Here’s What Actually Happens When You Swallow Your Gum

#1 Accidents Happen

We all know that gum is made just to be chewed and not swallowed, but it's so delicious tasting that sometimes we forget and swallow by accidents. Chewing gum is a way of relaxing, or is used to control overeating or smoking. It is a way to control that oral fixation that most humans naturally have.

#2 The Childhood Horror Stories

You no doubt have heard the myths that gum will stay in your body for seven years or seven decades, or whatever theory is being promoted at the time. Lots of parents have stories they told their children to keep them from swallowing their chewing gum. My mother often told a tale about this unknown girl who consumed so much gum that it tied her intestines together and cut off all blood flow and she finally burst open and died. Gum-swallowing myths were super popular when you were a kid. And chances are you still kinda believe whichever one sounded most plausible back then.

#3 So What Actually Happens When You Swallow Your Gum?

Gastroenterologist Dr. Lisa Ganjhu, D.O., associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, gave us the bottom details to help us find out what exactly goes down in your digestive system when you swallow your gum (and if it's actually bad for you).

#4 It Won't Fully Dissolve Or Digest

Gum passes through your system just like any other food you eat, but it doesn't get completely digested. "Your GI tract is very strong if it can digest a tough steak, it can digest gum," says Ganjhu. So you have the strong gastric movements and the acids and enzymes to break the gum down. The only difference is that the base of gum doesn't get dissolved completely because of its chemical properties, and also the contents don't get absorbed into the small intestine like most foods, says Ganju.

"Once it's in, it'll go out like everything else. There is no specific time frame because everyone's digestive system motility is different," says Ganjhu.

#5 You'll Eventually Poop It Out

Swallowing gum is similar to other foods we eat that do not fully digest, like nuts or corn. It doesn't stick to the side of your intestines or build up in a giant gum wad or anything like that, even though it doesn't fully dissolve. It eventually becomes meshed with other things in your digestive tract and makes it's way through the system and comes out in a bowel movement.

The only thing you'd have to worry about "getting stuck" is if the wad is actually too large to fit through the opening of your stomach from your esophagus, though you probably wouldn't be able to swallow a wad of gum that big in the first place.

#6 No Nutritional Value

Though it can be digested, most experts still advise you not to swallow gum, but not for the reasons you were warned about growing up.

"Chewing gum has absolutely no nutritional value so most health professionals would advise against swallowing it," says Ganjhu. Besides that, the whole point of gum is to chew it until the flavor is gone and then spit it out. "Gum won't harm or kill you but it just isn't logical to swallow it purposefully," says Ganjhu.

#7 Don't Swallow Anything Large

You shouldn't swallow large wads of gum anyway because of the chances of having them get lodged in your throat and cut off airflow, but that's the case with any foods you eat. The same hazard can be attributed to anyone who doesn't fully chew their meats. It can block the esophagus and choke you. Doctors often warn parents not to allow children under ten years of age to chew bubble gum on a regular basis.

#8 Why Is The Myth So Popular?

When chewing gum first hit the market it was highly discarded because of its chemical nature and the compounds were just not natural for people to consume back in that period. It was basically like chewing a piece of rubber. This may also be that attributed to a "misunderstanding of the fact that you can't fully digest gum," says Ganjhu, "even though that means it doesn't dissolve properly or get absorbed not that it stays in your body." The bottom line is that you CAN swallow your gum. It won't kill you. But it's probably not a good idea to do it on a regular basis.