the antiseptic properties of the phenols contained in the bark1? Had they perceived that chewing was good for cognitive function? We still don’t know.

Nonetheless, it seems that the modern version of chewing gum appeared almost 5000 years later in the United States. It all began with the exile of General Santa Anna, one of the most brutal Mexican dictators in history. When he fled Mexico for New York in 1855, he took with him more than 250kg of chicle, a natural gum extracted from the sapodilla tree. He had one purpose in mind: to make his fortune by selling this cheaper product as a replacement for rubber. He joined forces with his American neighbour, photographer and amateur inventor Thomas Adams, who as it happens, had a few financial problems of his own and was looking to make a ‘fast buck’. Unfortunately, their venture became bogged down with problems and soon collapsed. The material’s properties were not as attractive as they had thought and the general ended up returning to Mexico. Disheartened, Thomas Adams was ready to throw his whole stock of chicle into New York’s East River, when he spotted a small girl coming out of a pharmacy with a sweet in her hand. And it suddenly clicked. He went into the pharmacy, shared his idea with the pharmacist – and chewing gum was born.

The gradual decline of chewing-gum

Following the product’s incredible success, the natural gum extracted from the sapodilla tree was soon replaced by synthetic gum. Very quickly, its therapeutic potential was supplanted by fashion, symbolising the modernity and freedom embodied by this American product. Dozens of chemical-based products appeared with ever-improving texture, taste and colour. These changes, designed to differentiate one product from another in a highly competitive market, gradually downgraded chewing gum’s therapeutic value, relegating the product to the sweet shelf for good.

Almost 100 years after its launch, chewing gum conquered the French market, France becoming the second highest consumer after the United States. For some years, however, the situation has been changing. The market is flat and confectionery giants are showing the strain. With the growing pressure to eat healthily, sugary products have come to be seen as undesirable. Since 2008, French retailers have had to rethink their checkout merchandising, giving less prominence to confectionery. Chewing-gum has been badly affected – it tops the list of impulse purchases made at these strategically-placed sites.
Unable to reverse the trend, chewing gum manufacturers have changed direction, re-positioning their products within the health food market, particularly oral health.
Unfortunately however, while the composition of chewing gum may be improving, the repositioning is somewhat superficial. And this is a real shame given that chewing gum’s health virtues are now recognised by the scientific community.1

Effects on cognitive performance

It’s been said that chewing gum can potentially boost brain power. While this has obviously never been proven, research has shown that it certainly influences cognitive function. In 2015, Japanese scientists conducted an analysis of 22 scientific studies on the subject2, with more than half showing a positive effect from chewing gum onattention and alertness. Such an effect had been postulated for centuries, and was first demonstrated in 1939 by Hollingworth3 who reported that chewing gum improved the ability to count or type without tiring. Chewing gum has since been adopted as an aid to vigilance by night watchmen. The mechanisms involved are not yet totally clear, but electro-encephalogram tests have shown increases in beta-waves and episodic memory4.

So could chewing gum at work improve our efficiency? To find out, an Irish research team observed 126 employees over the course of 20145. They asked half the employees to chew 10 pieces of gum a day, and the other half to desist. Participants’ levels of fatigue and work performance were then evaluated by means of self-administered questionnaires, completed at the start and end of the day. According to the study’s authors, chewing gum was found to be associated with less stress, fatigue and inattention at work.

Effects against stress

It’s well-established that when animals are exposed to inescapable stress triggers, they adopt particular types of behaviour including chewing6. Humans also follow this pattern – this is why thousands of people bite their nails, chew objects, clench their jaws or chew gum. And on reflection – they’re right to do so! People who chew gum are reported to experience less stress7, 8, and even less anxiety9. Research has shown that it could even help people suffering from depression10.

We don’t yet know exactly how it works but progress is being made. A recent study showed that chewing gum while exposed to very loud noise inhibits the propagation of stress-related information in the brain11. This being so, it might also prevent the formation of stomach ulcers which is strongly linked to everyday stress levels12.

Effects on oral health The chewing gum industry’s new approach rests on the product’s ability to improve oral health. So what is the basis for this?

It’s fair to say that chewing gum undoubtedly stimulates the production of saliva. According to the highly-respected American Dental Association (ADA), this helps:
    - neutralise the acids in dental plaque caused by bacteria-fermented sugar. These acids gradually attack tooth enamel and create conditions that promote the development of dental caries.
    - increase the concentration of calcium and phosphates in the mouth which encourages remineralisation of enamel. This is also why some chewing gum contains fluoride.
According to the European Food Safety Authority, you need to chew 2-3g of gum (equivalent to one piece of chewing gum) for 20 minutes , around three times a day after meals to obtain significant benefits for oral health.

It’s important to state that chewing gumin no way replaces brushing your teeth and using dental floss. For the Union Française pour la Santé Bucco-Dentaire (the French equivalent of the ADA), chewing gum, as long as it is sugar-free and does not contain unsafe sweeteners, is an effective way of fighting dental caries when brushing your teeth is not an option (at work, for example).

Choose your chewing gum carefully

In a nutshell, chewing gum may have beneficial effects in improving concentration, reducing stress and maintaining good oral health … provided you chew the right gum! It’s best to opt for a natural gum (such as Mastic Gum) which is generally made from resin from the pistachio mastic tree. That way you can avoid chewing endless synthetic, chemical-based products. You should also make sure your gum is free from sugar, or aspartame, which is suspected of promoting cancer and premature births. Instead choose products with xylitol, sorbitol or mannitol, well-known anti-caries sweeteners. Finally, it should ideally containessential anti-bacterial oil, which helps boost the benefits of chewing for oral health.

And one last recommendation: don’t just drop your used chewing gum on the ground, or you’ll be adding to a pollution problem which, for example, costs the city of London 6 million euros a year! (In fact, chewing gum remains intact on the ground due to its composition which includes more than 100 different chemicals around a long carbon structure - rather like that found in petrol or plastic. Removing hard, stuck-on chewing gum with freezing agents or Karcher-type cleaners is laborious and expensive: London spends 6 million euros annually to remove these dirty white stains from its pavements! So make sure you keep the wrapper so you can dispose of your gum properly – that way, everyone benefits.)


Références

1. Andrew P. Allen and Andrew P. Smith, Chewing Gum: Cognitive Performance, Mood, Well-Being, and Associated Physiology, Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2015, Article ID 654806, 16 pages.
2. Yoshiyuki Hirano and Minoru Onozuka, Chewing and Attention: A Positive Effect on Sustained Attention, BioMed Research International, Volume 2015 (2015), Article ID 367026, p1-6.
3. H. L. Hollingworth, “Chewing as a technique of relaxation,” Science, vol. 90, no. 2339, pp. 385–387, 1939.
4. L. Wilkinson, A. Scholey, and K. Wesnes, “Chewing gum selectively improves aspects of memory in healthy volunteers,” Appetite, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 235–236, 2002.
5. Andrew P. Allen and Andrew P. Smith "Chewing Gum: Cognitive Performance, Mood, Well-Being, and Associated Physiology" Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research, International Volume 2015, Article ID 654806, 16 pages.
6. C. W. Berridge, R. A. Espana, and T. A. Stalnaker, “Stress and coping: lateralization of dopamine systems projecting to the prefrontal cortex,” in Brain Asymmetry, K. Hugdahl and R. J. Davidson, Eds., pp. 69–104, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, USA, 2nd edition, 2002.
7. A. P. Smith, “Chewing gum, stress and health,” Stress and Health, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 445–451, 2009.
8. A. Smith, “Effects of chewing gum on stress and health: a replication and investigation of dose-response,” Stress and Health, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 172–174, 2013.
9. K. Sketchley-Kaye, R. Jenks, C. Miles, and A. J. Johnson, “Chewing gum modifies state anxiety and alertness under conditions of social stress,” Nutritional Neuroscience, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 237–242, 2011.
10. F. M. Erbay, N. Aydin, and T. Sati-Kirkan, “Chewing gum may be an effective complementary therapy in patients with mild to moderate depression,” Appetite, vol. 65, pp. 31–34, 2013.
11. H. Yu, X. Chen, J. Liu, and X. Zhou, “Gum chewing inhibits the sensory processing and the propagation of stress-related information in a brain network,” PLoS ONE, vol. 8, no. 4, Article ID e57111, 2013.
12. G. P. Vincent, W. P. Pare, J. E. D. Prenatt, and G. B. Glavin, “Aggression, body temperature, and stress ulcer,” Physiology and Behavior, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 265–268, 1984.
Order the nutrient mentioned in this article
Mastic Gum Elma

Sugar- and aspartame-free chewing gum with essential oil of Pistacia lentiscus

www.supersmart.com
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