Is it good or bad for children to chew gum?

On the one hand, chewing gum has benefits. Eating it in moderation can increase appetite and clean the mouth. However, for children, it is easy to eat too much, so chewing gum becomes a bad thing for children, especially some children who will swallow it. The gum base component in chewing gum will only harm the child's stomach. Children must be prevented from swallowing chewing gum.

1. The ingredients of chewing gum are relatively complex, and generally contain sugars, gum base, food additives, flavorings and other substances. The additives used in chewing gum generally include food coloring, antioxidants, lubricants, etc. Different types of chewing gum have different sources of sweetness. There are ordinary chewing gums that use white sugar or syrup, or sugar-free chewing gums that use xylitol or sorbitol to prevent tooth decay.

2. Among these ingredients, the most basic is the gum base, which is the part that allows us to chew. Originally, the gum base was made of chicle resin collected from red pine trees, but the output of natural chicle resin is small. Now most chewing gums are replaced by other natural or synthetic ingredients.

3. Regardless of whether the gum base is made from natural or synthetic ingredients, it cannot be digested by the human digestive system. But it will not remain in the stomach and intestines forever after being swallowed. The human body has another way to deal with this kind of indigestible things: just push it down along the digestive tract until it reaches the end one day and is excreted. This journey does not take 7 years as the scary legend says. In fact, whether it is chewing gum or other similar foreign objects, it takes about 1-2 days to a week for the human body to excrete them.

5. In addition to the fun of blowing bubbles, chewing gum is also beneficial to human health, such as reducing bad breath, increasing saliva secretion, improving appetite, cleaning the mouth, preventing tooth decay, etc.

6. However, chewing gum is not a candy that should be eaten, so children must be made aware that they cannot swallow it. Make sure you explain this clearly to your child before giving him gum. But don't use scaremongering methods like saying that if swallowing the food, the child will get sick or die, as this will only increase the child's fear unnecessarily.

Parents must provide correct guidance to children when they eat chewing gum. They should not eat too much or swallow it. Eating too much will affect the gastrointestinal health of children and cause nausea, while swallowing it will not be able to digest the stomach and become a big problem. In any case, chewing gum has its pros and cons. The key lies in the guidance of parents and the consumption of children.