Chewing Gum Takes 7 Years To Digest?

[Mint]

I always buy orbit complete and eat all of the chewys (14) and tend to swallow them. It's like I put them in and when the taste starts to go I can't resist myself to swallow. Does anyone know how long it takes to digest because my mates where saying "it will stay in your body for 7 years" and one said "they don't get any further than your throat". So I would like to know the truth about them.

Everytime I do it I can't stop farting for the rest of the day lol! The packets do have "excessive consumption may cause laxative effects" written on them. :(

Thanks.

[Hazza]

LOLZ @ U.

[Describe]

Digests like normal food.
There is no real chance of it sticking in your throat or whatever.

[British]

ur gunna crap urself

[Ohirian]

They take longer than normal food but not seven years.
It won't stick to your throat either :P

[Mint]

ur gunna crap urself
Just had some sloppy disaster, all over the inside bowl of the toilet. Yumm.

Thinking about it, I remember my PE teacher telling me that they take 2 years to digest and he would know better than most people.

[Ollyoaks]

Idk how long but you should only chew gum an hour before/after food because it's telling your brain that you're chewing so it thinks you're gonna get food so it produces that acidy stuff to digest the food & cos theres no food going in the acids just laying in your stomach & eventually you get stomach ulcers. lovely.

[Mint]

Idk how long but you should only chew gum an hour before/after food because it's telling your brain that you're chewing so it thinks you're gonna get food so it produces that acidy stuff to digest the food & cos theres no food going in the acids just laying in your stomach & eventually you get stomach ulcers. lovely.
With science being my strongest subject I already knew that chewing gum tricks your mind into thinking that your swallowing food and your not but I definetly didn't know that it can cause ulcers. :S I do swallow anyway so I shouldn't have to worry about getting an ulcer lol.

[darkchicken101]

It passes through you in the same amout of time anything else does:

http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/chewgum.asp

[Ollyoaks]

With science being my strongest subject I already knew that chewing gum tricks your mind into thinking that your swallowing food and your not but I definetly didn't know that it can cause ulcers. :S I do swallow anyway so I shouldn't have to worry about getting an ulcer lol.


Yup, can cause ulcers lol. You can get ulcers from all sorts of stuff, there nothing rly. just cause rly bad heartburn like all the time ):

[GommeInc]

I always buy orbit complete and eat all of the chewys (14) and tend to swallow them. It's like I put them in and when the taste starts to go I can't resist myself to swallow. Does anyone know how long it takes to digest because my mates where saying "it will stay in your body for 7 years" and one said "they don't get any further than your throat". So I would like to know the truth about them.
LOL, clearly it does. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to swallow anymore :P

It digests, it's impossible for gum to stay inside your stomach for 7 years, I'd imagine in that time you would be dead, the toxins from the gum being in a warm environment would cause some sort of reaction.

[Fehm]

http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/yucky/swallowed_gum.html

Yh Bbbz./

[J0SH]

Highly possible that as it's going down your throat it can get stuck as it's chewy and then you can choke, I don't tend to swallow chewing gum, it's for chewing not eating, yeah..

[Callum.]

wasn't that just an old mothers tale to make you not swallow gum lol

[J0SH]

wasn't that just an old mothers tale to make you not swallow gum lol

Na I think it can happen. :P

[Kaveri]

It's bad for you anyway, because your stomach thinks you're going to swallow and therefore produces more Hydrochloric Acid which has to go somewhere and therefore kind of 'decomposes' your stomach lining because it's not used to break down what's coming down (which is nothing).

[5,5]

i heard 7 years back in grade school.
idk if its true though

[e5]

Correct. 7 years.

[Mint]

Mixed answers. :(

[GommeInc]

Your throat is lined with saliva, the chewier/stickier the material, the easier it goes down your throat. If it was dry, like chips or bread for example, then it will stick to the side of your throat because the bread/chips will soak up the saliva and naturally dry out that area of the throat and stick.

A test could be chewing some gum, taking it out your mouth, sticking your tongue out, tilting your head forward and place the gum on your tongue. In theory it won't stick, it will just slip off and hit the floor and cause the cleaners endless misery :P But that's unless you've dried out your tongue, which might be difficult unless your gross enough to use a towel :P
Highly possible that as it's going down your throat it can get stuck as it's chewy and then you can choke, I don't tend to swallow chewing gum, it's for chewing not eating, yeah..


Mixed answers. :(
Notice how the ones saying it is true don't back it up with evidence. Unless they are saying it takes 7 years to digest, but not inside a body, but inside a lab somewhere, then they maybe correct. Swallowing gum will not take 7 years to come out, it'll pass through your body like any other food with the possibility of it coming out slower, even though I am sure it's false, and gum does digest like normal food (maybe longer), but that depends on the type of gum.

[Wayne]

I chew gum all the time and I've read that it takes 7 years to digest. Science teacher told it me in secondary school too.

[jackass]

Chewing Gum is practically normal food. You can't exactly break it down well in your stomach, but it doesn't stay in there for 7 years, not even 1 year. Also, it doesn't stick in your throat, or to your stomach or whatever people are coming up with nowadays. :P

[GommeInc]

Chewing Gum is practically normal food. You can't exactly break it down well in your stomach, but it doesn't stay in there for 7 years, not even 1 year. Also, it doesn't stick in your throat, or to your stomach or whatever people are coming up with nowadays. :P
I think people may be thinking that digest means something to do with the gum staying in there for 7 years :P In a test tube in some lab it may take 7 years, but I doubt anyone has even tested that to make it accurate :D

[luce]

i know they take ages to go but i have no idea if it takes 7 years, becuase they are made to be chewed you can't have both lol

[Recursion]

It takes the same amount of time to pass through your digestive system, if it isnt digested then youll get a sticky poop, much like sweetcorn.

[Mickster]

They wouldn't sell it if it was that dangerous. :P