The sting can be more than a sweet habit. It can enhance athletes’ resistance and help patients cure faster. However, scientists warn that children and the elderly are still moving away from evidence.
Study: Chewing gum and health: a mapping review and an interactive map. Credit Picture: New Africa/Shutterstock.com
Chewing gum is extremely popular. Most health professionals and others believe they improve oral health. However, large gaps remain in our understanding of its benefits in other areas. A recent study published in Nutrients He investigated the current literature to detect additional chewing gum uses and describes the gaps in the literature.
Import
The practice of chewing gum is obviously ancient. Natural resins chew as far away as ancient Egypt and the Mayan era. The modern form of chewing gum emerged at 19th The century, as the sting (natural latex from the Sapodilla tree) became the essential ingredient.
The sting is simply a gum or “insoluble, non -noisy colloidal system that is inactive and uncontrollable”, flavored and often sweets to increase enjoyment. It keeps the mouth liquid promoting saliva. It prevents caries, especially when it contains non -fermentable sugars such as xylitol. It reduces the severity of conditions such as poor breathing. and has non-health applications.
For example, people who are trying to stop smoking chewing nicotine gum to reduce the longing for tobacco. Postoperative patients chew it to get their intestinal movements again. Athletes chew it to increase their performance. Others use it to reduce stress, increase alertness and regulate their appetite.
Chewing gum is cheap and easily available and because it is not a medicine, it is well tolerated by most patients. If the health benefits are confirmed, this could make it a useful public health tool. The current mapping review aims to integrate the available knowledge of chewing gum in addition to oral health, while at the same time showing gaps that need to be addressed in future research.
The researchers used data from five databases, choosing them through carefully sophisticated searches. The type of chewing gum, the type of result and the design of the study were all used for the straightener of the study type, and the empty evidence was identified.
Study findings
The final study included 260 studies considering the use of various types of chewing gum, including sugar -containing sugar, sugar -free chewing gum with or without xylitol, caffeine gum, nicotine -containing gum, other bioactive compounds. Of these, 155 were randomized controlled tests (RCTs), 36 were non-RCTS, 65 were revisions or meta-analysis and 6 were investigations.
Geographically, most records come from the US (34) and China (32), followed by the United Kingdom (26) and Turkey (26). Most studies were published between 2015 and 2025, with 38 published only in 2024. The authors noted that data 2025 were only a few, covering publications by July 20th.
The results presented three main applications of chewing gum. First, it made people feel better and perform more effectively. For example, it can enhance sports performance or mental processing. Others used it to reduce stress and relieve stress or stabilize their mood. Some people used gum to control their metabolism.
Prosperity and performance
Most sports related studies referred to chewing gum caffeine, indicating its connection to improving performance. This type of gum reduces fatigue, increasing the duration of the game. In addition, it improves endurance and strength while shortening reaction time.
Medical assistance
Second, chewing gum was used as medical assistance. Of the 40 studies that evaluated this role, 14 examined its role as a cessation of smoking, especially the nicotine -containing gum. It is also valuable as a smoking cessation tool, especially in encouraging compliance with replacement strategies over time, which is closely linked to long -term interruption. Interestingly, nicotine gum is established as a help of abandonment in itself. However, other nicotine delivery systems, such as skin pads or electronic cigarettes, have also been explored for their possible use in conjunction with it.
Other applications in this category include relief to thirst for people with medically limited fluid intake, such as during dialysis or congestive heart failure. Its use for comfort during childbirth, the management of glucose levels in pregnant women with diabetes, pain relief and management of the bowel. Two studies examined ear, nose and throat disorders (ENT), studied knowledge in Alzheimer’s, one looked at ADHD attention and one examined the heart disorders.
Surgery/procedural assistance
Finally, it helped specific surgeries, as reported in 155 studies, mainly during the post -operative phase. This confirmed the increased gastric imaging during endoscopy, better bowel recovery and lower rates of intestinal paralysis, nausea and vomiting after surgery. Pain relief has been enhanced, as was patient satisfaction.
Some wide and discreet chewing gum applications were observed. It offers a cheap and effective method of reducing hospitalization after surgery, especially in the abdomen. It stimulates the cephalic-vagal reflex and thus increases bowel motility, representing “false feeding”. It looks like food intake due to chewing movement, and no consumption occurs. This causes the secretion of digestive hormones.
While the study occupied the growing interest in chewing gum and prosperity beyond oral health, most studies were in adults. The most important gaps of evidence are young children and older adults and few are known for their performance except sports.
Twelve studies have investigated their use in children, almost all in surgical or procedural frameworks (eg retrieval after appendicory or spine surgery). No one investigated his role in prosperity or performance in children. Four studies were identified among older adults: one for recognition memory, one in Alzheimer’s knowledge and two for postoperative gastrointestinal recovery.
Conclusions
Chewing gum is often used to improve performance and prosperity, to help people stop smoking tobacco and accelerate postoperative recovery. Further well -designed studies are needed to map chewing gum applications to improve the health and well -being of older adults and children.
