Does chewing gum aid digestion?
The answer to the question, does chewing gum aid digestion? While chewing gum does not directly aid the digestion of food, it improves digestive function by stimulating the secretion and flow of saliva in the mouth.
This, in turn, promotes the process of swallowing food easily and stimulates digestive processes that include the flow of bile, acids and other beneficial enzymes that aid in digestion, and chewing gum after a meal helps in the excretion of these chemicals in the digestive system, which helps to avoid the occurrence of indigestion. .
Some studies have also shown that chewing gum helps the intestine recover and restore normal function after surgery and may speed up recovery time as well.
Benefits of chewing gum
After explaining whether chewing gum helps digestion, we mention some of the other advantages of chewing gum:
1. It prevents tooth decay and improves oral health
Chewing sugar-free gum for only 20 minutes after a meal can prevent tooth decay and gingivitis, by removing food particles and acids from the teeth and increasing saliva production that helps maintain the strength of enamel.
2. Relieving acid reflux
Surprisingly, chewing gum is a good way to reduce acid reflux by reducing the acid in the esophagus by stimulating the swallowing reaction and neutralizing the acids by increasing the secretion of alkaline saliva in the mouth, which contributes to some relief.
3. Relieving nausea
Chewing a piece of gum, especially the herbal varieties that contain ginger, helps relieve nausea and motion sickness by helping salivation and digestion, and a recent study showed that chewing gum is similar to the effectiveness of prescribed medications for nausea.
4. Helps lose weight
Chewing gum reduces food cravings, and helps to eat less food, which in turn reduces weight gain.
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5. Improve memory and cognitive performance
It has been proven that chewing gum increases blood flow to the brain by 25 – 40%, which increases the amount of oxygen as well, thus improving the efficiency of brain and cognitive functions, such as: memory and focus.
6. Reducing stress and anxiety
Chewing gum helps release a hormone responsible for improving mood in the body, known as serotonin, which relieves anxiety and improves mental focus.