What Really Happens When You Swallow Your Gum?

You've heard the warnings: If you swallow gum, it will stay in your digestive system for nearly a decade. Which would mean there's a decent chance you've got some hanging out in your gut right now. If you look at its ingredients -- a delicious mix of indigestible compounds -- it certainly seems possible. And if you look at the medical books, swallowed gum has caused some serious problems. Is it possible that your mom's crazy warnings were right? Most of what makes up gum falls in the "undigested" category. Our saliva takes an early stab at digesting food, and it will penetrate the Chiclets' shell or the sweeteners inside a stick. But the base material -- a combo of natural and synthetic gums and resins that make up to 30 percent of what we chew -- is mostly impenetrable. Even then, our stomach muscles contract and relax, earthworm style, to force the things we swallow down and out. So no, unless you're replacing meals with the stuff, you're probably OK. That is not to say you shouldn't listen to your mother. Technically speaking, she has a point.

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